Masked Mystery Band President Address Rumors That They're an Industry Plant

The masked mystery band President have addressed rumors that they're an industry plant.

In the music industry, an "industry plant" refers to an artist that appears to have grown a following and generated success organically, but actually received significant financial support from a record label or another connection that gave them access to the necessary resources that other bands might not have.

What Did President Say About Being Called an Industry Plant?

President's meteoric rise may have seemed a bit random, but their vocalist denied that the group is a plant during an interview with Metal Hammer.

“When you blow up really quickly, it’s assumed you’re backed by a huge corporate machine,” the singer told the magazine.

“People find it hard to accept that something can just explode organically. But if something’s getting a lot of attention, you’re gonna draw equal measures of hate as you are love. I’d rather people felt something than nothing at all.”

The frontman admitted that it was really difficult introducing his band to the world the way that they did. They made their live debut at Download Festival earlier this year and the singer asserted that if it didn't go well, it would've been a "fucking disaster" for the band.

"But it spurred me on to rise to the challenge. And hearing everyone shouting ‘President!’ made it all worth it; when I walked offstage, I was wiping tears off of my mask. It was such an emotional moment," he recalled.

Why Do People Think President Are an Industry Plant?

President started generating a lot of buzz back in February after sharing a few cryptic teasers on social media. With the success of masked bands such as Sleep Token and Ghost in the last few years, President became rock's latest mystery band.

They were booked to play Download Festival before even releasing a song, though the performance took place after they shared their debut track "In the Name of the Father" in May. Once people saw the video, they began speculating which musicians were behind the masks.

Considering President basically came out of nowhere and started getting a lot of attention, people accused them of being an industry plant.

READ MORE: The Biggest Rock + Metal Stories of 2025 (In Case You Forgot)

One person wrote an entire post on the Download Festival Reddit page explaining why they believe the band was manufactured by the industry.

"All the 'hype' online is generated by bots and burners. There are only weird rarely active burner accounts all the sudden becoming active just to create some posts hyping President up or to launch attacks in the comments against anyone who questions whether this is an industry plant," the individual suggested.

"When has any rock or metal band garnered 250K+ views within 24 hours of uploading their debut song release? Answer: they used view bots. When has any band been booked to play Download Festival before releasing a single song or playing any live sets together? Answer: industry plants."

President shared their debut EP King of Terrors back in September and will tour throughout much of 2026. See all of their "rallies" (shows) listed on their website.