The lure of the live music experience

San Francisco Bay Guardian, 5/23/07 - Show me: "Pavlov's e-mail robot knows what gets me salivating — aside from those wolf beach towels on Amazon.com (wintry wolves and hot sand go together about as well as infants and live grenades): namely, live music. Drive blearily into the Mojave for Coachella, jump through hoops to get to Seattle for Bumbershoot, make the red-eye to Austin for South by Southwest, take the midnight train to Tennessee's Bonnaroo, hock yourself for England's All Tomorrow's Parties, hazard reindeer sashimi for Reykjavik's Iceland Airwaves — take note of the chart; I have a history of doing anything for a life-altering show."

Denver indie labels

Denver has seen an explosion of talented indie bands in recent years and this article mentions some of the local labels working with them

The Denver Post - Local bands in tune with indie spirit

Festivals and sponsors

Although SXSW is arguing that they are trying to limit day parties so that the best acts don't just play corporate parties, that's not a very viable argument. SXSW has already gone on record saying this is an event for industry people, not fans, so having corporate day parties pitched to fans shouldn't be an issue.

Rather, SXSW, like the Olympics and other sponsored events, is trying to maximize the value it provides to paid sponsors and to limit ambush marketing.

However, as this blog entry points out, eliminating the unofficial day parties will likely eliminate opportunities for many bands to play. And a free-for-all, like Burning Man, may be more in keeping with indie music.

South by Southwest Festival - Reviews From the Music Festival in Austin, Texas - New York Times: "MAR. 18 | 5:40 PM
The Fort By JEFF LEEDS

... the Fort isn't affiliated with SxSW, officially. It's a project of the Fader magazine and other corporate sponsors: the big one is Levi's, but there is also signage for Microsoft, which kindly left out free stacks of Zune coasters to replace those shiny plastic discs people have been using. Anyway, the Fort is a leading example of what might be called the "shadow" SxSW, a sprawling array of private advertiser-backed parties that run day and night here in bars, clubs and temporary spaces built alongside the festival's official showcases. There are so many of these events -- sponsored by magazines, record labels, blogs and digital-music companies -- that a visitor to Austin last week could see many of the festival's major attractions, including performers like Amy Winehouse, without registering for the convention at all.

It's a tricky situation. The parties, collectively, give more bands chances to be seen (at least by whomever the advertisers choose to put on their guest lists). But SxSW has built a huge, reputable convention and festival, winnowing down its official performers from thousands of applicants -- maybe a modest imprimatur, but a genuine one. So does that mean the advertiser parties are parasitical, diluting the convention? Or do they create a symbiosis that lets more artists be seen and heard by more people?

It's a tension that hangs over all manner of arts events, from the Sundance film festival Park City, Utah, to the electronic/dance-centric Winter Music Conference in Miami.

But this year SxSW's annoyance with the proliferation of advertiser events has turned into a quiet crackdown. In particular, festival veterans point to a little-noticed lawsuit SxSW filed in a Texas court last November against Jelly NYC and LIVEstyle Entertainment, two New York event promoters who had planned to stage an day party or similar event at a downtown club called Speakeasy, a bit more than a block away from Sixth Street, the strip of bars and clubs at the heart of the festival. According to the lawsuit, the promoters were pitching advertisers on the idea of creating an event there called the "Concert Series at SxSW" and seeking a main sponsor who would pay $200,000 to be part of it.

SxSW sued the promoters for alleged trademark infringement. But the legal papers indicate the festival organizers want to do more than simply keep such corporate-backed events at arm's length. SxSW did not only ask for a court order preventing Jelly NYC and LIVEstyle from mentioning the festival by name in their marketing materials; organizers asked the court to block the promoters of "sponsoring, producing or participating in" any music event at all in the entire county during the running of the official SxSW. (The promoters pulled the event).

Critics suggest that SxSW is being overly protective and is actually reducing opportunities for artists to attend the festival, since the advertisers sometimes pay the way for bands to come; SxSW doesn't.

