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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Entertainment
Shaad D'Souza

Indie music has been invaded by fake fans and cynical viral campaigns​. Here’s how deep it all goes

Geese frontman Cameron Winter playing electric guitar live, in front of a blue-lit backdrop
The oldest trick in the book? … Geese frontman Cameron Winter performing in Australia in February this year. Photograph: Marc Grimwade/Getty Images

Did you get more fomo than usual from last year’s Glastonbury? Did you see a video of Overmono or Lorde or Self Esteem that made you seethe with jealousy? That may have been because more of your friends genuinely did attend the festival last year – or it could be because those acts, and 25 others including Fatboy Slim, Charli xcx and Doechii, paid a digital marketing agency that sent influencers and content creators to watch their sets and upload organic-looking clips to social media.

Take a quick look at Your Culture’s Instagram page and you’ll find that the boutique UK agency had a hand in disseminating some of 2025’s most viral live music moments: the Last Dinner Party’s raucous “medieval sleaze” album launch party; Chappell Roan’s headline set at Reading festival. If you saw video from Calum Scott’s surprise set at St Pancras International last year, or Alex Warren’s outside Warren Street, it’s likely because of Your Culture. An Instagram post from January boasts that the brand “worked with 55% of the nominees” of the most recent Brit awards.

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