Fake fans, fake buzz? How your favourite band got big

This episode of 'Today in Focus' investigates the controversy surrounding indie band Geese and their meteoric rise to fame, questioning whether their success was fueled by authentic fan enthusiasm or orchestrated marketing campaigns. The story centers on Chaotic Good Projects, a digital agency revealed to have created fake fan accounts and manufactured online buzz for Geese, Cameron Winter, and other breakout artists of 2025. Host Nosheen Iqbal unpacks how agencies like Chaotic Good use teams of young creators to flood TikTok and Instagram with inorganic content—fan pages, influencer posts, and narrative campaigns—to boost visibility and control public perception. The revelation sparked backlash from fans who value authenticity in indie music, a genre long associated with grassroots credibility. Yet, music journalist Eamon Ford argues that this isn't new: every major artist has had behind-the-scenes support, and today’s digital landscape simply makes the machinery more visible. The episode also explores the broader crisis in music discovery, where algorithmic playlists, AI-generated tracks, and the sheer volume of content make it nearly impossible for independent artists to be heard without paid promotion. Ultimately, the show challenges the myth of organic success and asks whether the line between art and commerce has always been blurred—or if today’s tools just make it impossible to ignore. Key takeaways include: 1) Authenticity in indie music is increasingly performative, not inherent; 2) Agencies like Chaotic Good are normalizing inorganic virality across music marketing; 3) Fans are now skeptical of all online hype, making trust harder to earn; 4) The algorithm rewards speed and repetition, pushing artists to write for engagement, not art; 5) Even critics of these practices admit they’re part of a system that’s always existed—just more transparent now. The episode ends with a call to rethink how we consume music, not by rejecting marketing, but by recognizing it as a necessary, if uncomfortable, part of the modern music ecosystem.