Geek Pop

Geek Pop is a free online music festival featuring artists inspired by science. It was established in 2008 and since 2009 has coincided with National Science and Engineering Week in the UK. In the first festival, hosted by the website Null Hypothesis: The Journal of Unlikely Science attendees were only able to download a podcast featuring songs about science as a radio-style festival report. From 2009, the festival moved to its own website where listeners could listen to a variety of free music and download the radio-style report podcasts, called the "highlights podcast". The Geek Pop website also produces a monthly podcast and has hosted live events.

Online festivals first began in 2003 at the Exposure Festival. Online festivals have a set launch time, but do not happen in a fixed location. They are available online after their launch date.

Similar to festivals, online festivals have a set time and celebrate a particular aspect of a community, albeit an online community. The emergence of social media has enabled online festivals to allow people to communicate to each other during the online festival. At Geek Pop festivals, this communication is primarily achieved through an online "bar", which uses Twitter on the website to show tweets about Geek Pop.

There are environmental benefits to having an online festival as opposed to, or in conjunction with, a real festival. Half of the acts playing in 2008 were from overseas, but no carbon was used to "bring" them to a primarily UK audience. There is no litter or waste generated by the festival and the majority of the marketing is done online, reducing the amount of paper needed.

Geek Pop '08 was mentioned during podcasts from the Guardian and Nature, receiving positive reviews from both – "There were many highlights, but [our] pick of the bunch [is] Dark Matter by science troubadour Johnny Berliner", said Nature. Laboratory Talk said that, "this virtual festival has much to commend it… My personal highpoint was the aching rendition of Hotel Mauna Kea by the Photomixers, demonstrating simultaneously pathos, humour, and even a little musical talent." Since March 2008 it has also been featured on Australia's Diffusion Science Radio's 2008 Christmas Special as well as the Mr Science Show.

...
Wikipedia