The knee-jerk defensiveness on display in this comments thread is Phish fans' least endearing quality. It's almost as if some feel that their identity is under attack, and immediately rush forth to defend...

It's really simple. Over the years, the band and organization have acted in ways that give the impression that making a buck and treating fans well are not competing priorities. They don't apologize for making money, and the key to their ability to turn a profit is earning and keeping fans' goodwill. So far, so hippy.

OP isn't attacking Phish. That ought to be obvious to anyone who's been around for a while. OP is pointing out that Phish's actions are not serving their own interests.

If I can get political for a moment, it's like pointing out that invading Iraq is, maybe, not the awesomest idea in the world. Maybe it's not really justified. Maybe it will create or exacerbate more problems than it will solve. Dissent isn't treason. It really can be patriotic. Really, the knee-jerk, defensive bashing of OP looks a lot like "It's really simple. You're either for us, or you're against us. You don't have a choice. Either you support the war, or you support Bin Laden."

That had the intellectual integrity of a temper tantrum in 2003. While Phish shows really aren't life or death, some of the above comments seem equally pants-on-head stupid.

1. Phish wants to treat fans well, because their business model depends on loyal fans treating the band well.

2. LivePhish video streaming kind of sucks, and it pretty much always has.

3. Streaming video will always be prone to the occasional glitch, but it doesn't need to suck as badly as it so often does.

4. Acknowledging the basic truth of this, and responding to it, will generate goodwill among fans, and may build fan/customer confidence in future retail/streaming offerings.

5. Everyone wins.

Speaking only for myself, I stream 1-2 events per year. I'd be willing to pay for several more, possibly even all of them. As it is, I only do so when there seem to be no other interesting options. LivePhish is a $20 lottery ticket. If there's even a half-decent film that I haven't seen yet, that wins and streaming Phish loses. I learned a while ago that, while Phish is great, so is a lot of the rest of the world. Sometimes, I'm just not in the mood for a hassle.