Threatin band creates fake fanbase for a tour, ends up playing to no-one
Online is in no way real life, ask Threatin band.
Whether it’s seen as a prank or social experiment, one thing this story isn’t lacking is intrigue.
Meet Threatin, a band from the United States that recently embarked on a tour in the UK. I realise that’s an ordinary sentence, but the series of events that followed are anything but.
Meet Jered Threatin, the creative force behind the band. His online presence suggested an active fanbase and that his band had toured extensively in the US.
It also appears that Venues in the UK were informed that large numbers of tickets had been pre-sold, which was the furthest thing from the truth.
So Threatin travelled across the pond to play a UK tour at venues including The Underworld in London, Trillians in Newcastle and the Exchange in Bristol.
In the words of The Underworld: “What happened to the 291 advanced ticket sales your agent said you’d sold? THREE PEOPLE turned up,” they posted on Threatin’s Facebook page.
Who’s supporting who…?
It goes deeper as artists have unwittingly been drawn into the story as support acts, like Bristol-based artist Sasori, who said on social media, “feeling pretty special, not everyone gets to say they played on the same bill as Threatin at his sellout show in Bristol”
Other band members felt otherwise: 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.”
Unsurprisingly, Threatin’s UK tour has collapsed, with his Belfast show cancelled at the last minute, without explanation.
According to another Facebook post, Threatin paid for the Bristol Exchange booking in cash, reassuring the venue so that the gig could continue despite the low attendance.
Now reports suggest the Threatin guitarist and drummer have left the band.
The band’s Facebook page has also been deleted, along with most of the artist’s website.
Threatin band of fools, or genius?
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