Roland Swenson, one of SxSW's three principals and its managing director, said he finds it odd that advertisers would accuse him of heavy-handedness. "We have these billion-dollar corporations that come in and cast themselves as the young rebels," he said. "They're not really willing to acknowledge that we created this environment that they're here to use for their own purposes."

Mr. Swenson said the advertisers ˜ many of which hold invitation-only events ˜ run counter to the "egalitarian" spirit of SxSW, where anyone who pays the registration fee has access to its events. An even bigger concern is the festival's continuing ability to book the best performers for its own official showcases.

'Frequently, the big fight for us is over the talent,' he said. 'What we are worried about is South by Southwest turning into an event where the acts that are most in demand only play these private corporate parties. If it turns into that, then why would anyone sign up for our event?'"

SXSW
music festival
indie

A great quote about SXSW

I saw this in the print edition of The Onion about their day party. It seems to sum up the reason there are so many of them.

"Throwing your own party means you automatically have someplace to go."

Also, there was this on the party shutdowns.

"A series of text confirms that the cops have broken up nearly every scheduled after-party already. We smell a conspiracy. Could the SXSW committee by colluding with the police to put a stop to every unofficial showcase? Or has the Austin PD really just had it with turning a blind eye to all the late-night partying? Staying up until the wee hours at Factory People is one of our favorite SXSW traditions, and this year, it's been taken from us."

SXSW

The other side of the SXSW story

If any of you is contemplating putting on a music festival, you should probably follow along with the discussions concerning SXSW.

One thing that is particularly interesting is that if you live by the blog, you can die (or more accurately, be stung) by the blog.

The Austin Chronicle: Columns: SXSW Is for Lovers: "4) There are two major areas of discussion regarding SXSW 07 that raise legitimate concerns (keeping in mind that 'concerns' and 'damning, vicious assumptions' are by no means the same thing). The city waived $90,000 in fees for SXSW 07, and since I have recently written about how the city has not given SXSW financial support, I have to address this issue.

The other area of concern is that a number of non-SXSW parties were shut down during the Festival, and many blame SXSW for this. They insist that SXSW specifically targeted certain parties, which they had the fire marshals close down.

These accusations not only made the backlash more public than usual, but were taken as a license – especially by the most hate-intoxicated, self-righteously enraged bloggers – that anything they felt like saying about SXSW could and should be posted. Many felt they had the right to state any charge against SXSW that came their way – not as a possibility and/or an accusation, but as an undeniable truth. Although these charges were sometimes rather disingenuously framed as 'questions,' they almost always were in actuality offered as statements of absolute fact."

SXSW
music festival

The Truth about SXSW

Drowned in Sound - Features - DiS @ SXSW: the review: "There are two, equally honest, depictions of SXSW. The one whereby you stumble upon the greatest new band in the galaxy playing to seven people, and (more likely) the scenario where you go see a band filled with hope only to realise that, frankly, they’re pretty rubbish. Unfortunately for DiS, the first band we see is local trio Che Arthur of Austin, at Habanna Calle 6 Patio, and they’re just not very good. A plodding, grunting, angsty power trio, they offer little hope that they’ll ever be anything but. It’s a stark reminder that of the 1,500-or-so bands playing the event, the majority just won’t be that good.

Another oddity is why people travel four thousand miles to check out a band they probably wouldn’t go see on a Tuesday night out in Camden. Hence the incongruity of seeing Brighton quartet Smallwhitelight at Habana Calle 6 Annex. There are a large number of UK-spawned A&R types out watching the band, somehow re-enthused by the exoticness of seeing an unsigned UK band playing in Austin. Despite (or because of?) the miles travelled from Sussex to Texas, they’re still not great at all. They leave us with a feeling of going to Barbados and deciding to watch Watford play football on a bar room telly rather than hitting the beach."

SXSW

More on SXSW-gate

Part of a letter from the venue owner whose party was shut down. You can read the entire letter by clicking on the link.

SXSW Conspiracy, Part Infinity | The M.O.

