State Champ Radio SXSW
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SYDNEY, Australia — Coachella CEO Paul Tollett, futurist Amy Webb and Slack co-founder Cal Henderson are among the guest speakers joining the inaugural SXSW Sydney, a week-long industry powwow, party, and seat of learning, set for this October.
Joining the 700-strong speakers lineup is fashion icon Tan France, alongside previously announced guests including Chris Lee, a.k.a. Sung-su Lee, chief A&R officer and former CEO of SM Entertainment, the giant K-pop agency; Per Sundin, the Swedish CEO of Pophouse Entertainment; multiple world surfing champion Layne Beachley and many more.
Tollett will participate in a “fireside chat,” says Claire Collins, head of music for SXSW. “We’re going to learn about his history, the history of the event and how it became the most influential event in the world, the challenges and the future,” Collins tells Billboard. “It’ll be an unmissable session.”
Organizers received more than 2,500 applications for those coveted performer spots, explains Collins, who pays tribute to the “enormous job” by the programming team, and singles out music festival programming director of Reginald Harris.
Meanwhile, the SXSW music team today announces 100 new artists to its lineup, a list that includes raging-hot U.S. viral hip-hop act Flyana Boss, which has accumulated more than 1 million followers on TikTok; rising homegrown acts South Summit, Chanel Loren and Gut Health; South Korea’s ADOY and Lil Cherry; Indonesia’s Isyana Sarasvati and Malaysia’s Lunadira.
The final list of performances, which continues to take shape, will number more than 400.
Just three months out from showtime, SXSW Sydney 2023 will spotlight a range of fresh music talent coming out of the Asia-Pacific region, organizers say, and offer myriad opportunities to connect with bright sparks across the region from within the music industry, and across the tech, games and screen industries.
“Never before have this many entrepreneurs, artists, futurists, innovators and titans of every industry all been in Sydney at one time,” comments Colin Daniels, managing director of SXSW Sydney, in a statement. “As we pull together over 1,000 events and experiences, our team are still searching for a poster big enough to reveal it all.”
Also, more than 300 panels and sessions will explore hot-button topics from AI fluency, “Big Tech” transparency, the future of lab-grown meat, ethical living with robots, First Nations knowledge in design, and more.
Born and bred in Austin, Texas, the South by Southwest conference and festival makes the leap from the United States for the first time with its Australia leg, set for seven days and nights from Oct. 15-22, 2023.
SXSW Sydney is a collaboration with Australian promoter TEG and the New South Wales (NSW) government along with its tourism agency, Destination NSW.
In April 2021, it was announced that SXSW had signed a “lifeline” deal with P-MRC, a joint venture between Penske Media Corporation and MRC, making P-MRC a stakeholder and long-term partner with the Austin festival. P-MRC is the parent company of Billboard.
Visit sxswsydney.com for more.
South by Southwest has increased the rates paid to domestic artists performing at the annual festival in Austin by 40-50%, following a petition and rally demanding higher pay.
The 2024 event artist application, which opened Tuesday, outlines that solo artists performing at SXSW will receive $150 — a $50 rate increase from previous years. Bands will now be paid $350 rather than the previous rate of $250. As in years prior, international artists will not receive financial compensation.
Also consistent with previous years, domestic artists playing SXSW must choose to take a monetary payment, or receive an artist credential that includes primary access to all music-related events, artist-only amenities including special rates on hotels, meals and drinks and artist networking space, and secondary access to film and television related programming.
SXSW charges an all acts an application fee, which is $35 until Aug. 25 and then $55 until applications close on Oct. 27.
“Our purpose at SXSW is to help creative people achieve their goals,” said SXSW’s vp of music festival James Minor in a statement. “As an industry event, showcasing at SXSW provides indispensable networking, mentoring, and career development opportunities that are not a part of standard consumer-focused festivals.
“Artists continue to make connections at SXSW that further their careers, and it is essential for us to provide opportunities that make the most impact in supporting the thousands of artists who come to Austin every March.”
