SXSW 2024 Wrap: Trends, Takeaways & Rants

Plus video montage of music and events

My first newsletter milestone is 1,000 free subscribers with less than 300 to go! If we all refer just one friend to join, we’ll hit our goal within a week!

Inside This Issue

• SXSW 2024 Wrap: Trends & Takeaways

• Rants

• ATX Street Trends @ SXSW

• SXSW Video Mania

*Please click the heart 🩶 icon above if you like what you read.

Thea Wood Productions, LLC is an Amazon Associate that earns from qualifying purchases at no extra cost to you.

SXSW 2024 Wrap: Trends & Takeaways

After a 10-day marathon, little sleep, and a lot of incredible live music, panels, learning moments, and networking, I’m officially exhausted. Which is why this newsletter is way behind schedule. But SXSW never disappoints because of endless discovery and the people I meet and commune with along the way.

Below are trends, takeaways, and eventually a few rants that I gathered at this year’s festivities. I took 170 photos and 46 videos in 10 days and am sharing the best of the best with you at the end.

TREND: AI is all the rage… for now. Two years ago, it was all VR. And VR is still popular in panels and exhibit hall booths, but AI discussions, products, services, and especially regulation debates dominated this year.

As Ted Gioia pointed out in his post “They Praised AI at SXSW—and the Audience Started Booing,” audiences do not believe that AI is good for the advancement of humanity. But they sure do love using it as a tool to make work easier if the success of ChatGPT, AI Presentation Maker or Mubert music generator are indicators.

TAKEAWAY: If you are creating music, protect it immediately with Performing Rights Orgs like BMI and ASCAP, which are working tirelessly with national governments to legislate how AI can legally use your work and pay you for it.

TREND: Europe wants to lead the VR and AI revolution. The U.S. led the online revolution back in the 1990s (ask me about my AOL days), but these countries are betting big on leading the pack when it comes to the next music tech revolution. The EU Tech House at Parkside, a two-day mix of programs and music, was my first foray into SXSW. The “Global Innovators” panel speakers tackled international regulations and policy challenges for digital music. New fact: The EU is considering a digital tax on all file transfers including music, email, PDFs, etc. by 2026.

Panelists for the Global Innovators event at EU Tech House

Spotify’s (based in Sweden) disruptive commercial success proved that lots of attention and affiliated industry can be generated, despite a negative net income report since 2017 (source). Sweden has been nurturing the international export of pop music, streaming, and analytics and the standing room only showing/demo at the Nordics 2050 x SXSW 2024 event doubled down on that bet.

BURST is a VR company based in Finland that took the spotlight at the Nordics 2050 event in the Thornton Hotel. Compatible with Apple Vision Pro, the effects are cool. But it doesn’t “feel” different than other VR experiences you can get in, say, a Fortnite music game/concert. Customized, pre-programmed experiences are pretty damn intriguing and pretty damn expensive. The million-dollar question: How much do platforms have to charge users to access this expensive production to break even? Not to mention the small consumer market share that can afford an Apple Vision Pro headset (starting price $3499) compared to market leader Meta Quest (starting price $240 on Amazon).

TAKEAWAY: While Meta is distracted with disinformation and policing their social media dynasty, startups with focused resources are gaining experience and knowledge about the new challenges and opportunities that VR and AI experiences present. Music content is a leading driver.

IMHO, the music-centric winners will be those that integrate social interaction with thoughtfully planned, regularly-scheduled live performances in manageable and safe environments at low cost/price points. It’s harder than releasing new technology to the masses and watch users build content with a hands-off approach like social media platforms have done. Contrarily, expensive one offs where users pay $30 for access to a pre-programmed concert or one-way live stream that lacks collective effervescence isn’t a sustainable business model. It also leaves out 95% +/- of the industry’s talent pool.

BURST’s stage demo and others I saw at the SXSW exhibit hall featured male acts. Full disclosure: I stood in line for the hands-on Burst demo, which may have had a female artist option, but they shut down the demo before I could try it. Their stage demo featured two male artists.

BURST demo screen shows audience what the presenter sees in his headset.

TREND: U.S. and international (hello, Korea!) gaming companies are leaning heavy on musical experiences going into 2024-25. Fortnite has an exclusive sync deal with Warner Music Group artists for gaming and “concerts” (again, preprogrammed like a game).

I was thrilled and surprised to see that the “Anatomy of a VR Music Experience in Fortnite” panelists were all women. I’d like to think that means more female artists will benefit with sync opportunities. While Fortnite has an exclusive deal with Warner Music Group, there are a lot of gaming companies with deep pockets out there. Listen to the event recording here.

“Anatomy of a Virtual Music Experience in Fortnite” panelists: Alicia Matusheski (Perkins Coie LLP), Melissa Bortnick (Epic Games), Emily Levy (Epic Games), and Jillian Rothman (Warner Music Group).

TAKEAWAY: Find out the basics of prepping your music for sync opportunities now! Chelsey Coy’s “Sync Licensing 101” meetup hosted by Herizon Music provided a strong base with lots of details on how to do it right so you can be considered for gaming, TV, film, and advertising projects. While new artists may receive $300-$500 for a placement, Wendy Colonna shared that she received $20k for one placement.

Do we have your attention now???

Thea and Chelsey Coy after the “Sync Licensing 101” meetup at Girl Guitar.

It’s also a proven way to expand your fan base. Think of Kate Bush’s resurgence and introduction to Gen Z thanks to the Stranger Things series.