“In the three years that we have had our S. Congress retail store open, we have hosted numerous parties the largest during SXSW and ACL Fest. We have always gone out of our way to create a safe environment that is also law abiding. As such, we employ two off-duty APD officers to monitor such things as crowd control, noise levels, as well as to provide a level of service to our guests like flagging taxis at the end of the night (which we sometimes pay for if the guests have had too much to drink and can’t afford the fare). Two weeks before our most recent event, Officer Tankaksinanukij set up a time to visit us and discuss details. On the day of the event, two other officers stopped by get more information as well. We were never asked once if we were in possession of the public assembly permit. This new ordinance was news not only to us, but to the very professional and informed officers that we hired for our event. Would we have known about this new ordinance if we had been in communication with the Fire Department? We’re not so confident.

“Los Angeles based label-head and promoter Franki Chan made multiple trips to Austin organizing his official SXSW showcase and two after-parties. The fire inspector visited the site of one event numerous times last week and never discussed the ordinance nor did he ever request a copy of any permits (with full understanding of the large-scale event that was going to take place there). The night after our event was shut down, Franki’s party was too for the same reason - lack of permit.

“We might have been two of the biggest events to be shut down, but we weren’t the only ones. Parties in conference rooms, outdoor venues, established party spaces and downtown clubs were all affected. The Fire Inspector had direct orders to shut these parties down, not for safety issues, but for non-compliance to a mystery ordinance. Visitors from all over the world who descend upon Austin every year for the music festival were left wondering, what is going on?

SXSW

More on SXSW-gate

Here's a list of quotes someone compiled and published on the unofficial sxsw list.

Statesman:
-Swenson: "We believe everybody deserves equal scrutiny."

-"[Asst. Fire Marshall Dan Smith] said, fire marshals did not go to all the venues on the list because many of the nearly 80 locations,including the Austin Convention Center, were obviously going to be in compliance."

News 8 Austin:
"South by Southwest does make complaints. We did receive some complaints saying this is going to happen from SXSW. We did receive complaints from nightclubs saying this other night club is going to do this or that. We don't necessarily care SXSW or non-SXSW. Doesn't matter," he said.

SXSW director Roland Swenson said lists of non-sanctioned SXSW parties are easy to come by - even the Austin American-Statesman prints one. And he doesn't deny sharing it with the fire department.

"We had a list of every event in Austin that we knew about - parties, clubs, everything. We said, 'if you're going to lean on our clubs then here's the rest of SXSW. You have to pay attention to this to.' And apparently they did," he said."

Statesman:(http://tinyurl.com/277tbc)
"Los Angeles based label-head and promoter Franki Chan made multiple trips to Austin organizing his official SXSW showcase and two after-parties. The fire inspector visited the site of one event numerous times last week and never discussed the ordinance nor did he ever request a copy of any permits (with full understanding of the large-scale event that was going to take place there). The night after our event was shut down, Frankiís party was too for the same reason - lack of permit."

Austinist (http://tinyurl.com/ywcxnx)
Swenson: "#1 "Ultimately, FactoryPeople didn't obtain the permits and we
accept full responsibility"

We have to wonder how you've lived in Austin all this time and were unaware of how many times the Austin Fire Department has cracked down on venues at all times of the year and have shut down or delayed SXSW shows. The first thing SXSW does when we get a new venue for a show or party is find out if the Fire Department is going to let us have an event there, and how many people we can admit. The assembly permit is not new. You ask "Would we have known about this new ordinance if we had been in communication with the Fire Department?" It's a stunning admission that you didn't even bother to check on what permits are required by the Fire Marshals to hold a safe, public, advertised event."

"When this accusation started spreading this week we looked into it and could only find seven parties that were affected out of the literally hundreds held last week. Four parties shut down early due to lack of load cards and fire inspections. One party shut down because part of a balcony collapsed. Two parties ended at 2am instead of their advertised 4am end times. Maybe there were more, but we don't know because we were a little busy last week with our own event."

