SXSW is a whirlwind ten days of music, film, and interactive buzz, with conferences, live events, street parties, guerrilla marketing campaigns and networking events. We headed down for the music portion of the 2011 festival, and managed to see and support some great artists and businesses, new and old. From the Red Bull DJ App launch party with Felix Da Housecat, to the Topspin and Berklee events, to Martin Atkins’ party:smart and more, Austin created a lasting impression, and ignited a desire to delve deeper into the ever-changing music business at a grass roots level, as well as a spark to already start planning for SXSW 2012.
Wondering what it would be like to cram all of the above into a one and a half minute audio-visual overload? Something like this…
This will be my first year attending the South By South West Music and Media Conference (SXSW). I’ll be heading down to Austin to represent Music Jobs and network with a heap of other musicians, small businesses and music industry visionaries. 2010 saw over 13,000 conference participants from 49 different countries, and nearly 20,000 attending the trade show. Then you have the thousands of workshops, film screenings, and unofficial parties. It all became rather daunting, and so I turned to Martin Atkins, a SXSW regular and author of Tour:smart for some advice, tips, and general positive vibes.
How many times have you attended SXSW, and how many times have you spoken / held events?
I’ve been for the last 4 years straight and presented each time for SXSW – embroidering around the event with other stuff like DJing at the Red Bull party or doing something with the Austin Music Foundation.
What kind of people attend SXSW?
Everyone goes – from new aspiring bands to agents managers labels and lots and lots of companies that want to sell stuff to you….it’s the full spectrum of plant life – it’s a great place to see all of the layers of the multicolored shit cake that is the music business.
What are your plans for this year?
The night before it all starts i’m doing Party:Smart with Austin Music Foundation and Memphis Music Foundation – some advice and some great bands – Asleep have a 15′ robot, One Eyed Doll are tremendously inspiring from all angles, and I’m going to be all over the place this time; offering free advice, hanging out, seeing some bands, seeing who is doing interesting stuff. My event (Welcome to the Music Business – You’re Fucked) is early on the Wednesday morning – 11am at the convention center. Then there is a book signing and a panel with an attorney and me (Getting Band Business Done Smart) – kind of duelling opinions about the viability of the legal position vs the street level down and dirty version (thats me!) on Friday at noon and 3:30pm respectively.
What is your favorite SXSW story / memory?
Meeting Kimberly from One Eyed Doll – she had bought Tour:Smart right when it came out and implemeted a bunch of strategies from it – making her own shirts one at a time with spray bleach! inspiring stuff for any business – it was terrific and unforgettable.
What is the biggest mistake that first-timers make?
Thinking that it is going to make a huge difference – it IS, but not immediately, and its a cumulative effect – the second time will be better than the first, the third better than the second, etc. It’s a baptism of fire and you see very very quickly just what and how much you are really up against. It’s easy on the road to think that there are three other bands at the venue you are playing at, and maybe a few other shows in town that night that you are competing with, but at SXSW there are 5,000 or 6,000 bands performing many shows – it either pushes you faster and further OR back into bed to hibernate.
Which bands / musicians are you going to try and see perform this year?
I have NO idea who is going to be there, I haven’t managed to plan ANYTHING other than a stop in Memphis on the way down. I was in a nasty car accident a couple of weeks ago and its kind of f*cked me up a little.
What are your top 3 SXSW tips?
1 – This might run absolutely contrary to anything that you really WANT to do…but, drink in extreme moderation. Things happen from 10 am- including open bars – and, unless you are English, you won’t be able to pace yourself. Or, if you can, you will totally FAIL at day 2,3,4,or 5……. it’s too important to miss half of it puking in a toilet or some lovely girl’s hair.
2 – Blog/message/video constantly. Don’t wait to edit and perfect it – upload the motherf*cker immediately while people still care and are searching for hash tags.
3 – Pay attention to the streets and everyone else’s stuff. I think it’s a much better way of making an impression, or a contact, or a friend, than trying to impress someone with your really great songs – even if they are really great you aren’t getting a soundcheck and the bass player will swallow a wasp or something ……so, yeah and dont be an asshole.
If any of our members are attending this year, or thinking of going, then let us know! We are happy to meet / mingle / share advice / talk music in general.
Dubspot and Ableton present the LA stop of their “Live 8 U.S. Sessions Tour”
Workshops & Panel Discussions Featuring World-Class Artists
@ King King in Hollywood – Saturday, Nov. 7 and Sunday, Nov. 8, 2009 (daytime)
Dubspot, New York’s premier DJ and electronic music production institute, announces the Los Angeles stop of their Ableton Live 8 U.S. Sessions Tour. This unique series of interactive workshops, Q&As and panel discussions features a diverse pool of world-class artists as well as Dubspot’s top-notch instructors sharing methods for the studio and the stage, centered around the powerful music software Ableton Live 8. Special guest workshop presenters for the Los Angeles weekend include Scientist, Daedelus, Kid Beyond, Justin Boreta, Christopher Willits, Thavius Beck, and Peter Kirn, along with the Dubspot crew. The LA session will be held at King King in Hollywood (6553 Hollywood Blvd / map) on Saturday November 7 (11:00am – 7:00pm) and Sunday November 8 (noon – 8:00pm), 2009. For details and registration please visit www.live8tour.com.
Check out their previous tour stop in NYC, and hear one heck of an endorsement from legendary DJ and producer Richie Hawtin.
This truly unique educational experience is intended to help both aspiring as well as established artists. Each day is organized into five “sessions” designed to develop a diverse range of production and performance skills, while enhancing creative abilities. Saturday sessions focus on production. Sunday sessions focus on performance. Tour workshops showcase how far-reaching the capabilities of Ableton Live 8 are by covering a wide variety of compositional, programming, mixing, and mastering issues. Topics include drum-programming, instrument and effect rack management, sequencing, automation, creating melody, harmonic awareness, mixing and mastering principles, sound stage management, synth programming, PA/DJ hybrid setups, controllers, live instruments in Ableton, efficient set management, looping, routing, licensing, and much more.
The tour involves pioneers of electronic music, along with new blood, to provide a more complete experience and perspective of yesterday, today, and tomorrow. In addition to the special guests lined up in each city, expert Dubspot instructors will present personally developed production and performance strategies in a dynamic interactive workshop environment.
The Los Angeles event is the third stop in a series of Ableton workshops that Dubspot is presenting in 8 U.S. cities. Next up on the tour is Austin, with the event to be held at The Parish Room on November 14th and 15th. Presenters and performers at the Austin event include Francis Preve (Different Pieces, Fap 7), Christopher Willits (Ghostly International, Overlap.org), Daniel Wyatt (Sonica Media Group, Atlantic), Jon Margulies (Heatercore, Hobotech), Barry Cole (Spot Music & Blue Mountain Music Publishing), and Michael Hatsis (Track Team Audio).
Again, the LA session will be held at King King in Hollywood (6553 Hollywood Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90028; 323-960-5765 (map)) on Saturday November 7 (11:00am – 7:00pm) and Sunday November 8 (noon – 8:00pm), 2009. A weekend pass costs $195; a Saturday or Sunday day-pass costs $110. For details and registration please visit www.live8tour.com.
For more information on Dubspot, please check out www.dubspot.com