In April 2021, Penske Media Corporation, which owns Billboard, became an investor in SXSW by taking a 50% stake in the conference and festival.
The rate increase comes follows an artist-led petition from earlier this year that urged SXSW to increase compensation for musicians playing the festival. Published by the Union of Musicians and Allied Workers (UMAW), the petition was signed by more than 400 artists including Amber Coffman of Dirty Projectors, DIIV, Eve 6, Mountain Goats, Jeremy Messersmith, Speedy Ortiz, Zola Jesus, Pedro the Lion, YACHT and Emperor X, along with the Songwriters of North America (SoNA). On May 31, the organization led a rally outside Penske Media Corporation’s New York offices.
As reported by Texas Public Radio, during a Parks and Recreation Board meeting in Austin on Monday, Pat Buchta, the head of nonprofit Austin Texas Musicians, remarked on the rate increase, saying “Respectfully, is that enough? Our musicians do not think so, and musician input is the one thing that everybody seems to be missing in this conversation.”
LØREN finally brought his alternative rock energy to the United States this month, when he took the stage at SXSW. To celebrate, he joined Billboard‘s Tetris Kelly to chat about his music, production and more.
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“It was wild,” he said of his first U.S. performances. “If I’m being honest, I haven’t done that many shows in Korea. I honestly didn’t know what to expect from the crowd, if they were going to like it, so it was kind of nerve-racking at first. It was great to get this reassurance that whatever I’m trying to do, does move people to a certain point.”
He also shared the inspiration behind his intense “Folks” music video, in which the singer is shot in the chest. “It comes down to how people are so quick to judge you based on things that are just out there,” he explained. “I wanted the video to portray that even if you’re just trying to be yourself, you’re still going to get attacked and there are all these things that are going to get in your way.”
While LØREN is an incredible solo artist, he’s an equally talented producer and songwriter who has worked with other popular Korean acts like BLACKPINK. “When I was a producer, I didn’t know what to expect. You just write beats or tracks hoping that they’re going to go somewhere,” he shared of the experience working with the girl group. “With BLACKPINK, they needed a certain set of lyrics that are both in tune with how the song was written originally and how it’s going to sound in Korean. I don’t want to flatter myself, but I think what I did fit that role.”
He added, “I’ve been a fan even pre-debut, so it’s been a dream to work with them and interact with them musically, whether it be the Instagram Live with Rosie or being in the studio with them, hearing their stories and whatnot.”
Watch Billboard‘s full interview with LØREN above.
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Ben Affleck worked hard to earn his way into becoming a major Hollywood filmmaker, actor, and producer. Even with the type of pull Affleck surely has, a request from Michael Jordan was heeded ahead of him getting the blessing to put out the film, Air.
Ben Affleck shared behind-the-scenes details of Air during the film’s debut at SXSW in Austin, Texas this past weekend. Per Variety, Affleck shared at the event that Jordan had a number of suggestions that Affleck heeded but the most notable one was asking that Viola Davis play Deloris Jordan, Air Jordan’s mother.
From Variety:
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“I got the script and then had the chance again to talk to Michael. Michael Jordan, for those of you who don’t know, is one of the most intimidating, impressive men you’ll ever see in your life,” Affleck said. “He told me about [his] father. And then he talked about his mother. It was the first time I saw this look cross his face. It was a look of reverence, of awe, of love, and gratitude, and innocence. He said, ‘None of this would have ever happened without my mother.’ I said, ‘Who would you like to play your mom?’ He said, ‘Well, it has to be Viola Davis.”
The outlet adds that Ben Affleck brought out the award-winning Davis for a brief moment ahead of the airing of the film in full.
Air comes to the theaters on April 5, 2023.
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Photo: Getty
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A new movie set in the Bronx, featuring rising young star Asante Blackk, turned heads at the SXSW festival this past week.