SXSW

More on SXSW permits

SXSW parties chafe at shutdowns over permit: "The party at Factory People was one of 330 occupancy inspections, including multiple visits to some venues, performed by fire officials during South by Southwest, Smith said.

And fire inspectors worked more than 98 hours of overtime trying to make sure buildings were safe for the people inside, Smith said. 'They may believe what they have is a safe operation, but that may not necessarily be the case,' Smith said. 'They need to understand that safety is the most important thing.'

The permit was meant to provide a way for venues to host parties legally and give fire inspectors an easier way to judge on the spot whether a building had been inspected, Smith said.

'It makes it easier for everybody,' he said. 'We know they're legal, they know they're legal.'

Before that, fire inspectors would write inspection reports allowing businesses to temporarily change their use, but no permit was required.

He said about 30 events — mostly at fraternity houses — were shut down last year for not having the proper public assembly permit.

Smith said seven places received temporary change of use permits last week. He said gatherings like house parties typically don't need the permit, and the fire department has never issued one for a residence.

Meanwhile, Le Popov said she had been in contact with the city in the days leading up to the party and no one told her about the permit requirement. She said she did not consult with the fire department and would have applied for the permit had she known about it.

The store has been open for four years, and the Popovs said they have never been shut down before.

Their experience this year, however, has made them rethink whether to have any more parties during South by Southwest at all. 'As long as there is a level of hostility between (the city, South by Southwest and other businesses), people are going to continue to be shut down,' Le Popov said.

'I just don't want to be put in a position where I'm doing so much on my own (for South by Southwest) and risk relationships with sponsors, customers and guests.'"

SXSW

Getting permits for your SXSW day parties

Even though over 1400 bands get slots in official SXSW showcases, a lot of bands do not. So if they want to play there, they look for day shows and unofficial showcases.

And some bands are now going so far as to set up their own parties. Some are in conjunction with SXSW and are listed on the SXSW site. Many others are unofficial.

As it turns out, if you plan to throw your own party open to the public for more than 49 people, you better have the right permits or you might be reported.

News 8 Austin Story : Fire marshals shut down unauthorized SXSW parties - 3/21/2007 6:50:05 PM: "'South by Southwest does make complaints. We did receive some complaints saying this is going to happen from SXSW. We did receive complaints from nightclubs saying this other night club is going to do this or that. We don't necessarily care SXSW or non-SXSW. Doesn't matter,' [Assistant Fire Marshall Don Smith] said.

SXSW director Roland Swenson said lists of non-sanctioned SXSW parties are easy to come by - even the Austin American-Statesman prints one. And he doesn't deny sharing it with the fire department.

'We had a list of every event in Austin that we knew about - parties, clubs, everything. We said, 'if you're going to lean on our clubs then here's the rest of SXSW. You have to pay attention to this to.' And apparently they did,' he said....

'Whether they were vindictive or not, SXSW has to comply with all the requirements. They send us a list of every venue they have and have to comply with all the requirements, I think for the city of Austin to be safe everybody has to comply with all the requirements,' Smith said."

SXSW

Another SXSW observation

Houston Press, 3/22/07: "Today, South by Southwest has evolved into a binary event.

By night, it is the same as it ever was. Bands play showcases in attempts to play the music game by the old rules -- to impress journalists, promoters, label execs and other such old-school music biz riff-raff in order to sell CDs, get signed or put together a few tour dates.

By day, when the buzz bands play the corporate shindigs, it's a different story, one that is by turns thrilling, fascinating, repellent and scary. At events like Fader's, not even some of the most exciting acts in the world can conceal the fact that, as far as corporate America is concerned, the sale of music is no longer an end in itself. It is just another accoutrement of a fashionable lifestyle, a mixer to pour in your cup with your Southern Comfort and perhaps slosh on your brand-new Levi's. Sales of recorded sound aren't carrying the bacon anymore, so music is now seen as a keyhole to unlock the kids, so that you can sell them stuff that actually has the kind of value you can see on a bottom line."

