Brooklyn indie band Geese have been at the centre of a major music-industry debate this month, after a viral Substack post revealed that their social media buzz was not entirely organic.

The effort was orchestrated by a digital marketing agency called Chaotic Good, which builds networks of fan accounts to push an artist's content through algorithms, which it openly describes as "trend simulation."

The reaction has been split. Some people felt deceived; others noted that paying for marketing is nothing new and that Geese are far from the only act on Chaotic Good's books; its client list includes Dua Lipa, Justin Bieber, and Zara Larsson, among others.

One of the main questions is what it means for independent artists who can't access the same tools. Read more here.

TikTok has announced that its ‘Add to Music App’ feature, which lets users save songs directly to Spotify or Apple Music without leaving the app, has recorded more than 6 billion track saves in the past year alone.

The most-saved track during that period was “Die On This Hill” by SIENNA SPIRO, which went on to generate more than 385 million Spotify streams and chart in both the UK and the US. Second on the list was “Raindance” by Dave, which became one of the biggest UK singles of the year.

TikTok discovery is still one of the most direct paths from unknown to streamed, and getting your music in front of the right audience can genuinely change the trajectory of a release. Read more here.

This month's Artist of the Month is Gretel ✨

Gretel is a London-born singer-songwriter whose music blends gothic atmosphere with raw, guitar-led vulnerability. She captures the tension between softness and defiance, drawing influence from artists like Nirvana and PJ Harvey.

Her single “Darkness, be my friend” caught our eye at first, and we have been loving her debut album, Squish, which came out this April! If you haven't heard her yet, go check it out - it's a brilliant debut record. We think she's one of the most interesting new voices coming out of London right now.

Let’s celebrate rising talent and support the artists who are shaping the future of independent music! 🎶

Fan data platform Openstage has launched Fanbase API, a toolkit that lets artists build custom fan apps with membership tiers, reward systems, and direct messaging, all under their own branding.

Artists like Yungblud and Gorillaz have already launched their own versions, but the real story here is what this means for smaller acts. Openstage shared an example of an upcoming UK band who used their fan heat map data to discover they had far more support in parts of Europe than they realised. Their promoter originally had them pencilled in for 300-cap venues across 17 cities, but with their own data in hand, they pushed back and ended up selling 20,000 more tickets than they otherwise would have.

It's a good reminder that artists who own their fan relationships are in a much stronger position than those who leave it to the platforms. Read more here.

We are really proud of the long-term growth our strategies give our artists, and we wanted to share a bit about our journey with Still Pigeon! 🌟

When we started working together on their EP, “The Patterns We Keep”, the focus was on building real, lasting growth. Using our Ads Advanced package, we ran targeted ad campaigns to identify and reach the people most likely to connect with the band's music.

We worked with the band to grow their headline shows alongside the online campaign, increasing capacity with each show as the fanbase grew. They started with a 100-cap sell-out, and have since played The Old Blue Last (150), The Lexington (220), and Moth Club (350).

👉 Read more about our strategy and results with Still Pigeon here

If you'd like to chat about what we could do for your project, get in touch! We'd love to hear from you 💛

Catch Rosanna in Waves’ first headline show of 2026 on Wednesday 20 May at The Workshop in Shoreditch, featuring her full band and coinciding with the release of her latest single, "High Functioning Human".

Her shimmering art pop blends influences from Kate Bush, Pulp and Robyn into something uniquely her own. Expect airy vocals, cinematic storytelling and a sound that's been earning praise from Notion, BBC Introducing and beyond.

Grab your tickets here ⭐️

Singer-songwriter Tom Cherry brings his folky, heartfelt sound to The Workshop at The Star in Shoreditch for an intimate live show on Friday 22 May.

Drawing from the rich tradition of modern indie-folk and classic singer-songwriters, this is one for fans of honest, stripped-back storytelling.

🎟️ Don’t miss out - grab your tickets here!