Biscuits Crowdsource Fan Requests for Festival

Jul 28, 2010 by Ramon Youseph

Philadelphia based band Disco Biscuits recently enjoyed tremendous success at Camp Bisco, their ninth annual three day musical extravaganza held on the weekend of July 15th – 17th in Albany, New York. The success of the event was due largely to crowdsourcing in which, prior to the event, the band’s bassist Marc Brownstein invited fans to post their fantasy playlist (or “setlist”) on his Facebook page. The lists and songs that garnered the most “likes” from fans visiting his page, were performed at the music festival.

The Biscuits in Action

Disco Biscuits pride themselves on interacting with their dedicated fans, who follow them avidly on tour and passionately share, on an assortment of forums, opinions, recordings, and information about the band’s music, movements and antics. Given this unique trait, more akin to that of sports stars than pop stars, it seemed logical for the band (a move most music fans dream of) to integrate their own fans into shaping the setlists for their upcoming event.

“It may just be the energy of the crowd on a given night, or we may take setlists on Facebook and consider those. Either way, it is great for both the fans and the band to have this mutual connection.” Marc Brownstein

The use of crowdsourcing was, according to reports, a big hit at Camp Bisco which opened with the funky titled track House Dog Party. The setlist also featured renditions of their recent single ,Portal to an Empty Head, and by far one the most requested choice thanks to crowdsourcing, a cover of the theme to the cult 80’s TV show Knight Rider. The selections made by fans met with the band’s approval with Brownstein describing them as “pretty much right on”.

Disco Biscuits are a band whose success is entirely dependant on the continued support from the fans, since they do not necessarily enjoy the usual type of commercial exposure afforded more popular acts, i.e. lucrative recording contracts and lots of radio air play. By including the fans in every aspect of their work, tours and events such as Camp Bisco can be tailor-made to the fans’ desires making it an enjoyable experience and ensuring a loyal fan base. Crowdsourcing, as evidenced by the recent success of Camp Bisco, ensures that both the artists and the fans get what they want.