Was it over-hype, a bizarre scam, or a complex social experiment?
A California rock musician managed to book a 10-date European tour this month despite having no following whatsoever.
Jered Eames, 29, allegedly posed as a promoter with fake StageRight Bookings to book shows at venues in the UK, Ireland, France, Italy and Denmark for a band called Threatin.
According to reports, he used wildly-edited video footage to show the band performing in L.A. in front of big crowds and he bought Facebook likes and YouTube views. There’s even a band website with an official fan club.
The scheme started to come to light at the first show in London, where only three people showed up, even though Eames – as the fake promoter – promised advance sales of 291 tickets.
A few nights later, The Exchange in Bristol complained that no one showed up to the Threatin show. “Turns out, Threatin are essentially a fake band,” the venue management wrote on Facebook. “The 100 or so people attending the event page (and all the other event pages for their tour) are all based in Brazil.”
UK media outlets, including the BBC and NME, began reporting on what was shaping up to be a big scam. No one has covered it as well as MetalSucks.
Midway through the tour, Threatin’s hired guitarist Joe Prunera and drummer Dane Davis reportedly quit, claiming they had been duped as well.
On Wednesday, Eames tweeted: “What is Fake News? I turned an empty room into an international headline. If you are reading this, you are part of the illusion.” Among the hashtags were: #Marketing #Psychology and #SocialMedia.