This year’s edition of the South By Southwest Festival (SXSW) held in Austin, Texas was a stage for a slew of new films to make their debut. One film, Story Ave, became a favorite of those who got to see the drama set in The Bronx. The film stars Asante Blackk, who recently captivated audiences with his role in Ava DuVernay’s When They See Us dramatic series for Netflix on the exonerated Central Park Five.
Story Ave is the debut film from writer-director Aristotle Torres based on an award-winning short film of his and counts Jamie Foxx as one of its producers. The movie shows Kadir (Blackk), a young high-school student with a striking talent for art who’s part of a crew of taggers known as Outside The Lines along with his friend Moe (Alex Hibbert from Showtime’s The CHI). The crew is run by Skemes (Melvin Gregg from FX’s Snowfall) who puts Kadir in a position to rob an MTA conductor named Luis (Luís Guzmán). But Luis and Kadir wind up befriending each other, setting off a chain of events that pushes Kadir to fight to see if there is a life for him outside of the streets.
Blackk spoke about his experience in filming Story Ave in a recent interview. “I didn’t realize at the time that my life was changed after reading [the script for ‘Story Ave’],” Blackk said. “But once the [filming] process started and we really became a family, I understood exactly what those words on that page were making me feel. And it was connection, it was love, it was fear, guilt — it was all of these emotions that I wrestled with my whole life wrapped so beautifully into this portrayal of a young man.”
The film was co-written by Bonsu Thompson, a veteran journalist who has produced digital series for BET and the feature-length documentary Can’t Stop Won’t Stop: A Bad Boy Story in addition to serving as the Editor-In-Chief of The Source magazine and as Music Editor for XXL magazine [Ed. Note: he penned a Cassius cover story on Bel Air star Jabar Banks, too]. Chuck Inglish, one-half of The Cool Kids, serves as a composer on the film along with Pierre Charles.
It’s nearly 9:30 p.m. in Austin, Texas and Kx5 — the electronic dance music supergroup of Kaskade and deadmau5 — quietly take the stage. They hardly go unnoticed, though, as the fans packed on the lawn at the Moody Amphitheater at Waterloo Park begin to scream for the legends.
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“Austin!” Kaskade yells into his mic, showing the city some love before returning his full attention back to his deck, as he and deadmau5 perform with precision a steady stream of syrupy and hypnotic hits beginning with set opener “Bright Lights.”
With lyrics like, “There’s a place… we can go… for a feeling…” the pair set the tone for the third and final night (Saturday, March 18) of Billboard’s South By Southwest concert series. And together, the two deliver a much-needed communal dance party to cap off what was, for most, a nonstop week.
The headlining set could not come at a better time for Kaskade and deadmau5, either, as just 24 hours earlier Kx5 released its self-titled debut album — over a decade after the two first partnered up. Rightfully so, the night is a celebratory culmination of all of the above.
Throughout the set — which clocks in at just over an hour long and utilizes over 50 lights and frequent fog blasts — Kaskade and deadmau5 deliver sky-high drops tailor made for roller coaster enthusiasts — especially on new track “Eat Sleep,” which blends into a snippet of an industrial, deconstructed remix of “Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger.”
Later, during the atmospheric album cut “When I Talk” deadmau5 lights up — creating his own personal mini fog machine — while “Sacrifice,” which features Sofi Tukker, prompts Kaskade to yell “C’mon!” while reclining his upper body into a small standing backbend.
As the show reaches its halfway point, the soaring drops and bursts of fog seem to occur in more rapid succession as the show builds, The crowd reacts accordingly, with one devoted fan dancing along holding two circular press-down night lights that in this environment more resemble floating orbs.
To prepare for the set’s peak, the pair dive into “Escape,” a melodic daydream off Kx5 on which British singer-songwriter Hayla questions: “What if I escape?” For most in attendance, this show offered just that — even if only for a brief while.