Meetup attendees scribbled notes from start to finish because we packed in a LOT of useful information and action items. The event was recorded and will be available shortly for paid subscribers. It is a must-see for those willing to try a new form of income for their music. Bonus: attendees/paid subs get a QR Access code to Two Oh Six Music’s upload directory with instructions on how to submit your work for consideration. It’s an exciting opportunity where age and appearance aren’t factors, and you don’t have to tour to make money. BAM! 💥

SXSW: RANTS

RANT: No Shows. This is hard to write about, but at risk of sounding unjustifiably indignant, I’m ranting. Industry event hosts and their sponsors are suffering from high “no show” rates at free or donation-based events, even when registration is required. Note that this rant is not about music showcases. Three examples of curated, sponsored programs hosted in Austin last week:

— Herizon Music: Sync Licensing 101: Reserved to capacity (30 seats) two weeks prior to the event with a 7-person waiting list. Over 50% of those who registered were no shows without notice, even after I released tickets to wait listers prior to the event.

— New Local Women’s Organization (I’m withholding the name because it was their first event and they are getting their footing): Reserved to capacity (100 seats) with a waiting list. About 10% of registered attendees showed up. The host professionally pivoted and turned it into a high-impact, customized experience for attendees who came from as far as New Zealand.

— Women In The Mix Brunch: Hosted by the Recording Academy, they reported to be at capacity the week before the event. I didn’t do a headcount, but most of the tables had empty seats. This surprised me as a new academy member. I expected a full house given the caliber of star power on the stage and the Academy’s strong support of women.

Women In The Mix panelists: Caren Kelleher, Christine Albert, Yolanda Adams, and Gina Chavez. Hosted by The Four Seasons Hotel. See the empty seats?

No shows cost event hosts time, money, and reputation. Not to mention the embarrassment and demoralization after spending dozens of hours of planning, pre-promotion, sponsorship and speaker recruitment, and travel arrangements. Especially when sponsors and guest speakers are involved. Event planners say to expect 10-20% of guests to be no shows. But 50-90% no shows for curated programming? That’s extreme, in my 30+ years of industry events experience.

Free to attendees does not mean free to produce.

This rant is not to shame any one person. Shit happens and people sometimes have to cancel. As a critical thinker, I’d like to know WHY no show rates are skyrocketing so I can adjust and plan successful future meetups. Did SXSW’s gads of programs simply exaggerate the no shows? 🤷🏻‍♀️ I love hosting the meetups, but my time and resources are precious. How can we do it better?

Thoughts and proposed solutions are welcomed in the comments.

RANT: Price gouging. SXSW packs in thousands of tourists, but transportation/lodging costs are ridiculous. Example I paid $54 to park 4.5 hours in a public parking structure. And while Delta Airlines had a super cool Sky Lounge popup for Sky Miles members, I was never notified even though I flew Delta and paid a hefty ticket price + the $30 checked bag fee (don’t get me started on that fee). Hotel rates are so high that visiting showcase artists have to fundraise and/or beg fans to open their homes.

RANT: Which leads to my sponsorship rant. Thankfully, it’s my last rant. Some artists and panelists boycotted this year’s events because the U.S. Army was a major sponsor. U.S. policy regarding the Isreal-Hamas war was the driver. The military is responsible for a lot of technical innovations, and SX wants to establish itself as a leading tech industry event. Yet, it seemed that organizers (including fairly new majority owner Penske Media) were happy to take the money without considering if this was a good fit for attendees and artists (many of whom are international) who paid thousands of dollars to be there.

I support our military personnel and the sacrifices they make, regardless of political leadership. But not all matches are made in heaven. The sponsorship may have been better served by, let’s say, Delta or Marriott Hotels. They benefit *enormously* from this annual event (there were 11,444 hotel reservations made for SXSW in 2023, according to Newsweek).

Rather than building/staffing 100’s of square feet in exhibit hall space, they could donate flights and rooms to struggling indie artists and host resident music showcases. Wouldn’t that be more in line with the spirit of the festival?

Ranting is over. Whew!

I’m foregoing the New Releases list this newsletter so we can focus on some of the FUN we had along the way last week. Before seeing the eye candy, I’d like to thank the following people for making my experience magical in so many ways:

Lurleen Ladd of Wavemakers

Penny Jo Pullus of Texchromosome

Amy, Martha & Larry of the Hartford Patio & Grille

Chelsey Coy of TwoOHSix Music

Erin Walter of Parker Woodland

Mandy Rowden of Girl Guitar

Mitch & Mark of Thundercloud Subs

The Recording Academy

The staff and “regulars” at Deep Eddy Cabaret

ATX Street Trends During SXSW

Earbuds are still around but headphones are all the rage. Choose a colorful option that matches your personality. Go BIG!

Vans never go out of style, but the color options, fabrics, and sole heights are vast and modern. Take your pick!

Felt for cool weather, straw for warm weather. Make sure you have one of each to choose from when you hit the honky tonk, parking lot party, or music festival.

SXSW Video Mania!

Social media intern Nora took the 170 photos and 46 videos I sent her and put together some pretty cool video montages that sum up the spirit of SXSW. See more coming to Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok.

Thanks to Pond 5 for the background music :)

That’s a wrap! Thank you for making it all the way to the end of the newsletter. Please share. And if it so moves you, upgrade to a paid subscription so we can continue working together to uplift women in music!

Thea 🎶❤️🧡💛