Conventions & Awards

#SXSW – Jack White Unplugged [VIDEO], Music Tech Meetup, Jeff Price, George Howard & Ha Ha Tonka

image from www.nunomad.com SXSW Music was in full swing on Wednesday, with the streets filled and the music turned up to 10.  Holdovers from the largest SXSW Interactive ever mixed with the music industry, each basking in the others hipness while swapping old fashioned business cards and newly minted funding stories.

Some SXSW 2011 Wednesday Highlights:

  • Jack White parked his new Third Man Rolling Record Store next to hot dog heaven Frank at 4th and Colorado on Wednesday afternoon and played a quick acoustic set.  White was then spotted all over town for the rest of the day dropping into gigs and greeting fans. Video below.
  • Our MusicTech Meetup sponsored by Hypebot, Topspin, MobileRoadie, Songkick, MPX4, Virb, Soundcloud and MusicMatters was a sold out affair on the breezy balcony The Belmont.  One CEO commented that the future of music on the internet would be shaped by the men and women in attendance; and I agree. About half the room had been at our meetup in Cannes, but many had noticeably dressed down for SXSW. Ted Cohen had even swapped his now famous scarf and designer suit for a "vintage" Farm Club jacket.  
  • I thoroughly enjoyed my first ever SXSW panel with Jeff Price of Tunecore and George Howard of Loyola University.  Both men are real thinkers – something this industry needs more of – and the crowd at this Next Stage event asked smart questions. We disagreed a bit on how quickly streaming would dominate music and whether playing music you've bought from the cloud should constitute an additional use.  But fundamentally, we all tried to communicate that its time to get ready for another radical shift.
  • My favorite SXSW band so far – by far – is Bloodshot Record's Ha Ha Tonka.  What your's?  What should I go see tonight?

Jack White on the streets of Austin yesterday:

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