During the song, deadmau5 shows Kaskade something on his phone, to which the two react with wide eyes and jaws dropped before honing in with laser focus for their final minutes on stage. And just then, the Kx5 logo that opened the show reappears onscreen, indicating they are indeed coming full circle.
The ride is ending.
But not before one final hit. The one, of course, that started it all: “I Remember.”
“This song is old enough to vote!” deadmau5 declares with a wide smile. He then hops down from the platform which has housed him and Kaskade for the last 60-plus minutes, bringing his beer with him, to take a well-deserved bow and applaud his partner, who stays glued to his deck until the last resounding note reaches the final row of fans.
And as the two begin to walk off the stage, the anticipated chant for an encore begins. But after a closer like that, Kx5 made sure to give a performance no one will forget.
Even so, one bawling fan could be heard telling friends: “I need to see this again.”
One of Feid‘s first-ever performances in the U.S. was at a South by Southwest (SXSW) festival about five years ago. “I went to different bars, tents, and venues asking people to let us perform,” he previously told Billboard. “I played everywhere we could and now being part of Billboard’s stage is awesome and it’s beautiful.”
Fast forward to 2023, the Colombian singer-songwriter — alongside Puerto Rican trap star Eladio Carrión and Austin-based DJ Gabby Got It — now headlined “Billboard Presents THE STAGE at SXSW,” which took place Friday (March 17) at the Moody Amphitheater at Waterloo Park in Austin.
Billboard officially returned to South by Southwest with three nights of star-studded concerts. Electronic music titans Kx5 (Kaskade and deadmau5) will close the event on Saturday (March 18).
Check out the best moments from Feid & Carrión’s show below.
A Packed House: Rain or Shine
From chilly days to severe thunderstorms, the weather in Austin has been a bit wonky but in true Billboard fashion, the show must go on — and fans showed up no matter what. Doors opened at 7 p.m. local time but just hours before, a long line of eager fans wrapped around the Moody. In honor of Feid’s show, which just so happens to fall on St. Patrick’s Day, the majority of fans dressed in green (his signature color) and rocked the white Ferxxo sunnies. A lot of fans also brought homemade posters and their county’s flag. The Moody was at capacity with nearly 5,000 concert-goers in attendance and a couple more watching the show from a parking garage afar.
A Mini Reggaetón Carnival
As some fans made their way to the pit, others took advantage of the fun activations found in the outdoor venue. Think of a mini carnival with food, drinks, free candy, cute photo spots, and even a fun slide. Notably was Austin’s own Gabby Got It (real name: Gabriela Alma Lopez-Bucio), who kept the crowd entertained and on their feet with her reggatón-heavy DJ set including bangers from Wisin y Yandel, Karol G, and many more.
Eladio Brought the Heat to Austin
It was 50 degrees outside but Carrión made sure to turn up the heat with his 45-minute set that kicked off with “Flores en Anonimo” and continued with his trap hits “Sin Frenos,” “Tata” and “Kemba Walker,” to name a few. “Hace un frío cabron!” (it’s cold as f—), he expressed at one point but nonetheless, the Boricua act removed one of his shirts and continued to perform some of his most commercial bangers like “Mi Error,” “Me Gustas Natural” and “No Te Deseo el Mal.” Carrión then wrapped his SXSW performance with tracks “Ele Uve,” “North Carolina” and “Biza.”
Feid Fulfilled His SXSW Dream
Rocking his go-to outfit (shorts, sneakers, a sweater and glasses), Feid hopped on stage at 9:35 p.m. and kicked off his hour-long set with “Castigo,” followed by “Chimbita” and “Belixe.” He then greeted his faithful crowd and let them he was living a dream. “Austin, how are you, mor? This is a special night because five years ago we performed at SXSW and now we’re here,” he gushed. Joined by two DJs and an energetic guitarist on stage, the Colombian act performed hits such as “Mojando Asientos,” “Friki” and “Normal,” before gifting fans with a streak of bangers that went viral on TikTok: “Ultra-Solo,” “Yandel 150,” “Hey Mor,” “Chorrito Pa’ Las Animas” and “Feliz Cumpleaños, Ferxxo,” to name a few. Though he often hopped from one side of the stage to the other, there were a few times Feid would bust out with the social media dance challenges. “¡Que chimba esta noche!” he expressed, which translates to “what an amazing night!”
