DIY+ Music Releasing, Redefining Careers with Data, and the Alchemy of Jingles: Making & Promoting Music Track Sessions for SXSW 2018

From DIY to big data applications, the Making & Promoting Music Track explores the evolving process of creating and sharing music as it relates to both indie and major artists. Stay ahead of the curve as new technology impacts the music industry with the Making & Promoting Music Track at SXSW in March - check out session recommendations below.

"The Making & Promoting Music Track promotes discussion on unique and innovative ways musicians are recording and releasing music," says SXSW Programmer Adam Wode. "We want to examine a wide range of creative release strategies that artists of all levels can use to get their music heard by the right audience."

Explore highlighted topics in the Making & Promoting Music Track like music and the brain, redefining artist’s careers with data, how prosumers become audio engineers, and more. Making & Promoting Music sessions will be held March 13-17 with primary access to Music and Platinum Badges; secondary access to all other badges.

Making & Promoting Music Session Highlights

That Sounds Better

Speaker: Alex Tumay (That Sounds Better Inc.), Chadwick Prima (That Sounds Better Inc.), Vanessa Reilford, and Jason Kingsland

Platinum mix engineer Alex Tumay founded That Sounds Better, a cross country touring lecture series that focuses on engineering for the prosumer in applied practice. Alex will build a professional studio on stage using minimal equipment and do a live professional recording session. This workshop will give engineering students the tools to understand if they need more instruction or if they can save 100k in student loans to be a self-starter. He also speaks to the question: How to get a real job.

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DIY+: A Better Way to Release Music on Your Own

Speakers: Jay Coyle (Music Geek Services), Maggie Vail (Cash Music), Michael Chase (MGM Distribution), and Nicole Poulos (Sideways Media)

This panel will focus on creating success and having options as your business and fan base grows. We will focus on managing and communicating to your fans for fan engagement "best-practices". We will offer options for distribution and how to make your music available everywhere. We will discuss how to build members of your team properly to replicate what large labels and management firms offer their clients. As your business grows, we will suggest a "check list" for building the right team around.

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Music and the Brain: How Sounds Become Pleasurable

Speakers: VALORIE NILOUFAR SALIMPOOR (Cignition), DOUGLAS ECK (Google), ALAIN DAGHER (Montreal Neurological Institute McGill University), and INDRE VISKONTAS (Cadence, San Francisco Conservatory of Music)

We bring together experts in the field of neurology, psychology, cognitive science, music performance, and machine learning to explore a question that is fundamental to humanity: what makes music pleasurable? We will discuss recent research that shows how the most complex systems of the brain that are unique to humans integrate with the brain's emotional and reward systems to create intense emotions and feelings of pleasure to music, and demonstrate these findings through musical performances.

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How Artists are Redefining Their Careers with Data

Speaker: ANABELLE ZEE (Next Big Sound at Pandora Media) and JULIEN BENATAR (Next Big Sound at Pandora Media)

Artists have limited resources and unlimited data. That data, without context is meaningless. But with the right context, it can redefine an artist’s career trajectory and inform the right decisions. In this talk, two experts from Next Big Sound at Pandora will walk through groundbreaking artist stage research, previously unreleased peer research and product innovations around automating reporting for artists and their teams.

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Earworms & Triggers: The Alchemy of Branded Music

Speakers: ABBEY HENDRIX (Walker), CHRIS JAMES (Chris James Audio), DAVID NOLTE (Scratch Creative), and REBECCA RIENKS (NBC Entertainment)

"Like a good neighbor, _____ is there." "The best part of waking up is _____ in your cup." "I don't wanna grow up, I'm a _____ kid." Simply reading these catchphrases is enough of a trigger for your brain to remember the melody, the song and - more importantly - the brand in question. How do brands build a music identity that not only sells their products, but also their company objectives? And how are jingles, themes and mnemonics used to induce this sort of Pavlovian response in the audience?

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Making & Promoting Music sessions will be held from March 13-17.

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Crossover Track Recommendations

Venture off the beaten path and learn from SXSW sessions across all 24 Tracks of Conference programming. These recommended sessions are outside of the Making & Promoting Music Track, but are relevant to anyone trying to broaden their musical understanding.

Reserve My Platinum Badge for SXSW 2018

Purchase your SXSW Badge and reserve your hotel today to experience these sessions along with 10 days of screenings, showcases, exhibitions, networking, and more this March 9-18 in Austin, TX. Take the Tracks Quiz to discover which badge will suit your needs.

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Teaser Photo by Mauricio Lujan

By Hayden Bagot

01/10/2018