SXSW

Another great SXSW line

UGO: Report From the Front: SXSW Music Festival, Part 2 - Home: "Let's face it - after a couple of days, all the indie rockers and indie fans start to blend together. Unless you're Oreska Band or that guy who was walking around 6th Street with his pants off, people generally aren't going to notice you."

SXSW

A great description of SXSW

UGO: Report From the Front: SXSW Music Festival - Home: "This formerly little southern indie festival has grown and grown until it's become a full-on spectacle, with long lines at just about every show, corporate sponsorships, and lots of people barfing out the side of their cars at the McDonald's drive-through at 3 in the morning. Music rules."

The article goes on to say: "SXSW is all about lines. There are lines for just about every show, even for bands nobody knows. There are lines in the convention center, even when everybody seems like they're standing in line for a show. Sometimes, it seems like people are just standing in line for the sheer enjoyment of it. And, you know, after a while, it does get kind of fun. And if you're on 6th Avenue, you'll have plenty of chances to do it - Austin's main music drag is full of bars and clubs, and during SXSW, there's a seemingly constant stream of bands playing. Walking down the closed-off street, you're assaulted by the sounds of rocking out coming from all angles, and it's a fun game to pretend that the music you hear swirling out of that obscure basement bar might be coming from tomorrow's next big thing."

SXSW

Too much at SXSW

SXSW Notes: The Band Glut And Diminishing Returns: "Bands at SXSW scream 'Look at me! Look at me!' at attendees spending days in Austin being completely saturated by marketing stimuli (beers, clothing companies, record labels, etc). How can a band get attention? It's difficult to be remembered given the quantity of bands, the social aspect of the events and the availability of free alcohol.

... While SXSW itself benefits from the quantity of bands, attendees and bands can easily miss making an important connection....

For me, SXSW was more of a social event than a music event. I got to catch up with a lot of friends -- it seemed like half of New York City was in Austin. Not surprisingly, I can't really remember much about the bands I saw."

SXSW
music festival

SXSW brings money and visibility to Austin

This article discusses SXSW's financial impact on Austin. While this year's numbers are not yet in, the festival was bigger than last year's, so the assumption is that the financial numbers will be higher as well.

A SXSW spokesperson says that the festival is only modestly profitable, however.

Austin's financial windfall from South by Southwest larger than last year - Top Stories: "This year's South by Southwest festival drew at least as much as last year's revenue of $38 million for city businesses, according to the Austin Convention and Visitors Bureau. Last year's conference was the biggest in the festival's 21-year history, and participation for this year's festival was even larger, with the number of music artists increased to 11,000 from around 10,200 last year.

In the past few years of its exponential growth, SXSW has become more profitable to Austin's economy than other popular public events such as Austin City Limits Music Festival, which brings in $27 million, and UT home football games, which bring in $23 million annually, according to the bureau."

Austin
SXSW
tourism
music festival
economic development

Behind the scenes at a festival

If you want to know what goes into providing enough equipment during SXSW, this article will give you a look.

Gotta get the gear to the gig: "Since most of the foreign acts fly to SXSW, they usually travel with only guitars and drumsticks and have to rent drums, amps, keyboards and, in the case of Gang of Four last year, a microwave, which was used for percussion.

Also, the proliferation of daytime parties, which are often staged in places that don't have live music for 360 days out of the year, has added to the workload.

Five years ago, the Music Lab provided backline (drums and amplifiers) and a public address system for exactly one party. This year, they're doing 10 a day. ...

Last year, 27 trucks did the job of delivering the equipment to the venues. This year, the Music Lab had to rent an additional 17."

music festival
SXSW

How Britain plays the SXSW game

This is a good article on how Britain uses SXSW to launch and market acts in the US and even as way to get more press coverage at home.

The line I like best is about making up a band and getting people to talk about it. In fact, I have wondered if you can go one step further and generate the buzz and not bother to attend SXSW at all -- just make people think you had performed there.

