If SXSW was good for anything it was for unique marketing ideas. Two stuck out:

From The Intelligence Group's TrendCentral newsletter, a guaranteed way to get seen when people are running around town:

Taxi receipts advertised the Yeah Yeah Yeahs’ new album Show Your Bones. Since everyone who came to the conference relies heavily on taxis, the number of impressions the Yeah Yeah Yeahs received, particularly among music journalists and industry players, was significant."

And from a SXSW recap at The Onion's AV Club, a report on some guerrila marketing by a Red Hot Chili Peppers street team (pictured).

"Red Hot Chili Peppers logos (with the release date of their new album) are spray-painted on top of other people's posters and flyers all over the city. Because if anyone needs the help of viral marketing, it's a multi-platinum artist with a large, devoted fanbase—never mind the unknowns or relative unknowns whose posters are getting covered up."

Also, the word is that the infamous Victory Records Street Team was in effect.

(RHCP picture taken from TheOnion.com)

Posted by Glenn at 1:15 PM | Link
|SXSW2006|

The 2006 SXSW conference is over. Now for the hung over testimonials of alcohol and musical excess. Along with tales of bottomless beer cups and miles of music, much of the commentary has been about the size of the event, now in its 20th year and, in some opinions, bloated and overly demanding.

FoC J. Freedom du Lac braved exhaustion and wrote a recap of his SXSW for the Washington Post. This pull quote sums up his mood:

"Despite the constant drumbeat of negativity that's enveloped the struggling music industry, there seem to be more people than ever trying to get their music heard. And they invaded Austin in staggering numbers this year. Music is dead, long live music, etc. -- for better or worse. At one point during the conference, the mope-rock godhead Morrissey pricked the bubble somewhat, saying, 'I think there are maybe too many people making music.'"

Wrote Patrick MacDonald in an article at the Seattle Times:

"In its 20th anniversary year, there was much talk about how big SXSW has become. There was a lot of griping about the difficulty of getting into some events. It was impossible to get into shows by the Beastie Boys, Morrissey, the Pretenders or this year's buzz band, the Arctic Monkeys, without getting into line hours ahead of time."

MTV.com's recap called the crowds a necessary evil, and added, "But make no mistake: SXSW is still the greatest rock combo platter on earth, it just takes a lot more work to get what you want out of it."

Continue reading "More SXSW Notes: Too Much of a Good Thing" »

Posted by Glenn at 8:24 PM | Link
|SXSW2006|

The Mercury News' blog has a post on the candid panel discussions with The Pretenders' Chrissie Hynde and The Kinks' Ray Davies, who just released a new solo album. The thrust of the post was Hynde's comment that she "probably wouldn't" record again.

Taylor Hawkins & The Coattail Riders, a trio lead by Foo Fighters drummer Taylor Hawkins, got a write up by liveDaily. Of a band showcase, Jon Zahlaway wrote, "Hawkins succeeded at carrying an entire 45-minute rock show while seated behind a drum set--no easy feat." The band's self-titled debut comes out Tuesday on Thrive Records.

Here comes the backlash: The Austin American-Statesman asks of SXSW: "Is it too big?" "Even people with $575 music badges, which take priority over the $130 to $150 wristbands, can't count on getting into the big shows," wrote Renuka Rayasam. Chicago Tribune music writer Greg Kot underlined the problem of overcrowded shows. "SXSW has become almost too good at what it does and attracts too many people," he said. "And if I'm press and I need to do my job and I can't get into a show, that's a problem." Free shows, though, are plentiful and ever multiplying.

On that note, check out the videoblog section of the SXSW website. Jason Gross of Perfect Sound Forever has a videoblog (lots of short video posts). One is with Ed Ward, a music writer and one of the original organizers of the event. Of what he sees 20 years after the first SXSW conference, Ward told Gross:

"It sure has gotten big, and it sure has gotten out of control in some ways in that it seems people no longer come here to learn about the music industry so much as they come here to attend parties during the daytime. I've been sort of disappointed. The panels were once my responsibility here and there doesn't seem to be much in the way of panels this year because nobody goes to them. They're too busy out partying and drinking beer at two in the afternoon. (I'm too old to do that.)"

Continue reading "SXSW Notes: Hynde, Hawkins, The Backlash" »

Posted by Glenn at 11:24 AM | Link
|SXSW2006|

No, Coolfer isn't @ SXSW. There was an unfortunate, unavoidable change of plans, but I'm still using the old graphic.

