Phish.net is a non-commercial project run by Phish fans and for Phish fans under the auspices of the all-volunteer, non-profit Mockingbird Foundation.
This project serves to compile, preserve, and protect encyclopedic information about Phish and their music.
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The Mockingbird Foundation is a non-profit organization founded by Phish fans in 1996 to generate charitable proceeds from the Phish community.
And since we're entirely volunteer – with no office, salaries, or paid staff – administrative costs are less than 2% of revenues! So far, we've distributed over $2 million to support music education for children – hundreds of grants in all 50 states, with more on the way.
Not sure whether you're joking or serious, but the defining of "unique" songs is less arbitrary and silly as it might seem. Phishnet and the online community that compile setlists has been around for over 20 years, and has published several setlist books (The Phish Companion) that depend on defining what a unique "song" is (and what it's title is), because lots of songs have evolved over the years from bits and pieces.
It's also important that each song be identified by its one unique name, because that's how the stats engine of this site developed by David (ZZYZX) Steinberg requires each of Phish's currently > 830 songs to be a separate "data unit" in a database that can be linked to venues and dates, and be crunched with "your shows" to produce "your stats" or "gaps".
Because all of this starts with just posting the setlists, this site still has many people who not only compile the setlists (and check with the band as to new songs and other questions that come up and are shown in the song notes and show notes for a setlist).
More information on the "site team" and the work that goes into setlists and song histories can be seen on the Phish.net homepage footer links under "About".