Fact #64797
When:
Short story:
The SXSW (South By Southwest) Festival begins in Austin, Texas, USA.
Over the next five days more than 1400 aspiring music acts will perform on over eighty stages in downtown Austin, hoping to catch the eyes and ears of the army of A+R gurus, promoters, music biz lawyers, indie label bosses and others who attend the event.
Full article:
LOST IN AUSTIN?
By Johnny Black
Since its start in 1987, The South By Southwest (SXSW) Festival in Austin, Texas, has become world-renowned as the ultimate showcase for emerging musical talent from around the globe. Between March 18 and 22 more than 1400 aspiring music acts will strut their stuff on over eighty stages in downtown Austin, hoping to catch the eyes and ears of the army of AAndR gurus, promoters, music biz lawyers, indie label bosses and others who attend the event.
The way it works is that artists interested in performing at SXSW complete an online application and submit music which is then graded by the festival’s committee of music biz sages. If everything meets their stringent criteria, the artist is invited to attend.
COSTS
So far, so simple, and the official briefing document for UK applicants describes SXSW as “a practical and cost-effective method to connect with press, radio and other music industry players.” Cost-effective, however, doesn’t mean cheap. A conservative estimate puts the cost of a flying visit to Austin upwards of $2,000 per person, and that’s before factoring in any marketing or promotion spend.
The most obvious question for any struggling wannabe superstar has to be, “Is it worth it?” Unfortunately, there’s no simple answer. If the trip lands you a recording contract, a lucrative tour offer, some helpful contacts or even helps you decide that the music industry isn’t for you, then maybe it is worthwhile. The harsh reality, though, is that the vast bulk of the artists who go will have a ton of fun but come home empty-handed, which begs the second question.
POTENTIAL BENEFITS
Why do the UK Trade And Investment Dept (UKT+I), The Scottish Arts Council, the Northern Ireland Music Industry Commission, the Welsh Music Foundation and the PRS Foundation think it’s worth doling out dosh to help artists take this risky trip?
For Phil Patterson, the UKT+I’s International Music Industry Specialist, it’s a no-brainer. He can rattle off a string of artists, including James Blunt, Newton Faulkoner, Paulo Nutini, The Darkness, The Crimea and Amy Winehouse, who appear to have benefited from a trip to Austin. Even so, he warns that it’s not right for everybody. “We often talk to artists or company reps and explain that maybe they're not ready to take on something as big as SXSW and then try to help them develop so that they may be ready to tackle the US at a later date.”
Scottish Arts Council spokesperson Kim Oliver says SXSW presents opportunities for acts keen to build their profile, secure licensing, agency representation, publishing, distribution or recording deals or live work. She adds that, “significant synchronisation deals have also been achieved by Scottish bands in recent years.”
LEVEL OF FUNDING
Assuming your application to SXSW wins you an offer to appear, and one or other of the UK funding bodies smiles on your funding application, what you might get varies depending on circumstances and, it seems, your postcode.
You can apply, for example, to The PRS Foundation’s British Music Abroad initiative for up to 90% of the costs of travel, accommodation, per diems and visas. ‘British’ in this context, curiously, doesn’t include Scottish.
For aspiring superstars north of the border, The Scottish Arts Council might provide 50-60% of total costs, capped at £800 per person and, although SXSW is not exclusively for unsigned acts, they won’t support anyone who has achieved significant success.
Northern Ireland’s Music Industry Commission aims to take care of 50% of travel, delegation and accommodation – but this varies depending on available funds and number of artists invited to play. Their CEO, Ross Graham adds, “We also produce and promote compilation CDs at these events. The current one contains recordings by 28 artists.”
All of the funding bodies point out that SXSW is not unique in attracting their moolah. Assistance is also provided for events including In The City, Popkomm and Sonar. Indeed, having been hit by funding cutbacks, the Welsh Music Foundation will not be showcasing at SXSW in 2009, and will focus instead on Midem and Womex. Welsh acts can take heart, though, from the fact that they can now consider themselves British and apply to the PRS Foundation.
According to the PRS Foundation’s Applications Co-ordinator Eleanor Ward, “Sixty-one acts were able to attend international showcases in 2008 due to British Music Abroad funding. 26 acts attended SXSW. Due to the huge demand for funding we are only able to fund around 1 in 4 applications.”
Whether or not SXSW is right for any individual act, there’s little doubt that the British presence in Austin is significant. “We now have the biggest presence from industry and artists performing from outside of the US,” says UKT+I’s Phil Patterson. “In fact the organisers of SXSW said that if anyone wants to work out how to use SXSW as a marketing/promotion tool, they should look at what the British do as that is the gold standard.”
