Did you catch the recent high-profile course launch called App Mafia?
Their promo video hit every cliché:
- Mansion owner who parties every night
- Millions made last month
- Even the line: “If you don’t do this, you’re just lazy.”
The internet’s response? A collective eye-roll.
To my delight, thousands of commenters called it what it was: bro energy cranked to max volume, dripping with ego, and painfully out of touch.
Finally, people are calling this energy what it really is.
Here is what makes this kind of marketing so grating:
- They put the spotlight on the promoter, not the person they're supposedly trying to help achieve a goal
- They sell smoke and mirrors over substance
- They push one-size-fits-all promises like “anyone can do this”
- They lean on shame, implying that if you are not using their system, you must be lazy
That is not inspiration. That is manipulation.
And it does not land for musicians, especially heart-led women, because we are not motivated by cars, mansions, or virality.
What we really want is connection.
We want to see our songs move someone to tears or help them through a hard season.
We want to build fan communities that feel like family.
Sure, money matters. We want our art to sustain us. But we’re not motivated by quick wins, hacky funnels, or the lure of virality. Our joy comes from building something real and taking fans along for the ride.
The good news is: we’ve come a long way since 2015. There are more balanced, thoughtful, female-led voices in this space now.
The backlash to the App Mafia launch shows that people aren’t buying into ego-first marketing the way they used to. And that gives me hope
Because the future of music is not about who can flex the hardest. It is about who can create something real, something lasting, and something deeply connected.
And that is the energy the music Industry actually needs more of.
Always in your corner,
<3 Bree
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