Threatin - Fake Band Booked Euro Tour, No One Attended
By now, you might have heard of Threatin, for all the wrong reasons. The Los Angeles metal band has reached viral fame after they scammed venues, faked a label and a fanbase in an elaborate scheme. Jered Threatin is the singer and sole full-time member of the band and he faked his entire online fanbase in order to book a tour in the UK and Europe that no one is showing up to.
Threatin posed as a fake booking agency, Stageright Booking, to contact UK and European venues, sending faked live footage of "packed" shows, with fake comments and bought Youtube views and Facebook likes. Then, the first show happened and there was a problem. Even though the band claimed to have advanced 291 tickets sold, only three people showed up. Venues on the tour included The Underworld in London, Trillians in Newcastle and the Exchange in Bristol.
Threatin was reportedly lying about ticket sales, buying Facebook likes, event RSVPs, and YouTube views, and posing as a nonexistent promoter to con venues into booking him to play and it worked. He hired a backing band and set off on tour.
According to the Underworld, only three people showed up to the show despite the band's agent claiming that they had sold nearly 300 tickets in advance. The same thing happened in Bristol a few days later, with only a few people from the opening band's guest list attending despite 180 tickets supposedly being sold in advance.
When employees of the Bristol venue the Exchange did some digging, the whole scheme unraveled. Everyone listed as attending the shows on Facebook was based in Brazil. All the comments on Threatin's YouTube videos were from phony bot accounts. And to complete the illusion, Threatin apparently filmed interviews with himself and uploaded live clips from more fake accounts showing the band playing to a room packed with fans ? with the band and the crowd never in the same shot.
Sunday night's scheduled Threatin appearance in Belfast was cancelled at the last minute, without explanation. The evening went ahead with appearances by the two support bands who had been arranged to appear locally. The venue said that the booking had been pre-paid by Threatin.
There are still a few shows left on the tour, but it has seemingly now collapsed. The band's Facebook page has been deleted and Threatin's Twitter account is now private. In the meantime, their YouTube page is still up. Maybe this stunt will actually make people listen to the music.
Threatin also established a fake label, Superlative Music Recordings, which, just like the booking agency, exists only on its own pages related to Threatin.
The support acts have been boasting about being part of the experience - Bristol-based artist Sasori, who also drums with the band Kamino, said on social media that he was "feeling pretty special, not everyone gets to say they played on the same bill as Threatin at his sellout show in Bristol".
But the band posted on Facebook, pointing out that Bristol's Exchange venue was "fully staffed with two bouncers on the door expecting to deal with a queue", and that the stunt "has done nothing but fleece several UK venues out of money and time that would be far better spent on genuine artists. People like this deserve to be outed for who they are. Or aren't."
Threatin posed as a fake booking agency, Stageright Booking, to contact UK and European venues, sending faked live footage of "packed" shows, with fake comments and bought Youtube views and Facebook likes. Then, the first show happened and there was a problem. Even though the band claimed to have advanced 291 tickets sold, only three people showed up. Venues on the tour included The Underworld in London, Trillians in Newcastle and the Exchange in Bristol.
Threatin was reportedly lying about ticket sales, buying Facebook likes, event RSVPs, and YouTube views, and posing as a nonexistent promoter to con venues into booking him to play and it worked. He hired a backing band and set off on tour.
According to the Underworld, only three people showed up to the show despite the band's agent claiming that they had sold nearly 300 tickets in advance. The same thing happened in Bristol a few days later, with only a few people from the opening band's guest list attending despite 180 tickets supposedly being sold in advance.
When employees of the Bristol venue the Exchange did some digging, the whole scheme unraveled. Everyone listed as attending the shows on Facebook was based in Brazil. All the comments on Threatin's YouTube videos were from phony bot accounts. And to complete the illusion, Threatin apparently filmed interviews with himself and uploaded live clips from more fake accounts showing the band playing to a room packed with fans ? with the band and the crowd never in the same shot.
Sunday night's scheduled Threatin appearance in Belfast was cancelled at the last minute, without explanation. The evening went ahead with appearances by the two support bands who had been arranged to appear locally. The venue said that the booking had been pre-paid by Threatin.
There are still a few shows left on the tour, but it has seemingly now collapsed. The band's Facebook page has been deleted and Threatin's Twitter account is now private. In the meantime, their YouTube page is still up. Maybe this stunt will actually make people listen to the music.
Threatin also established a fake label, Superlative Music Recordings, which, just like the booking agency, exists only on its own pages related to Threatin.
The support acts have been boasting about being part of the experience - Bristol-based artist Sasori, who also drums with the band Kamino, said on social media that he was "feeling pretty special, not everyone gets to say they played on the same bill as Threatin at his sellout show in Bristol".
But the band posted on Facebook, pointing out that Bristol's Exchange venue was "fully staffed with two bouncers on the door expecting to deal with a queue", and that the stunt "has done nothing but fleece several UK venues out of money and time that would be far better spent on genuine artists. People like this deserve to be outed for who they are. Or aren't."
theguardian.com |
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