So Much More than Just a Music Festival
By Pasadena Independent
Published: Thursday, May 7th, 2009
From fairly humble beginnings in 1987, the South by Southwest (SXSW) music festival in Austin, TX has become one of the best and most influential Interactive, Film & Music Festivals in the world. I suppose that reflects two things: The tenacity and skill of the event’s organizers, and the convergence of all types of media brought on by the rise of the Internet and digital media.
My first experience of South by Southwest was way back in 1994, the first year that included a conference for the Film and Interactive aspects of the Festival. I spoke at the Interactive Conference and made some great connections with the very early pioneers of the Interactive industry.
This year, as in the past, a fantastic set of industry luminaries converged on Austin, TX to discuss the Interactive industry, make connections and, of course, to party together.
Some of the highlights included a panel moderated by Henry Jenkins of former Director of MIT’s Comparative Media Studies Program, who is now coming to Los Angeles to teach at USC. Henry is unabashedly upbeat and genuinely respects and loves people.
Henry Jenkins is the Director of the MIT Comparative Media Studies Program and the Peter de Florez Professor of Humanities. He is the author and/or editor of nine books on various aspects of media and popular culture, including Textual Poachers: Television Fans and Participatory Culture, Hop on Pop: The Politics and Pleasures of Popular Culture and From Barbie to Mortal Kombat: Gender and Computer Games. His newest books include Convergence Culture: Where Old and New Media Collide and Fans, Bloggers and Gamers: Exploring Participatory Culture
The fact that new media enables a culture that goes beyond just being a spectator and opens up a participatory social dynamic that is both terribly threatening and at the same time potentially quite valuable to older media organizations who may be stuck in their old ways. Jenkins’ bottom line is that fans present a wonderful opportunity for content and media outlets if they are nurtured and treated with respect. Their participation with, and love of, shows and other media properties is invaluable to the creators of that media.
When big media companies try to shut fans down, or reject their participation by closing down fan websites, etc. they risk making themselves irrelevant as fans move to properties which value and welcome their participation. For anyone who is interested in, or makes their living in any media field I highly recommend http://henryjenkins.org, along with his book.
As the Interactive conference wound down the music conference began. The IQ level went down a bit, but the already high “Party Q” level skyrocketed. Downtown Austin turned into an enormous festival where, on every corner, at every bar, in every park and even up some alleys music was played and good times were had by many, if not all.
In fact, the only downside of the all the music and goings-on at SXSW is that you can’t be in two places at once. It has led me to focus on the good performances I see, instead of the good stuff I end up missing. So, let me tell you about some of my favorites.
First, I got to see one of my favorite bands for the first time. Gomez played on the enormous outdoor stage at Stubb’s, a world famous barbeque restaurant. Gomez (myspace.com/gomez )plays a very interesting mix of alternative/blues/indie rock. Then, I passed on one of my favorites, Andrew Bird, because I was so taken with a Reggae artist I had never heard of before: Mishka.
I am not a big Reggae fan, but Mishka is set to cross over to fans of other genres. I was truly blown away with how good his songs were. Not the usual “it all sounds the same” of some Reggae bands. Rather, Mishka played a very melodic, beautiful collection of songs, accompanied by other excellent musicians. His new album “Above the Bones” is excellent. For what it’s worth Matthew McConahay is another of Mishka’s fans!
Another cool feature of SXSW was the tradeshow. One of the coolest devices I saw there was an amazing microphone from Blue Microphones. Named Mikey, it plugs into your iPod and allows you to record anything from a lecture to a rock concert. The reason it stands out is the amazing fidelity of the recordings it produces.
I also won an electric guitar from Road Recovery. I bought 5 $1 raffle tickets and one of them was the lucky one! Road Recovery, http://www.roadrecovery.org/ is an organization that harnesses the power of the entertainment industry to free young people from addiction and other adversity. They are a fantastic group and they make a big difference.
By John K. Bates
South by Southwest can be found at http://www.sxsw.com and happens again from March 12 – 21, 2010 in Austin, TX.
John K. Bates has been an Internet Professional since 1987 and is currently responsible for Business Development in the Americas for MindArk, the creators of Entropia Universe, the only virtual world with a real cash economy. In 2008 approximately $450 million US Dollars changed hands in the virtual worlds of the Entropia Universe.
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Wonderful article, Mister John Bates, and propertly articulated. Great job! <3 CB