The Business of Phish (2013)

[1] https://phish.in [2] https://github.com/jcraigk/phishin

https://www.villagevoice.com/inside-the-nitrous-mafia-an-eas...

Their business changed drastically in 2009, when they came back from an extended hiatus. The business side of things had burned them out and they pared down their internal organization to ~3-4 people and outsourced most of it to some close friends (an external management team), so they could focus on the music and their families. Whereas in their first 20 years they were far more fan-friendly and even anti-consumerism (they regularly covered up the advertisements in hockey arenas when playing there), the band's business has since become far more profitable and extracting, though not necessarily to an obscene extreme. The band members have mostly removed themselves from the business side and focus on the creative - a role that lets them keep rolling, but sometimes at the cost of fan-friendliness. It's worth noting that they are incredibly philanthropic, and have donated immense money to environmental, educational, and drug-treatment efforts.

Overall they are a masterclass in running a well-balanced organization that is both a capitalistic business as well as a down-to-earth creative organization and I have no doubt each and every one of us could glean a lesson or two from the way they built their structure over years.

IMO, Phish and solo Trey are a kind of prog/jaze band, who jams out because the music flows in a long play type of way. (It's so good, where do you stop?)

I’ve seen them 80 times (which isn’t even that much in the community), and have had many moments where I thought I might be over it. Is all the expense and time worth it? A four night run (much less 13) is exhausting. I’ll never stop though. It’s as much about a familiar ritual as seeking new experiences.

It is said that nobody hates Phish fans more than other Phish fans. When you fly halfway across the country just to stand next to drunk people talking all night (“chompers”), it’s hard to disagree.

I think a key part of their shtick is random variable reward. Not every show will be a banger, but there are enough legendary moments that there can be a feeling of chasing great shows, songs and moments. Like Pokemon pretty much.

As a musician I realized that it’s impossible to control whether a show will be great. Even Phish can’t fully control that, thus the random variable reward is incidental. Although, they say there’s no such thing as a bad Phish show.

If you play an instrument, or have ever played in a band, you'll definitely appreciate the show they put on.

Besides the band’s success in carving their own niche, I’m equally surprised by the intricacy of the economy that enables Phish and other traveling shows to be successful.

There are many specialists required to make it happen. Roadies who travel with the artists. Arenas (with their often billionaire owners). Security and hospitality staff. Vendors in the arenas selling food, drinks, and merch. Vendors outside the shows selling bootleg merch, street food, alcohol, and other illicit goods in the parking lots.

There’s a lot happening every night to make the whole thing as fun as it is.

Let’s be intellectually honest here, probably the majority of tickets are sold to people who are at best casual fans of the music but are seeking a temporary autonomous zone in which to consume drugs. That’s the real product. I make no moral judgment here about that, but any discussion of this band without any serious mention of the drug culture is inherently dishonest.