BREAKING: Music Industry Payola Scandal Explodes – Is RICO Next?
The music industry’s dirty secrets are being dragged into the light, and it all started with a rap beef that changed everything.
Explosive allegations are circulating that federal authorities are preparing to launch RICO charges against prominent radio stations for money laundering, illegal racketeering, fraud, and payola violations. While these specific RICO claims remain unconfirmed, what we do know is that a perfect storm of investigations, lawsuits, and federal probes has created the biggest crisis the music industry has faced in decades.
And it all traces back to one unlikely source: the Drake vs. Kendrick Lamar battle that exposed the corrupt underbelly of modern music promotion.
The Drake Domino Effect
What started as a rap beef between two of hip-hop’s biggest stars has morphed into a full-scale investigation that could reshape the entire music industry. Drake’s explosive allegations against Universal Music Group (UMG) claim the label “funneled payments to iHeartRadio and its radio stations as part of a pay-to-play scheme” to artificially boost Kendrick Lamar’s diss track “Not Like Us”.
In court filings, Drake said he already had “sufficient” evidence to pursue a defamation claim but lacked the “factual support necessary to determine whether he may bring claims of civil fraud and racketeering against UMG”. The rapper’s legal team has alleged that UMG and unidentified co-conspirators “violated payola laws” in their campaign to make “Not Like Us” a viral hit.
The implications are staggering: if Drake’s allegations are true, they suggest a systematic conspiracy involving major record labels, radio conglomerates, and streaming platforms to manipulate public opinion and commercial success through illegal payola schemes.
The FCC Steps In
Drake’s lawsuit didn’t just make headlines—it caught the attention of federal regulators. In February 2025, FCC Chairman Brendan Carr launched a formal investigation into iHeartMedia, warning that “certain owners of federally licensed radio stations are effectively compelling musicians to perform at radio station events or festivals for free (or for reduced compensation) in exchange for more favorable airplay”.
Carr’s letter to iHeartMedia CEO Robert Pittman was unambiguous: “To the extent that radio industry executives believe that the FCC has looked the other way on ‘payola’ violations in recent years, I want to assure you that this FCC will not be doing that”.
The probe specifically targets iHeartMedia’s upcoming iHeartCountry Festival, with Carr demanding to know whether iHeart is “effectively and secretly forcing musicians to choose between, one, receiving their usual, ordinary, and full scale compensation for performing or, two, receiving less favorable airplay on iHeart radio stations”.
