Every year, thousands on thousands of musicians, artists, bands and industry professionals come from around the world to Austin, TX for the South by Southwest (SXSW) Music Conference and Festival. While unsigned and emerging artists make the trek to the live music capital to play various showcases for festivalgoers as well as industry executives, they also receive career-driven advice through informative panels and mentor sessions. With a massive amount of content to fit into a half a week of events, where does one start? What if it’s one’s first time attending the SXSW conference and festival?
See More: PHOTOS + VIDEOS from SXSW 2016
From artist-brand relations, licensing or navigating your career—and one-on-one sessions with pros in the industry— Music Connection has cherry-picked a handful of panels, mentor sessions and showcase for SXSW-goers to check out while in Austin:
**PANEL: The New Deal: Why Brands Will Buy Artists Airtime
Wednesday, 3/15/17 | 3:30 - 4:30 p.m.
Austin Convention Center Room 17a
This panel addresses how the music industry will experience the liberating forces currently imposing innovation on the cab and hotel industries. As technology continues to evolve, marketplaces are shifting from surmised negotiations to scientific value exchanges. In the music industry, artists and brands have converged out of necessity. Artists struggle to get their music heard. Brands struggle to reach and engage their target consumers. In this panel, artists, marketers and record label thought leaders come together to discuss how music and advertising work together in an increasingly connected world. George Howard, Associate Professor at Berklee College of Music, will moderate this panel.
Moderator:
George Howard – Music Audience Exchange/Berklee College of Music
Panelists:
Gregg Latterman – Award Records
Nathan Hanks – Music Audience Exchange
Ryan Leslie – SuperPhone NextSelection Lifestyle Group
Kiran Gandhi – Madame Gandhi
More about Music Audience Exchange:
Music Audience Exchange (MAX) is a technology company that helps consumer brands and music artists form mutually beneficial partnerships at scale. Our platform uses proprietary data to make authentic connections, tell shared stories and create live experiences that drive results. The MAX Platform powers integrated marketing programs for large brands including Bud Light, Dr. Pepper, Ford, Jack Daniel’s, McDonald’s and more.
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**PANEL: I Want You to Want Me: Artists Seeking Brands
Thursday, 3/16/17 | 12:30-1:30pm
Austin Convention Center Room 17a
Brands seek partnerships with artists for a variety of reasons--licensing, scoring, reaching new audiences, events, and more. But how can an artist or band stand out in an oversaturated market? The panelists will discuss strategies for artists to proactively pursue brand partnerships. In today's industry things have changed for artists--selling music alone isn't enough--and brands are becoming a more valuable part of an artist's revenue stream. This panel will focus on strategies that bands/artists can use to get in front of brands--and how to build successful partnerships from start to finish.
Speakers:
Allison Shaw – Manic Monkee Management
Jennifer Sullivan – MemBrain LLC
Nash Overstreet – Hot Chelle Rae
Nathan Gregory – Creative Artists Agency
More about Allison Shaw and Manic Monkee Management:
Allison Shaw is the CEO of Manic Monkee, which is a brand development and consulting firm and manages artists as well. The company does strategy and advises Music and Tech and consumer companies and also event plans and produces for many companies at events like SXSW, CMJ’s, Coachella, CES, Grammys and much more. Shaw has worked with Rachael Ray/Watch Entertainment, Whole Foods Sweet Relief, Jakprints, Vie Shair, Sunstock Solar festival, Stageit, Ticketfly, Amazon, .music/music.us, Public Enemy, Deep Eddy, Comedy Central, Target, Applebee's, Standing Sun Wines, Dreamline Pictures, Kickstarter, Uber, Bohemian Guitars, Fitbit, Gopro, Jabra, House Of Marly, Blue Moon, Sennheiser, New Amsterdam, Ford and more.
In 2015, Shaw provided expert tips and advice in a Career Connection article for Music Connection’s March/SXSW issue and was on MC’s “Power Networking” panel at SXSW moderated by music attorney Glenn Litwak.
Read More: Career Connection: Work a Conference Like a Future Rockstar
