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  South By SouthWest (SXSW)

The first South by Southwest Music Conference and Festival (SXSW) was held in 1987 in Austin, Texas. Despite the fact that Austin was not a Top 20 major market at the time, the background and character of the city made it a perfect location for the conference. Austin was considered a fairly cosmopolitan town for its size because of the University of Texas, which draws people from all over the world. As home to the state government and Texas Legislature it has also always been a popular party town, with a reputation that goes back to the 19th century when numerous nightspots and bars were populated by General Custer's troops after the Civil War. These nightspots are located in the same areas where the 6th Street and 4th Street club and bar scenes now exist.

Austin's eclectic music scene goes back to early in the city's history (from Mexican, German and colonial origins) and encompasses a wide variety of music including country, folk, jazz, blues and rock. Central Austin boasts more original music nightclubs in a concentrated area than any other city in the world.

The classic problem facing Austin musicians was being isolated from the rest of the world here in the middle of Texas. SXSW was a way to reach out to the rest of the world, and bring them here to do business. To do that successfully, SXSW needed to appeal to people other than local artists whether they were from Austin, Ft. Worth, Chicago, Toronto, Munich or Tokyo.

National interest in SXSW was immediate. For years, music businesses on both coasts had been intrigued by what was going on in Austin. The cosmic cowboy, blues, punk and other scenes had already proven that Austin was a receptive place for bands to be creative. With SXSW, music industry executives gained a good excuse to visit.

International interest in SXSW began the second year due to many Austin and American bands finding their first success in Europe. Conversely, there was a lot of interest from SXSW registrants in the international bands who came to perform. SXSW now has offices in Ireland, Germany, Australia and Japan who help bring SXSW registrants to Austin.

The music event has grown from 700 registrants in 1987 to over 16,000 registrants. As Austin has grown and diversified, film companies and high-tech companies have played a major role in the Austin and the Texas economies. In 1994, SXSW added a film and interactive component to accommodate these growth industries. SXSW Film and SXSW Interactive events together attract approximately 32,000 registrants to Austin every March.

SXSW's original goal was to create an event that would act as a tool for creative people and the companies they work with to develop their careers, to bring together people from a wide area to meet and share ideas. That continues to be the goal today whether it is music, film or interactive technologies. And Austin continues to be the perfect location.

http://sxsw.com/


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    South By Southwest (Sxsw) 2010

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Victoria Erdelevskay Victoria Erdelevskay Written 2014-12-22 11:12:01
View 2015 Music Festival Showcasing Artists:
http://sxsw.com/music/festival/2015
Victoria Erdelevskay Victoria Erdelevskay Written 2014-12-22 11:11:14
The SXSW Music Festival, one of the largest, most influential, and most anticipated music events of the year, is ready for 2015! At SXSW 2014, more than 28,000 music industry professionals and musicians attended six nights of music performed by over 2,300 acts representing 57 foreign countries at over 100 venues in downtown Austin, Texas.

For 2015, SXSW plans on keeping with our tradition of bringing you even more of the absolute best mix of brand new, up-and-coming, international and legendary musical performances, planted all over Austin in bars, clubs, parks, churches and elsewhere. As has been the case since we started in 1987, attending SXSW is a must for the music and creative industry professional.
Victoria Erdelevskay Victoria Erdelevskay Written 2014-12-22 11:11:05
The SXSW Music Festival, one of the largest, most influential, and most anticipated music events of the year, is ready for 2015! At SXSW 2014, more than 28,000 music industry professionals and musicians attended six nights of music performed by over 2,300 acts representing 57 foreign countries at over 100 venues in downtown Austin, Texas.

For 2015, SXSW plans on keeping with our tradition of bringing you even more of the absolute best mix of brand new, up-and-coming, international and legendary musical performances, planted all over Austin in bars, clubs, parks, churches and elsewhere. As has been the case since we started in 1987, attending SXSW is a must for the music and creative industry professional.
Victoria Erdelevskay Victoria Erdelevskay Written 2014-08-04 18:59:53
SXSW 2015 will bring over 75,000 industry professionals from 80+ nations for its conferences, exhibitions and festivals this coming March 13 - 22.

SXSW offers a unique opportunity for maximum exposure to the music, film and interactive industries. Those industries use SXSW as a launching pad for their latest creative endeavors to draw world wide attention. Meeting people face to face in order to share ideas and do business is what makes SXSW invaluable.
South By SouthWest (SXSW) | FESTIVALPHOTO