Is that a consortium? I work at a big tech company and our customers also request features of which we are the final arbiter. Does that make us a consortium?
Without a central arbiter who takes responsibility for producing a consistent and coherent design, you would likely end up with a mish mash of pet features.
If a customer asks for a feature, you can say no if it is a bad choice. You have less leverage to do so when that 'customer' is really a paying member of a consortium.
