Conventions & Awards

Quantum Collective: Indie Community Joins Forces For SXSW Alternative

Southwest-invasionQuantum Collective is a combined force of artists, labels, marketers, brands and tech companies that have come together to take branded entertainment to the next level. They're presenting their official full debut during SXSW in a series of events called Southwest Invasion. Whether or not they're the first to take this collective approach, they are hearing from folks in related industries that their efforts are currently unique. I spoke this week with Mark Nguyen, Quantum Collective co-founder, about their upcoming plans for events during SXSW as well as the bigger picture.

Mark Nguyen is the founder of Planet LA Records, which he launched 3 years ago, but he's otherwise new to the music industry. His previous career involved international trade and policy regulatory work in Washington, DC which he says gave him a strong sense of the importance of global initiatives. He decided to leave that world and pursue his interests in music and entertainment by focusing on branded entertainment as an alternative way of supporting and showcasing artists in partnership with brands.

This will be Nguyen's third year organizing events during SXSW and he wanted to try something new given the growing difficult of gaining attention in such an incredibly busy environment. In November he began to reach out to his contacts in related industries and suggest that they combine forces. Though many initially questioned what sounded like extra work, he successfully encouraged folks to recognize that this was a chance to focus on their strengths and potentially reduce the work load while heightening attention.

Soon he became part of a group that is now known as Quantum Collective, a name suggested by Allison Shaw of Manic Monkee MGMT and Marketing who works with tech companies and Rachael Ray Productions on music-related initiatives.

Currently Quantum Collective's membership includes:

Planet LA Records, Manic Monkee MGMT and Marketing, RipTide Music, Section 101, College Battle, DigSin, iBand, Jakprints, The Jimmy Lloyd Songwriter Showcase, Loudie, O.N.E. Coconut Water, The Playlist Generation, QWiPS, Rebel Industries, Rec.fm, Rev7 Gum, The Spellbound Group, StageIt, Talenthouse, Thrillcall, Urgent Content, Viddy

That's a big crew who make it possible to share their abilities and present at least 10 free public events and 3 private events featuring over 120 artists. These are unofficial events and, though Nguyen says some participants are also doing official events with SXSW, this is the third year he's taken the unofficial path. In doing so, Quantum Collective has a lot more flexibility without having to have bands or brands preapproved.

Private events are invitation only with an industry focus and take place in houses rented in the general vicinity of SXSW events. These are typically small, acoustic shows with no more than 100 attendees giving them the opportunity to mingle outside the chaos of Austin's 6th St.

Public events are free and a particularly interesting example of what they're doing is a pair of events partnering with Whole Foods and the Whole Planet Foundation taking place at the Whole Foods Market Rooftop Plaza. If you know Austin, you'll realize this is a convenient location yet, given its rooftop status, one that should also feel outside of the noise of the street scene.

Additional brands and companies participating in the Southwest Invasion include:

Whole Foods, Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf, CBS Interactive Media Group including MP3.com and Last.fm, Digital Music News, High Voltage Magazine, Music Connection Magazine, Digital LA, Zacj Iser of International Creative Management (ICM), Blue Microphones, Ultimate Ears and Logitech, Swinghouse Studios, Propellerhead makers of Reason software, BackStage

I list these not so much to give everybody shout outs as to give you a sense of the scale of this thing. It's really a minifestival of its own and its supported by brands that want to go beyond simply sponsoring shows to developing closer integration with artists as trendsetters and tastemakers.

For example, the Whole Foods events will include many food-oriented brands sold in Whole Foods as well as the appearance of The Cringe featuring Rachael Ray's husband. These showcases will occur Friday and Saturday, March 16 and 17, and will be Quantum Collective's biggest events during SXSW.  They are planning to livestream the events via StageIt and/or iBand and should be announcing that on their website in time for folks to check it out.

As if that wasn't enough, the longer term goal of Quantum Collective is to become a sort of one-stop shop for branded entertainment events. The idea is that brands will come to Quantum Collective regarding something they wish to promote to a specific demographic. The Collective will recommend events and bands that fit brands' needs and then organize the process from there, partnering with other companies outside of the Collective as needed.

It's a powerful concept and, though they've done at least one previous event testing the waters, the Southwest Invasion will be their first full effort as a combined force.

I'm looking forward to finding out how things go at SXSW for a number of reasons. As I've previously written at Hypebot, I'm very interesting in unofficial events during SXSW and methods for cutting through the noise at such a busy and crowded scene as SXSW. I also have a longstanding interest in branded entertainment since my days as a hip hop business blogger.

Hypebot Features Writer Clyde Smith maintains his freelance writing hub at Flux Research and music industry resources at Music Biz Blogs. To suggest topics for Hypebot, contact: clyde(at)fluxresearch(dot)com.

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