DISCUSSION: Psy-Ops and Music Marketing

What happens when hype becomes indistinguishable from reality? The recent revelations around music marketing companies manufacturing viral moments, seeding fake fan accounts and engineering the appearance of organic enthusiasm have exposed just how difficult it is to know what – and who – to believe online.

But is this really new? From payola and PR to playlist manipulation, music has always involved the careful manufacture of attention. What has changed is the scale, speed and intimacy of the operation: today, marketing can masquerade as fandom, criticism or spontaneous cultural conversation.

Moderated by music journalist and the deputy director at Pitchfork Jeremy Larson, this discussion brings together writer, curator and cultural producer Günseli Yalcinkaya; music journalist Shaad D’Souza to ask where promotion ends and manipulation begins. Who controls the narrative around an artist? Can genuine scenes survive algorithmic marketing? And, in an economy built on attention, is authenticity itself becoming just another product to sell?