(CelebrityAccess MediaWire) — Out of a record 50 Australian & New Zealand music artists invited last month to showcase at the 20th annual South by Southwest Music Festival & Conferences (SXSW), March 15-19 in Austin TX, 30 Australian and 10 New Zealand acts have now confirmed their appearances at the world's largest and most prestigious music event. It's an eightfold increase in artists performing over 2002's SXSW and the registrations are also eight times 2002.
The 40 artists will be joined by more than 200 music industry professionals, operating from government sponsored stands in a combined three-day trade show and five-day conference filling the daytime hours. At night, they'll be competing with over 1,200 other bands from around the world who will be showcasing for five nights in 50 venues.
The area breakdown as of January 9 is Victoria (14), New South Wales (9) 3 WA, Queensland (2), 2 SA and New Zealand (1). There are still a few bands that have been invited who have not yet confirmed. The confirmed bands are:
Airbourne (Melbourne),
The Avalanches (Melbourne),
Avotor (Auckland NZ),
The Bats (Christchurch NZ),
Sarah Blasko (Sydney),
The Brunettes (Auckland NZ),
Bluebottle Kiss (Sydney),
Coco Solid (Auckland NZ),
Cut Copy (Melbourne),
Dappled Cities Fly (Sydney),
Decoder Ring (Sydney),
Die! Die! Die! (Auckland NZ),
End Of Fashion (Perth),
Faker (Sydney),
The Fanatics (Auckland NZ),
The Flairz (Fremantle),
Flip Grater (Christchurch NZ),
The Gear (Melbourne),
Gestalt Switch (Dunedin NZ),
The Grates (Brisbane),
Gyroscope (Perth),
Grey Daturas (Melbourne),
Missy Higgins (Melbourne),
Kisschasy (Melbourne),
Chris Knox and The Nothing (Auckland NZ),
The Living End (Chelsea),
Love of Diagrams (Melbourne),
Lovetones (Sydney),
Ryan McPhun and The Ruby Suns (Auckland NZ),
The Mess Hall (Sydney),
The Morning After Girls (Sydney),
New Buffalo (Melbourne),
The Presets (Melbourne),
Xavier Rudd (Torquay),
Shifter (Brisbane),
Sia (Adelaide),
Something for Kate (Melbourne),
Wolf And Cub (Adelaide),
Wolfmother (Sydney) and
Youth Group (Melbourne).
Commenting on the largest number of Australian bands and music executives in the US at any one time, AUSTRADE's Business Development Manager of the recently created Australian Music Office at the Los Angeles Consulate, Tony George, states, "AUSTRADE's Music Office has gone the extra mile this year by spearheading innovative new ways to give artists, bands and music industry executives exposure and networking opportunities at this mammoth music marketplace which has been a critical strategy of music exporting over the past three years as the result of government and industry synergy. Our continued investment is a result of escalating success."
Among the initiatives are a teleconferencing boot camp where bands and delegates will gather in AUSTRADE offices across Australia six weeks out from SXSW, to get the latest information on visa procurement, publicity, promotion, deal making opportunities and other strategies of attacking the North American market from experts in the online networking session. Aside from the resources of the three day trade fair stand presence and marketing magazine, media appearances and in-store shows are also being lined up as well as airplay on satellite radio and Internet sites.
AUSTRADE, in association with the non-profit Australian Music Collective which produces the SXSW Australian Barbecue Concert of 10 acts March 17 in Austin, is also facilitating a major showcase for the industry in Los Angeles on March 13, prior to SXSW at the Troubador in Hollywood as well as two New York showcases March 21-22 after SXSW concludes for music executives and agents.
Sydney-based Phil Tripp, SXSW representative for Australia, New Zealand and Hawaii, who has been instrumental in the expansion of participants from the Pacific Rim, said, "Having been in the industry 30 years, Australia for 25, and having run national presences at global music markets for 20 years, we knew the potential for Australia and New Zealand at SXSW was phenomenal since our live performance based artist and contemporary music styles matched the needs of the North American marketplace that SXSW services. As the event has grown over the past four years to incorporate more countries' attendees, we've reaped the benefits from creating and maintaining a strong Australian 'brand' at the event through the governments' support of stands, promotion and media. At least 10 major deals have come out of 2005's SXSW AustralAsian Invasion and we feel the outcome of this year's participation will make a major contribution to our export music income."
–Bob Grossweiner and Jane Cohen