The newest onscreen video game adaptation has come in the form of Tetris, a Jon S. Braid thriller film about the true story of Henk Rogers, who created the beloved puzzle game in 1988.
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Billboard was at the film’s SXSW premiere this week, where host Tetris Kelly surprised the cast with the hilarious coincidence of matching names. “Really?” Taron Egerton, who plays Rogers, said to Kelly upon hearing his name. “Is that real? Well, I’m very glad to meet you.”
Egerton also opened up about taking roles that portray famous stories, as he previously played Elton John in Rocketman. “You try not to dwell on those things too much. You have to divorce yourself from any pressure you feel from playing recognizable people or stories that are well known,” he shared. “If you are nervous at work every day, you wouldn’t be able to do your job.”
Polina, who spearheaded the soundtrack on the film, also shared what it was like to make the movie’s music. “I got to record some of my favorite songs,” she revealed. “I usually write soundtracks but this time around, I performed the soundtracks and it was such an honor to perform Blondie and Pat Benatar. Such legends and iconic songs.”
As for how she ranks when playing Tetris, Polina said with a laugh, “I think I suck at Tetris.”
Watch Tetris Kelly talk to the Tetris cast at SXSW in Austin, Texas, above.
Billboard kicked off its three-day concert series with performances by Lola Brooke, Armani White and 03 Greedo on Thursday (March 16).
Lil Yachty was set to headline — performing songs off his recently released No. 1 album Let’s Start Here — though due to sudden severe weather, never made it on stage.
Opening acts Lola Brooke and Armani White, however, got the energy up before last-minute addition Greedo took to the stage.
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Brooke, who performed in a racecar-inspired outfit with long silver hair, fittingly opened her set with 2022 single “Here I Come.” She also pleased the crowd with her breakout hit “Don’t Play With It,” which she released in 2021 and at the top of this year entered Billboard‘s R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay chart. The New York rapper also kicked off 2023 with a label deal, signing to Arista Records in collaboration with Team Eighty Productions.
Armani White was up next, who made quite the intro by throwing Fruit Snacks to fans as an early-evening pick-me-up. He then dove right in, opening with the hook of his viral hit “Billie Eilish” to pump up the thickening crowd who happily screamed along. He also treated the audience to “Diamond Dallas” and “Goated,” which he rapped alongside a saxophonist.
And finally, 03 Greedo became the unintentional closer, becoming the last performer of the night before severe weather forced an evacuation minutes before Lil Yachty was scheduled to begin. Ultimately, his set was cancelled.
As for 03 Greedo — who was released from prison in January after serving nearly five years behind bars on gun and drug charges — he delivered a compelling comeback set.
As he wrote on Instagram at the time of his release: “Yes, I am free from prison but I am still not completely out … I am in a halfway house for up to 6 months with a five minute phone call a week … “I honestly just don’t want to talk to alot of people yet … I got a lot I want to clear in my head first.”
Judging by his set, music may be the best way through, as he performed hits from his 2018 Alamo Records debut mixtape The Wolf of Grape Street like “Substance” and “Run For Yo Life,” the latter of which includes the line, “B—h it’s my year.” And with his freedom and a performance like this one under his belt, it very well could be.
Due to inclement weather conditions the March 16 concert was cancelled. All tickets purchased for this concert through the Moody Amphitheater box office or Ticketmaster will be refunded.
Original ticket purchasers will receive communications and refunds directly from Ticketmaster.
