WILMINGTON, N.C. (WECT) – North Carolina’s attorney general says six landlords operating in the state – including two with properties in southeast North Carolina – are colluding together to illegally raise rent prices.

On Tuesday, Jeff Jackson filed a lawsuit alongside nine other states, targeting the landlords and RealPage, a software company that the AG said uses artificial intelligence software to tell companies the rent they should be charging.

“It’s impacting tens of thousands of people across the state, at least 70,000 people, who are renting apartments,” Jackson told WECT Wednesday.

The lawsuit mentions Greystar and Willow Brook, two companies with a presence in the Cape Fear. Greystar has 12 properties in the region across New Hanover and Brunswick Counties. Among them are The Range On Oleander, Element Barclay and City Block. Willow Bridge oversees two complexes: Bellingham Park and Crosswinds Apartments, both in Wilmington.

Comment requests for RealPage and Willow Brook were both not returned.

A Greystar corporate spokesperson referred WECT to the following statement: “We are disappointed that the DOJ added us and other operators to their lawsuit against RealPage. Greystar has and will conduct its business with the utmost integrity. At no time did Greystar engage in any anti-competitive practices. We will vigorously defend ourselves in this lawsuit.”

What the companies are allegedly doing digitally would be illegal if it was done in-person, Jackson said.

“What they can do, in effect, is collude when it comes to prices,” he said. “And some have given quotes that are absolutely egregious.”

Elizabeth Wilson, who rents at The Range, said she’s concerned about already-high rent prices in the region, and how the companies’ alleged behavior can impact that.

“We have a 2-year-old son, and to think that if they raise the rent, you get kicked out, what do you do? And then before you know it, you’re scrambling and you’re living with your parents, and that’s scary. Who wants to do that” she said.

The lawsuit is built on a previous one filed by Jackson’s predecessor, Josh Stein, back in August, which alleged RealPage was raising rent prices illegally. Jackson believes the suit can continue to grow, with North Carolina at the center of it.

“Our primary goal is to stop illegal behavior that is raising rents for thousands of North Carolinians, and I think we can accomplish that,” he said.

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On his way out of office, in 2024, one of Governor Roy Cooper’s initiatives was to establish a new department inside N.C.’s Department of Natural and Cultural Resources (DNCR): the North Carolina Music Office. 

One of the office’s first projects, created through DNCR program Come Hear NC, is Shaped by Sound, a new PBS series on North Carolina’s music. Over thirteen episodes, Shaped by Sound will look at a wide range of artists from Wilmington to Asheville, in genres ranging from R&B to country-rock legacy. Featured artists include legacy acts like Superchunk, Reuben Vincent, and Alice Gerrard and newer acts like Sluice, Blue Cactus, and Sonny Miles. Other featured Triangle acts include Fancy Gap, Shirlette Ammons, and Mipso. 

“Our state is known for its rich musical legacy—John Coltrane, Doc Watson, Nina Simone, Etta Baker, and James Taylor, are just a tiny sliver of the greats who have called NC home,” says Stephanie Stewart, one-half of local duo Blue Cactus, “but it’s also a thriving, living legacy, and I’m thrilled to have a program like this that is devoted to shining a spotlight on it.” 

Only four other states have state-sponsored music offices like this. Its formation is an effort to celebrate the state’s rich musical history and bolster its creative economy. 

“The governor signed his executive order on June 21, which is International Make Music Day,” explains Kara Leinfelder, the director of business development at the NC Music Office, “We had a lot of communities across the state celebrating Make Music Day, which was led by the North Carolina Arts Council—it was a program to recognize and spotlight how important music is to North Carolina, its contemporary history and its past, and all the rich traditions that we have here.” 

While North Carolina boasts strong talent, the sector has struggled to regain its footing post-pandemic, with conditions increasingly difficult for artists and venues. Last month, J. Cole announced that 2025 would be the last year that he held Dreamville, a megawatt hip-hop festival that generated around $122 million for Wake County in 2024. 

The announcement marked the second recent major festival exit from the Tar Heel state’s capital: After many years in Raleigh, the IBMA Bluegrass Festival departed for Chattanooga, Tennessee, in 2024. (Raleigh Wide Open, a homegrown music festival from Raleigh nonprofit PineCone, will fill the bluegrass gap this next year.) 

Shaped by Sound premieres on February 6 with the spotlight trained on Iron & Wine’s Sam Beam, who lives in Durham. It will air on PBS North Carolina on Thursdays at 6:30 p.m., and will also be available across multiple platforms—pbsnc.org, the PBS app, and YouTube. A playlist of the show’s music can be heard here.

Stewart says she hopes the show will encourage people to turn out for live performances. 

“As an independent artist, being a part of something like this can have a significant impact in helping others in our home state, and potentially beyond, connect with our music,” she says. “I hope that folks who watch the program will discover some of their new favorite local artists and go see them live when they come touring through their towns.”

This interview has been edited for length and clarity. Follow Culture Editor Sarah Edwards on Bluesky or email sedwards@indyweek.com.

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