Independent Online Edition, 3/15/07 - Movers, shakers and music makers: The festival that rocks the world: "For 10 days, Austin becomes the pole of a humming magnetic field of obsessive attention. 'SXSW is valuable because if you hit your straps and the main newspapers are there and they write it up, things can happen,' says Stewart. 'US agents and radio stations all pay attention to it. I remember flying down to Austin with the critic from the Chicago Tribune. He was going to file at least two pages' worth of stories every day.'

As recently as 2001, a mere 23 artists travelled from the UK to attend South by Southwest. This year that figure has mushroomed to 123, which means the Brits account for more than half of all the overseas performers in attendance. Previously, British acts considered SXSW important because of the access it afforded to the ever-desirable US market. That remains true, but such is the international pull of the event that it can even offer a better-than-average chance of being spotted by the British press, since so many of them fly out to cover the occasion.

But any vestiges of the notion that SXSW represents independence, self-reliance and the spirit of DIY have all but vanished. It's an intense scramble for attention, and if you've managed to get selected from the heaving scrum, you'd better be ready to make the best of the opportunity.

'Lots of US marketing campaigns for UK artists are very much centred on SXSW,' points out Paul Williams, the managing editor of Music Week. 'For example, albums by James Morrison and Amy Winehouse are both being released this week in America, all because SXSW is this week. Plans are very much keyed into it, and the campaigns are angled on how best to make use of this event and the platform it offers.' ...

Every year, the UK papers run a clutch of reports from SXSW intended to celebrate the freewheeling diversity and rich cultural range of the event, but often they convey mostly chaos and incoherence, as the writers stumble around town, pinging the top off another Corona while trying to decide which harbinger of the new musical revolution to go and listen to next. With countless acts playing-off-the-cuff gigs at all times of day in venues ranging from backyards to lobbies and parking lots, myths and rumours breed like plankton. As one British visitor put it: 'You could just invent a couple of bands and tell people to go check them out, and they'd quickly become a must-see act.' ...

'I suppose an event like this can become a victim of its own success,' suggests Williams. 'The impression I get is that every year it becomes more difficult to get into the gigs you want to go to, because how do you plough through 1,500 acts in four days? Then, even when you've worked out which acts you're going to see, the acts that are in demand are so over-subscribed that you probably have to turn up hours before they play to have a chance of getting into the venue. You might say "I really want to see so-and-so", but thousands of other people want to see them as well.'"

SXSW
music promotion
England
Britain

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

Canada at SXSW

CNW Group: "The Canada Stand will function as business and meeting centre at SXSW's music trade show. The stand will house meeting areas, display areas, a message centre and a resource centre for all things Canadian. The Canadian BBQ, the essential jump-start to the Canadian experience at SXSW, will be held on Wednesday, March 14, 2007, from 3 to 7p.m. in Brush Square Park. Partners are looking to reap individual benefit from the strong unified presence of Canadians at SXSW and from the multi-faceted outreach of the Canadian Blast programme. A record number of over 400 Canadian registrants will attend SXSW this year. 'I have come to rely on my yearly trips to SXSW to reconnect with those industry friends that remain active and to meet new players in the new game,' says Toronto management company Bumstead Productions president Larry Wanagas. 'This is an invaluable opportunity to connect with people from around the world, present our clients to the world, and to see bands from everywhere.'"

SXSW
Canada
economic development

What is the coolest festival?

By the time a band is accepted for SXSW, it's already on someone's radar. I noticed that every Colorado band playing an official showcase this year is with a recognized label of some sort. There are no unsigned bands representing the state.

So to get your invite to SXSW, someone is lobbying for you to get in and you are therefore no longer undiscovered.

If SXSW has become the voice of the "establishment," where should one go to truly find the next thing? The thing that is so cool, so new, so underground that almost no one knows about it yet, but they will.

Any suggestions? Is there a place where creativity abounds, but there is no media lurking to corrupt/exploit it? Where no one is recording every note, every move for YouTube?

If you wanted to scoop the music world, where would you go?