During a SXSW panel on Thursday, March 16, Billboard’s Kristin Robinson moderated a conversation between fast-rising singer-songwriter JVKE and SoundExchange president and CEO Michael Huppe.
Titled “The Creator Boom: How the Industry Can Transform,” Robinson clarified from the start that perhaps a more appropriate name would be how the industry already is transforming, and noted the ways in which independent artists who take off on TikTok, like JVKE, are helping write a new rulebook, with companies like SoundExchange (a non-profit collective rights management organization) helping newcomers play the game — and get paid.
Below are the five biggest lessons learned from the conversation.
WEIGH THE OPTION OF STAYING INDEPENDENT
JVKE was indeed offered multi-million dollar offers from major labels to sign, and said “there were so many different options and pressures, and it’s a safe option to take the check up front and recoup in 5-10 years, but in that moment I was just like, ‘I’ve seen how much I can grow on my own and we’re curious to see how much further we can go.’ We’re doing it for the greater good, to encourage artists to see how high the ceiling is.”
His best advice for others looking to follow in his path? “It’s really important that every up and coming artist has a tenacious mindset and commitment to overcoming every obstacle, the heart to keep going. It starts with the artist, you yourself have to really go after it. At first, just focus on being self-sufficient – because we have the ability to be now.”
Huppe agreed, and added , “Lower barriers to entry and being DIY means creators are exploding, we’re having so many more people enter the system. It’s fascinating and very fertile for the industry. The problem with that is what used to be a little more orderly, sometimes it feels like chaos out there. Part of what we do is bring order to the chaos.”
WORK TO ATTAIN VIRAL SUSTAINABILITY
“I’m always trying new things and there’s always this balance of trying to fund what you want to do, but you want to balance that with real impact,” said JVKE of his struggle to both sustain momentum and use his platform wisely. “There’s always so much joy that I find in connecting with my fans and I’m always looking through my DMs, looking at my Discord, all sorts of platforms to connect with fans. Now I have a tour coming up and I think that’s really important for a modern artist, to know there are real people, not just numbers [driving your success].
TAKE ADVANTAGE OF TODAY’S ENVIRONMENT FOR RISING ARTISTS
Huppe said that when he first entered the industry, the biggest threat was pirate cassette operations. “Now,” he said, “the biggest change is what used to be an ownership model. For 80 years the industry was based around ownership, everything was for sale.” He added that there are, of course, new products being monetized today, like virtual merchandise in the metaverse. But even so, he said, “Now people own very little and it’s all about access. Record labels have adapted and the artists, especially the younger up and coming artists, have really grabbed onto it and seized it.”
Which is exactly why JVKE believes it’s “the best time ever to be [emerging] because you can make music, put it out, get equipment [shipped to] your bedroom. All of those gates to entry that used to be there are pretty much gone, and I think that’s why we see so many people releasing songs now. And I think in the next few years we’re going to see a lot more up and coming artists with a similar story to me.”
BALANCE CONTENT WITH MUSIC
For an artist like JVKE who took off thanks to TikTok, he spoke to the digital dance of balancing out creator content with posts that directly tease or promote his music. “It was more of a grind when I started out,” he said. “Ultimately, it’s all a mission to connect with people personally. As much as we talk about the algorithm, it’s also just reaching people where they are. Every artist likes doing different things, for me I love writing songs and the raw element of throwing up my phone and playing it and seeing if people like it. Part of growing, for me, means expanding my team so I can stick to what I’m best at. But at first an artist has to do it all themselves.”
MIND YOUR METADATA
Metadata, simply explained by Huppe, “Is data about data.” He said,” In today’s streaming world where 85% of the U.S. recorded music market is streaming, it’s that metadata that determines where the money goes.” He said that over 36 billion performances are reported into SoundExchange each month, with the company paying out every month, totalling over $1 billion annually. “The payment needs to flow properly so people can make a living,” he said. “Metadata is not the sexy part of this, it’s not why anyone does this, but your life will be substantially different if you do it well.”
