SXSW Publicity Craze?!

When I first thought about South by Southwest, and before I had ever experienced it, I thought it was all a hoax of “wanna be” artists. It seems like anybody who puts up a music page on Myspace.com they think it makes them the next “hit artist.” There are over 5 million music pages on Myspace.com. Sometimes when I’m bored I sift through them and find a couple hidden prospects that I wish would get discovered but probably won’t because of the “clutter.”

But, I went to the coveted and highly publicized SXSW weekend fest. I even worked at the Spin/Myspace.com huge tent. Okay, I admit, it was awesome! The artists that came to the media tent seemed to be those who were up and coming (The Watson Twins, REM, Vampire Weekend, Ra Ra Riot, The Ravonettes, etc.), and some of the artists I talked to even went to other artists’ shows going on during that weekend that wowed and won them over. It was cool to see all the support they seemed to give one another. Also, to think that if these artists are doing so well can’t they spot upcoming talent? It seems that it takes one to know one these days. Literally though. Can you really get anywhere as a musician these days without the support of the already famous or support systems ten fold strong?

The Spin Magazine/Myspace.com media tent truly was the place to be if you wanted to get any real publicity from SXSW. It was amazing. They supplied gifting which included French designer sunglasses, shoes, clothes, Guitar Hero, and more. They had their own personal tent for private interviews and another area where they were taking cover pictures for the magazine. If you didn’t feel like anyone special they certainly made sure you were tricked for those few days they granted you special access to their “invite only,” prestigious media tent. Then they had a party that headlined Vampire Weekend and another Spin party later that night on the last day of SXSW. All I can say is if you are going to use SXSW to your advantage as a musician forget the live concerts, concentrate on the publicity! Rolling Stones magazine tent was also there. Most of them are “invite” only media tents, but if you figure out how to get the invitation you are set. The shows are just a great follow up to your small “Austin publicity tour,” and you have an array of extra cool badges and wrist bands to sport to show off how important you really are to your fans.

Publicists are definitely reaping the benefits of the influx of musicians these days. SXSW brought in musicians from ALL over the world. Their managers, publicists, and agents were in tow of course. I had to turn away several publicists who were trying to get their musicians a spot in the RSVP only event in our media tent last minute. Because I got the chance to go behind the scenes I saw what it was really like to keep up your “star power” in the publicity world. I have serious respect for their struggle, and there really is hidden talent out there that needs discovering. A few of the original shows I saw and loved were a crazy, cool percussionist group with a stage show comparable to that of the Blue Man Group called Drum Jam, and a soloist artist that seemed to combine the style of John Meyer and a cool reggae feel called JJ Usher. I also got to meet The Dragonettes who played for the Perez Hilton party! It was a make-up of who’s who with a small town “spin” on it. Although you may not know them today, you better get their signatures now, because they will be somebody tomorrow…

www.spinmagazine.com