Music Industry, Tech Leaders Converge On SXSW For Must-See Panels

To help you sort through the chaos of SXSW, we're offering a list of some of the music industry's most relevant thought leaders, and when and where you can find them at this year's festival.

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Making sense of the vast array of sub-industries and niches of the rapidly shifting, fragmenting music biz, especially in the chaos that is SXSW, can be daunting. The trick to navigating the SX circus: finding relevant ‘doers’ who tell the stories that connect insider wisdom with everyday music fans. To find these stories, we at rps suggest making time with key industry thought leaders at LyricFind, GigSalad, and CD Baby, who have specific panels and meet-ups we recommend below. Please consider booking background interviews or informal chats with some of the folks below so that you walk away from SX with some engaging story leads. Plus, who can beat free drinks, right? SXSW Music or Platinum Badges are required for all events. -Darryl Ballantyne, CEO/Founder of LyricFind

Lyric licensing pioneer LyricFind connects streaming services, lyric websites, and other media with millions of legally licensing lyrics, all generating income for publishers, songwriters. and other rights-holders. Their recent partnerships with the Grammys and the connected-home entertainment app Plex, as well as their recent release of data regarding the spike in lyric searches in the wake of recent deaths of rock stars builds the case that lyrics are ubiquitous in consumers’ music habits and approaching omnipresence. Where to find Darryl: The Official Publishing Meet Up Austin Suite at the Austin Convention Center March 16, 5-6 pm Event link: http://schedule.sxsw.com/2016/events/event_PP53184 -Mark Steiner, CEO/Founder of GigSalad Unexpectedly based in Springfield, MO, a totally new revenue generator for performers. Over 70,000 performers connecting with over 700,000 event planners for a wide range of gigs. We met an artist that invested $300 on GigSalad and made $30,000 and loves the personal booking relationships that come out of it. Founder Mark Steiner is a former agent creating opportunities for indies. Check out these amazing examples of artists who’ve built careers out of performing at weddings and birthday parties. Where to find Mark: The Official Event Professionals Meetup Austin Convention Center, Room 19AB March 16, 2-3 pm Event link: http://schedule.sxsw.com/2016/events/event_PP55190 Kevin Breuner, VP of Marketing & Tracy Maddux, CEO of CD Baby
CD Baby, who got their start in physical distribution, empowers 430,000 artists with indie distro (physical & digital), streaming royalty collection, sync-licensing via YouTube (with the help of their new multi-channel network), email marketing, web hosting, publishing, and more. They’ve paid out over $500 million and now host over 6 million tracks for retail. Kevin and Tracy should be sought for any story about how indie musicians are building their careers. Where to find Kevin: SXSW Panel: Latest Trends and Tips in YouTube Monetization Austin Convention Center, Room 11AB March 17, 3:30-4:30 pm Event link: http://schedule.sxsw.com/2016/events/event_PP51228 & Where to find Tracy: SXSW Panel: Data Analytics for the Indie Artist Austin Convention Center, Room 11AB March 18, 2-3 pm Event Link: http://schedule.sxsw.com/2016/events/event_PP52654 Other Recommended Panels and Meet-Ups: The Official Music Tech Meet-Up, hosted by rock paper scissors COO Sheryl Woodhouse Keese Austin Convention Center, Austin Suite March 16, 12:30PM – 1:30PM Event Link: http://schedule.sxsw.com/2016/events/event_PP53406 The Official Indie-Artist Meet-Up, hosted by CD Baby Austin Convention Center, Austin Suite March 17, 5-
6 pm Event link: http://schedule.sxsw.com/2016/events/event_PP55066 SXSW Panel: The Revenue Stream Roadmap for Songwriters, feat. CD Baby Dir. Of Music Publishing, Robert Filomena Austin Convention Center, Room 17A March 18, 12:30-1:30PM Event link: http://schedule.sxsw.com/2016/events/event_PP47690 The Official Tour Managers Meetup Austin Convention Center, Austin Suite March 18, 12:30-1:30 pm Event Link: http://schedule.sxsw.com/2016/events/event_PP52721

SXSW Panel: Lyrics Sans Frontières, featuring LyricFind CRO Will Mills

Austin Convention Center, Room 18D March 18, 5- 6PM Event link: http://schedule.sxsw.com/2016/events/event_PP53021