Foreign bands at SXSW

As I have mentioned before, the purpose of SXSW has changed from selling Austin bands to the world to selling foreign bands to the US.

It's a trade fair, and foreign economic development groups rent space and throw parties.

CMT.com, 3/13/07 - Australian Musicians Find an Audience at SXSW: "As Australian and New Zealand's representative for SXSW, Phil Tripp is shepherding approximately 450 people to the conference. More than 250 of those are delegates directly involved in the music business. The rest are members and crews of 40 bands.

'Because we're such consummate performers -- born and blooded from the vital pub scene in Australia and used to performing in front of unrelenting audiences in beer barns behind the crash barriers -- our bands are at a showcase advantage over their somewhat performance-deprived overseas counterparts,' he says. 'Also it's a great place to do business since our music is primarily rock, contemporary with a bit of alt-country and folky genres thrown in.'

Tripp cites distance and expense as the biggest challenges faced by Australian musicians trying to break into the U.S. market. 'Why sign an Aussie country band, which has to travel 10,000 miles and operate under strict visa conditions, when there are 500 equally talented country bands just over the border in Canada, chomping at the bit to get in?' he asks. 'And we have to be willing to part with families while constantly touring to make an impact, not being able to count on audiences, airplay and contacts that we had developed back home.'"

economic development
SXSW