Billboard.com's Melinda Newman has an article on Neil Young's "touching" keynote conversation yesterday. Young spoke of his creative process and how it has changed over his career. "Now, there are big breaks and [then] it's just like a dam bursting," Young said. "I used to write a song every day."

There have been a ton of articles about how British acts have used SXSW to gain a foothold in U.S. market, but this one at the Telegraph is the best yet. It offers further proof of what everybody knows but too few practice: You have to play to Americans if you want them to buy your album.

MP3.com has done a good job of covering panels at SXSW. This article is on a music and technology panel with Eric Garland of BigChampagne, David Pakman of eMusic, Jeremy Welt of Warner Bros Records and some others.

Music bloggers, sorry to have to call you out, but where are your posts from Austin? A check of my regular reads shows only Frank from Chromewaves has made an effort to post from SXSW. Frankly, it's a little embarassing. We're the wired generation, not the I'll-blog-when-I'm-back-to-my-desktop-at-home generation. If you don't update regularly it's not a blog, it's just another website. I know you're out. I know your drunk. I know you're tired. But just blog already.

The good news is that Austinist, The Austin American-Statesman, the Village Voice and Done Waiting's SXSW blog have regular posts from Austin. Even the NY Times' has a special SXSW section (which by itself blows away music bloggers' combined coverage to date).

Posted by Glenn at 5:09 PM | Link
|SXSW2006|

From an article at MP3.com about a SXSW panel comes quotes form EMI's digital guru, Ted Cohen.

• On the financial apsects of digital distribtuion: "It's not about the technology anymore. The technology is there, but now it's about the business models. When you're dividing up the pie, how long do you keep the pie from delivered to the consumer before you say, 'Hey, this is silly'?"
• On the patience needed while a huge industry adjusts to a new era: "Everyone wants the switch to be thrown one day. It's a transition, and we're in the midst of it."
• On the growing online catalogs: "There's a lot more music out there now and a lot more being made available," he said. "A lot more artists can find their niche now than before."
• On Microsoft's PlayForSure: "The joke was that we wished it played for sure, we hope it plays for sure and someday it will play for sure. But we're getting there. All of it is predicated on it being a really good portable experience, and it will be a really fluid experience and it will challenge the iPod."

Posted by Glenn at 1:30 PM | Link
|SXSW2006|

Due to illness, Coolfer will not be attending SXSW. Plan B will be commentary from various industry folks and bloggers about what impressed them and what people are talking about. I hope to have regular updates and hopefully some photos.

Posted by Glenn at 7:02 AM | Link
|SXSW2006|

The SXSW website has profile pages for every band that's performing, and many of these bands are on labels that tend not to give away MP3s (read: on or related to majors). Is this a sign that attitudes toward file sharing are changing? Unlikely. Here's a sampler:

• We Are Scientists: "It's A Hit"
• She Wants Revenge: "Tear You Apart"
• Morningwood: "Nth Degree"
• Sia: "Breathe Me"
• KT Tunstall: "Black Horse and the Cherry Tree"
• OK Go: "A Million Ways"
• Gemma Hayes: "Hanging Around"
• Head Automatica: "Beating Heart Baby"
• The Like: "June Gloom"

New at the SXSW site are RSS feeds for the home page, music home page, film home page, Interactive "Bits & Bytes" and "Speakers in the News."

Posted by Glenn at 8:21 AM | Link
|SXSW2006|

The SXSW site has added a second round of both audio and video torrents. Click here to download 229 more MP3s from bands performing at SXSW, and click here for the second group of film trailers.

Also new to the site is a music player that streams songs from participating 2006 bands and has links to showcase information and the band's website. (Quicktime required.)

Posted by Glenn at 8:47 AM | Link
|SXSW2006|

Oh My Rockness, which compiles and profiles shows every day in New York and Chicago, has a special SXSW section. For the freeloaders there's a page listing free shows and parties. Beautiful.

Why go to SXSW? For bands, it's a chance to be part of the industry. The SF Chronicle has an article on Tartufi, a three-piece that feels constricted by the city's "glass ceiling" and the "lack of industry." Said drummer Brian Gorman, "It's hard for any band to have a clear path. We're looking for the fastest way to get the greatest amount of exposure."

Donewaiting on the long line at Waterloo Records for SXSW wristbands.

