Music News

The SXSW Briefings Roadshow around the UK has come to a successful conclusion. Nearly 600 aspiring delegates and showcase artists have attended briefings in Liverpool, Glasgow, Newcastle, London, Brighton, Cardiff, Bristol and Belfast to hear SXSW UK & Ireland representative Una Johnston outline the opportunities for UK filmmakers, digital creatives and artists at SXSW Film, Interactive and Music.

SonaBLAST! has moved its headquarters from NYC to Louisville, Kentucky. The aim? To become the best indie label in the region. Started in 2002 mainly for singer-songwriters like Mark Geary (SXSW 2004) and Ben Sollee (SXSW 2009), sonaBLAST! now has several exciting bands like Lucky Pineapple and The Seedy Seeds (both SXSW 2009), and The Pass (see video above).

Showcasing a variety of acts—from Dr. Dog to Diane Birch—the SXSW Music Day Stage has always brought top talent to perform at the Austin Convention Center. In 2011, SXSW will be expanding its day-time music programming in the Austin Convention Center to include an additional stage in Ballroom G.

Indaba Music is launching a major expansion of the services they provide to musicians, as well as a redesigned website. Initially launched in 2007, Indaba Music has grown to over 500,000 musicians who regularly use the site's suite of social networking, collaboration and production applications to connect with one another and create studio quality music together in online recording sessions.