The pretenders

By now, you're probably familiar with the story of Threatin. If not, in a nutshell: musician pays for fake likes on social media and views on YouTube to inflate status, books a UK tour and fabricates ticket sales. For duping everyone, NME's Tom Connick ventured that "maybe they should be applauded". A staggeringly stupid suggestion, though he did at least go on to acknowledge the harmful impact of such fraudsters on live music venues, which are already facing an array of significant challenges. Fakers like Threatin might be delighted at massaging their egos, pulling off a prank and scoring themselves an international tour, but it's left the Bristol Exchange, the Camden Underworld and others counting the cost.