(Source : this feature, written by Johnny Black, first appeared in the magazine Live UK, January 2009)
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By Johnny Black
Since its start in 1987, The South By Southwest (SXSW) Festival in Austin, Texas, has become world-renowned as the ultimate showcase for emerging musical talent from around the globe. Between March 18 and 22 more than 1400 aspiring music acts will strut their stuff on over eighty stages in downtown Austin, hoping to catch the eyes and ears of the army of AAndR gurus, promoters, music biz lawyers, indie label bosses and others who attend the event.
The way it works is that artists interested in performing at SXSW complete an online application and submit music which is then graded by the festival’s committee of music biz sages. If everything meets their stringent criteria, the artist is invited to attend.
COSTS
So far, so simple, and the official briefing document for UK applicants describes SXSW as “a practical and cost-effective method to connect with press, radio and other music industry players.” Cost-effective, however, doesn’t mean cheap. A conservative estimate puts the cost of a flying visit to Austin upwards of $2,000 per person, and that’s before factoring in any marketing or promotion spend.
The most obvious question for any struggling wannabe superstar has to be, “Is it worth it?” Unfortunately, there’s no simple answer. If the trip lands you a recording contract, a lucrative tour offer, some helpful contacts or even helps you decide that the music industry isn’t for you, then maybe it is worthwhile. The harsh reality, though, is that the vast bulk of the artists who go will have a ton of fun but come home empty-handed, which begs the second question.
POTENTIAL BENEFITS
Why do the UK Trade And Investment Dept (UKT+I), The Scottish Arts Council, the Northern Ireland Music Industry Commission, the Welsh Music Foundation and the PRS Foundation think it’s worth doling out dosh to help artists take this risky trip?
For Phil Patterson, the UKT+I’s International Music Industry Specialist, it’s a no-brainer. He can rattle off a string of artists, including James Blunt, Newton Faulkoner, Paulo Nutini, The Darkness, The Crimea and Amy Winehouse, who appear to have benefited from a trip to Austin. Even so, he warns that it’s not right for everybody. “We often talk to artists or company reps and explain that maybe they're not ready to take on something as big as SXSW and then try to help them develop so that they may be ready to tackle the US at a later date.”
Scottish Arts Council spokesperson Kim Oliver says SXSW presents opportunities for acts keen to build their profile, secure licensing, agency representation, publishing, distribution or recording deals or live work. She adds that, “significant synchronisation deals have also been achieved by Scottish bands in recent years.”
LEVEL OF FUNDING
Assuming your application to SXSW wins you an offer to appear, and one or other of the UK funding bodies smiles on your funding application, what you might get varies depending on circumstances and, it seems, your postcode.
You can apply, for example, to The PRS Foundation’s British Music Abroad initiative for up to 90% of the costs of travel, accommodation, per diems and visas. ‘British’ in this context, curiously, doesn’t include Scottish.
For aspiring superstars north of the border, The Scottish Arts Council might provide 50-60% of total costs, capped at £800 per person and, although SXSW is not exclusively for unsigned acts, they won’t support anyone who has achieved significant success.
Northern Ireland’s Music Industry Commission aims to take care of 50% of travel, delegation and accommodation – but this varies depending on available funds and number of artists invited to play. Their CEO, Ross Graham adds, “We also produce and promote compilation CDs at these events. The current one contains recordings by 28 artists.”
All of the funding bodies point out that SXSW is not unique in attracting their moolah. Assistance is also provided for events including In The City, Popkomm and Sonar. Indeed, having been hit by funding cutbacks, the Welsh Music Foundation will not be showcasing at SXSW in 2009, and will focus instead on Midem and Womex. Welsh acts can take heart, though, from the fact that they can now consider themselves British and apply to the PRS Foundation.
According to the PRS Foundation’s Applications Co-ordinator Eleanor Ward, “Sixty-one acts were able to attend international showcases in 2008 due to British Music Abroad funding. 26 acts attended SXSW. Due to the huge demand for funding we are only able to fund around 1 in 4 applications.”
Whether or not SXSW is right for any individual act, there’s little doubt that the British presence in Austin is significant. “We now have the biggest presence from industry and artists performing from outside of the US,” says UKT+I’s Phil Patterson. “In fact the organisers of SXSW said that if anyone wants to work out how to use SXSW as a marketing/promotion tool, they should look at what the British do as that is the gold standard.”
(Source : this feature, written by Johnny Black, first appeared in the magazine Live UK, January 2009)