The city of Austin is known as the live music capital of the world. South by Southwest has, in the past two decades, grown into a mega festival showcasing new talent - at least that's how the founders had envisioned it. Twenty years later SXSW is compared to Sundance Film festival for becoming the go to place for finding new talent, signing new talent, and showcasing old talent after a makeover.
This piece explores the festival's history, mission, and how its face has changed over the years. Has its identity been exploited by giant media companies to pass off their roster of talents as a SXSW find? Do smaller bands, with less money and push behind them, still get to play to a major audience? Or has it become a giant party for industry darlings to gather once a year to tout their new hot catch? And most of all, how important is this festival for new talent in the MySpace and DYI age?
If you like your listeners to have an all around idea of what SXSW is about, then this is the piece to air. SXSW is just around the corner, by the way.
Review of Buzz, Bands and the Biz: Why SXSW Matters
Emon Hassan
Posted on March 04, 2007 at 03:00 PM
The city of Austin is known as the live music capital of the world. South by Southwest has, in the past two decades, grown into a mega festival showcasing new talent - at least that's how the founders had envisioned it. Twenty years later SXSW is compared to Sundance Film festival for becoming the go to place for finding new talent, signing new talent, and showcasing old talent after a makeover.
This piece explores the festival's history, mission, and how its face has changed over the years. Has its identity been exploited by giant media companies to pass off their roster of talents as a SXSW find? Do smaller bands, with less money and push behind them, still get to play to a major audience? Or has it become a giant party for industry darlings to gather once a year to tout their new hot catch? And most of all, how important is this festival for new talent in the MySpace and DYI age?
If you like your listeners to have an all around idea of what SXSW is about, then this is the piece to air. SXSW is just around the corner, by the way.