The South by Southwest Music Festival, which celebrated its 26th Anniversary in 2012, has reached a quarter of a century of being one of the biggest, most influential and most anticipated music events of the year worldwide. In 2012, a total of 2,286 acts performed at the festival (including 547 non-USA acts from 50 different countries) on over ONE HUNDRED stages in downtown Austin. These bands had the opportunity to play for 19,000+ industry attendees, including 3,200+ media representativ>...
The South by Southwest Music Festival, which celebrated its 26th Anniversary in 2012, has reached a quarter of a century of being one of the biggest, most influential and most anticipated music events of the year worldwide. In 2012, a total of 2,286 acts performed at the festival (including 547 non-USA acts from 50 different countries) on over ONE HUNDRED stages in downtown Austin. These bands had the opportunity to play for 19,000+ industry attendees, including 3,200+ media representatives that attended last year's event, and of course, thousands of fans.
In addition to the immense festival draw, SXSW provides access to more advanced band information than has ever been offered by a music industry convention, pre, during, and post-event. The Showcasing Band Pages on the SXSW website allow fans and professionals to search through the bands that perform at SXSW, hear their music, read their bios and get the date/time/location of their performance. The opportunities for media exposure have never been better with the event being covered by hundreds of national and international media outlets. Television crews, film makers, radio programmers, music magazine journalists, newspaper writers, podcasters and hundreds of independent bloggers will be in Austin reporting on every facet of the festival and laying claim to having heard the next big act before anyone else. The addition of iTune podcasts with exclusive live performances from SXSW bands, also helps extend the exposure the lucky SXSW performers get through the event.
From unsigned bands to indie and major label headliners, SXSW continues to be the premier music event that sets the tone and direction of the industry by introducing the hottest new talent, and showcasing the new directions and sounds of the most important musical acts in the world, while providing an ideal environment for bands to learn from and meet the music industry professionals that can help them further their careers.
Get information on the types of bands SXSW is looking for, secrets of the festival planning, and tips from the SXSW bookers by checking out the following blog post.
Past SXSW performers include Queens of the Stone Age (USA), Duran Duran (UK), DeVotchKa (USA), Ellie Goulding (UK), Flogging Molly (USA), Nive Nielsen (GL), Twin Atlantic (UK), Fences (USA), The Black Angels (USA), Dikta (IS), Timbuktu (CA), PS I Love You (USA), Lucy And The Popsonics (BR), Raphael Saadiq (USA), The Inspector Cluzo (FR), The Black Atlantic (NL), Chikita Violenta (MEX), Stephen Kellogg (USA), Locksley (USA), Yuck (UK), CHIHA (TN), Sauti Sol (KE), Hundreds (DE), Eatliz (IL), Idiotape (KR), Palmbomen (NL), The Vaudeville Smash (AU), Dinosaur Feathers (USA), Bloodgroup (IS), Polyphase (PA), Eastern Conference Champions (USA), Guadalupe Plata (ES), The Antlers (USA), Dale Earnhardt Jr Jr (USA), The Naked and Famous (NZ), Casiokids (NO), Okkervil River (USA), Liam Finn (NZ), Calibro35 (IT), Adam & Alma (SE), Chimes and Bells (DK), The Dears (CA), Olof Arnalds (IS), These United States (USA) just to name a few.
Make sure to also check out videos of Sonicbids members who played at SXSW and other footage from 2012: http://www.youtube.com/sonicbids
Sonicbids is the official online submission partner for SXSW 2013. Your Sonicbids EPK allows you to quickly and easily compile all the info SXSW wants to see about your act - your music, bio, photos and more. If you don't have an EPK yet, don't worry - we'll help you create one as part of your application process.
Please note: SXSW will be evaluating bands as their submissions come in. Please make sure to complete your EPK immediately, as your EPK is an instrumental part of the review process. SXSW will not be able to evaluate your submission without a complete EPK. If you have questions or need help with your application, contact the Sonicbids Support center here.
If you have any questions, please check out the SXSW FAQ:
http://sxsw.com/music/shows/apply/faq