Posted by Glenn at 4:34 PM | Link
|SXSW2006|

It's no secret that British bands have had a hard time breaking in America over the last 20 years. It's an issue of national pride and foreign exports. What's not as well known is that the British government has taken steps to help. This year, reports The Mirror, popular artists such as KT Tunstall and Goldfrapp are being flown to Austin by the British government, as are lesser known bands like The Kooks, The Rakes, Jim Noir, The Feeling and Boy Kill Boy. In the past, The Kaiser Chiefs, The Darkness and James Blunt were sent to the music festival on the government's tab. Unlike most British artists, those have found success in the States.

Said the Trade and Industry Secretary, "From the Beatles, through David Bowie to Coldplay, the UK music scene has always led the world but we have not always capitalised on our talent to break America. I want to ensure that the Government works with the industry and our best artists to showcase talent in the US."

From a post at SXSW Baby, which came from the official SXSW SMS list: "Wristbands will go on sale to the general public starting at 10 am 2/23 at Waterloo Records. Cash or CC only. Each person is limited to 2 wristbands and they're going for $130 each (tax, fees, etc. included)."

Bar/None has annonnced its SXSW showcase. It will have El Ten Eleven, The Spinto Band, Hotel Lights and three others.

Posted by Glenn at 8:06 AM | Link
|SXSW2006|

Embraced by the film industry but still a relative outsider to music, P2P application BitTorrent will offer free downloads and movie trailers for this year's SXSW festival. The music file has 713 MP3s from showcasing bands. The film file has 83 film trailers. Get the torrents here.

The aptly titled "loudQuietloud: A Film About The Pixies," a documentary by Steven Cantor and Matthew Galkin for the New York-based Stick Figure Productions, will debut at SXSW. Screenings are scheduled for March 12th and 18th.

The SXSW website has a stories section with stories from industry folks about their favorite SXSW moments. Good for tales of skinnydipping, excessive drinking and people's love for softball. (Via SXSWBlog)

Posted by Glenn at 9:30 PM | Link
|SXSW2006|

The SXSW website just put up a schedule of the 2006 showcasing artists. The first page is for Wednesday -- there are links for successive days -- and showcases are listed alphabetically by venue.

Very handy, but what makes it better are the cassette logos (how old school) next to most artist names. That means the artist page has an MP3. What this means is that the SXSW is a big MP3 library. Good for checking out bands before seeing the live show, and notable because there are a number of MP3s for artists on labels affiliated with the four majors (Laura Viers, on Nonesuch, for example). It's no secret that the majors tend to shy away from giving away their music for free, even for promotional purposes.

Posted by Glenn at 8:02 AM | Link
|SXSW2006|

The SXSW website has a big, unmanageable, unsortable, single paragraph list of bands performing this year (last updated 2/6). No, no hyperlinks to the bands' home pages, either.

Check out the lineup at the Filter showcases at Donewaiting's SXSW blog: Built to Spill, The Subways, Metric and Nine Black Alps are some of the names.

This review of Iron Cactus at Yelp.com is good reading for SXSW attendees who plan on needing a good, quiet place to refuel during the day. "This place is a sanctuary for SXSW-goers like me who, in the middle of the day, aren't really looking for much more than a nice refreshing marg to get things fired up again. ... Also, they have a cool rooftop patio which is almost unheard of in the very central area that they call home."

Posted by Glenn at 8:37 AM | Link
|SXSW2006|

Here are some helpful SXSW links for you:

• SXSW has a blog. All sorts of posts on this blog, such as a list of vegetarian restaurants in Austin.

• SXSW Baby is a community blog that's geared more for the interactive folks.

• Indie rock schedulers Oh My Rockness have a special section for SXSW showcases to help people find bands and plan accordingly. There's not much there yet, but just you wait.

• WiredSet is the SXSW exclusive mobile provider for SMS messaging, text alerts, vote campaigns, band listings and updates. The SMS page at the SXSW website has information on how to subscribe as well as a glossary of keywords that can get you more specific information about Austin (such as sx food.mexican for Austin Mexican food).

• Music blog Done Waiting once again has a special SXSW blog with information on showcases and the wristband information and other things you need to know.

• Tecnhonrati's SXSW tag.

Posted by Glenn at 8:02 AM | Link
|SXSW2006|

This year Coolfer will be attending SXSW, along with about half of New York and a ton of bloggers. Other than the Stereogum party there isn't too much on the itinerary just yet. Coolfer looks forward to meeting as many readers, labels and publicists as possible, so let me know if you're going to be there.

Posted by Glenn at 8:59 AM | Link
|SXSW2006|