If a fake band can go viral, what does that say about music today?

Poser is a band that doesn’t exist.

Well, it exists. But only in the way the industry often treats artists—as concepts, as marketing tools, as narratives waiting to be shaped.

Artist Reece Cox created the band as a project. Despite being entirely "fictional," Poser performs live, gives interviews, and builds its own mythos.

So, what then, makes them fictional, you ask?

Cox writes both the questions and answers.

The band, at its core, is a commentary on the music industry’s obsession with image over substance. And, frankly, it couldn’t be more timely.

The modern music landscape has me questioning if it’s even about music at all anymore. One would assume it’s more about the spectacle, the persona, the moment. It’s about crafting a story that’s marketable, clickable, and, ideally, viral.

Poser asks an unsettling question:

If someone can fabricate an entire band and still garner attention, how much of what we see in mainstream music is real?

And more importantly—does it even matter?

We all know and loathe the case of the TikTokification of music.

The platform has, intentionally or not, been disrupting, diversifying, and democratising the music industry since its arrival.

A viral TikTok can catapult an unknown artist to overnight stardom. The platform, boasting over a billion daily users, is an unparalleled marketplace for music discovery.

But it’s also changed the way music is made, marketed, and consumed.

Labels now scout artists based on 10-second snippets of virality. Songs are engineered to be memeable first, listenable second. Artists are often secondary to the concept they represent. Sound familiar?

Essentially, this is Poser in action.

Cox is showing us the formula in real-time: Create a persona. Control the narrative. Generate intrigue.

The music? Almost an afterthought.

And honestly, that’s not far from the way the industry operates today. Artists are launched with carefully curated aesthetics, pre-approved media training, and social strategies designed to make them seem authentic while still being deeply strategic.

The industry no longer just sells music, it sells the idea of an artist.

One of the biggest ironies in music marketing today is the fetishisation of authenticity.

Fans crave realness, but the industry has essentially learned how to manufacture it.

Viral artists are often framed as overnight sensations, as if their rise wasn’t meticulously orchestrated by labels and marketing teams.

Poser exposes this illusion by taking it to its logical extreme—a band with no organic backstory, no real interactions, and no spontaneity, yet one that still commands an audience.

It’s not that authenticity is gone; it’s that it’s been commodified.

The industry now mass-produces relatability, packaging it in the form of unfiltered Instagram stories, raw TikTok confessionals, and AI-generated “candid” tweets.

Poser pulls back the curtain and forces us to ask how much of what we consume is actually genuine.

As music continues to be shaped by algorithms, engagement metrics, and short-form virality, artists must play the game or risk irrelevance.

But where does that leave music itself?

If we’re optimising for moments instead of movements, for attention instead of artistry, are we just creating an industry full of Posers?

For marketers, this is both a challenge and an opportunity.

There’s value in spectacle, in crafting compelling narratives, in meeting audiences where they are.

But if Poser proves anything, it’s that people will start questioning the illusion. And when that happens, the artists (and brands) that truly resonate will be the ones that manage to feel real—even if they, too, are playing the game.

In the end, Poser is a mirror. It shows us that music today is as much about marketing as it is about melody.

-Sophie, Writer