Event Alert: Live @ Culture Fix Tonight, 9/28 w/Jingle Punks

Tonight, Wednesday, September 28, marks the debut of Live @ Culture Fix. L@CF is a new networking event, which also features live sets from NYC area performers and touring songwriters.

It all takes place at Culture Fix, 9 Clinton Street on the LES.

7-8:30 PM: This month’s featured Company: Jingle Punks

Jingle Punks, NYC’s resident experts on music supervision and synch licensing for TV, film and other media,  will be on hand to demonstrate how artists can get their music noticed using meta data and search engine optimization. Information on how to be included in the Jingle Punks Catalog will also be shared.

Jingle Punks Guest Speakers:
Bill Markt | Director of Catalog
Colleen McNally | Senior Music Supervisor

8:30-11pm: Featured Songwriters
Viv & The Revival (Philly)
Tatiana Moroz (NYC)
Denise Barbarita (NYC)

Event Alert: Noteworking at Premier Studios with Rightsflow, Jingle Punks this Wed. 7/27

The Noteworking meetup is taking their monthly gathering to the next level with an event at Premier Studios, 723 7th Avenue, 6th floor, on Wednesday, July 27th from 7pm-11pm.

This months Noteworking will feature talks by the NYC-based companies Jingle Punks on music supervision, and Rightsflow on song clearance. This informative event will be followed by music, networking, and light snacks.

$5 Admission, RSVP required.

New Panelists and Full Schedule Announced for ASCAP New York Sessions

The ASCAP New York Sessions event, previously reported on SonicScoop, has announced the addition of new panelists, as well as its full schedule.

Newly confirmed panelists include Jared Gustadt (Founder – Jingle Punks), Ariel Hyatt (Founder – Ariel Publicity & Cyber PR), Adam Taylor (Play the Piano Drunk) and Chris Vinson (Founder, CEO – Bandzoogle).

Panels at ASCAP New York Sessions will include:

– The Sound of Success: Creative Careers in Music, a panel of ASCAP songwriters, composers and producers,

– Master Session with Grammy Award-winning songwriters-producers Stargate & Sandy Vee, an in-depth breakdown of their biggest hits,

– Make the Internet Work for You (Presented by Bandzoogle), a road map of online tools for music creators, and

– The Path To Placements: Music in Film, TV and Advertising which will outline the best strategies for getting music heard and placed.

Other previously confirmed panelists/speakers includes the GRAMMY-winning songwriting/production duo Stargate – Mikkel Eriksen and Tor Hermansen & Sandy Vee (“Firework,” “Only Girl (In the World)”), Kerry “Krucial” Brothers (“Unthinkable (I’m Coming)”, “No One”), David Lang (Pulitzer Prize-winning composer, Co-Founder – Bang on a Can), Maria Schneider (Cerulian Skies, Concert in the Garden) and Gregg Wattenberg (“Hey Soul Sister,” “It’s Not Over”).

Visit the ASCAP New York Sessions website for a full list of panelists and their bios.

ASCAP New York Sessions will take place on March 31, 2011. The event brings together top songwriters, composers, producers and music industry professionals for a full day devoted to the craft, creativity and business of being a music creator. This is a one-day career boosting event designed to strengthen the skills, knowledge and connections needed to succeed in today’s music business.

Registration for ASCAP New York Sessions starts at $55 for ASCAP Members and $75 for all others. Prices go up March 15.

The SonicScoop Year in Review: Top NYC Music Business News and Trends of 2010

THE FIVE BOROUGHS: 2010 has been busy all right. For anyone involved in New York City’s expansive business of music – producer, publisher, entrepreneur, engineer, artist, and many more – the environment remains fast-paced, ultra-competitive and constantly changing.

With 2011 looming, SonicScoop looked for the news, trends and topics that stood out to us over the past 365 days.

In audio post, it was grow or die in the uppermost echelon. The biggest facilities, including hsr|ny, Nutmeg, and Sound Lounge made serious expansions into audio and/or video:

Sound Lounge opened an ADR Stage and multiple studios.

Nutmeg Post added a strong team and facility when it soaked up Soundhound.

The big post house Mega Playground built out audio capabilities.

Northern Lights added a 5.1 audio mixing suite.

Video house Click3X reversed the trend and added their own audio suite.

Celebrating 35 years in business, hsr|ny continued to expand as a full-service video and audio post facility.

Large and mid-sized recording/tracking/mixing studios kept making capital improvements and expanding:

Premier Studios took over the 8th floor at 723 7th Avenue.

Engine Room opened up its penthouse studio.

Stadium Red expanded with a new studio for Just Blaze and a mastering suite.

Platinum Studios added Augspurgers to Studio K.

Sear Sound set up the Moog-centric Studio D.

Tainted Blue swapped out its SSL for a Euphonix (nee Avid) System 5.

And props to Electric Lady for marking its 40th Anniversary.

Converse (yes, the shoe company) has an interesting business plan for the Rubber Tracks studio it’s going to open in Williamsburg in 2011: no-cost recording.

Advanced smaller studios – independent and within larger facilities — and producer rooms also opened up at a peppy pace:

Chris Theberge’s Music Works arrived on the Upper West Side.

The former One Point Six in Williamsburg was reborn as Three Egg Studios.

Manhattan Center Studios launched The Fuse Box with Public Enemy’s Brian Hardgroove.

Avatar opened up its Studio W writing room.

Sisko’s Min-Max Studios opened up in midtown.

Marc Alan Goodman announced an ambitious new expansion for Brooklyn’s Strange Weather, then blogged about the buildout – step by step – for SonicScoop.

Guitarist Justin King moved his Vinegar Hill Sound from Portland, OR to DUMBO, Brooklyn.

Avid capped off a furious year of reinvention and new products with the release of Pro Tools 9.

Music houses and composers still had a ton of TV, film and video game work to go after and win:

Joel Beckerman of Man Made Music continued to make NYC a TV music powerhouse.

Composer Peter Nashel turned ears everywhere with his work for shows like Rubicon.

Outfits like Expansion Team scored for networks such as the Biography Channel.

Tom Salta understands how to get chosen to score for games like Prince of Persia and Red Steel 2.

Production music and synch licensing remained a solid business, especially for those who got in at the right time or had a smart approach.

NYC’s Kingsize Music was acquired by 615 Music.

And later on Warner-Chappell (NYC) bought up 615 Music.

NYC’s Videohelper released the “Scenarios” music search tool.

Jingle Punks continued to grow.

Mechanical licensing experts RightsFlow kept progressing.

One of NYC’s most controversial music business plays, peer-to-peer file sharing network Limewire, appeared to be finally finished.

Tracking, mixing and mastering at NYC’s established facilities did a relatively healthy volume of A-level and independent work throughout the year:

The Black Eyed Peas, Rivers Cuomo and Kanye West were at Germano Studios.

Neon Indian, Beach House, Matt and Kim, Bear Hands and more were mastered at The Lodge.

MSR Studios handled Kid Cudi, Evanescence and Broadway Cast recordings.

Lenny Kravitz, The Dirty Pearls, “Glee”, and Vampire Weekend were all at Avatar.

Joe Lambert Mastering worked with Moby and Ninjasonik.

New software and hardware happiness abounded:

We elected many items “Buzzworthy” at AES, from Universal Audio, Focal, SSL, Burl, Shadow Hills, Izotope, Sound Toys, Lavry Engineering, Telefunken and more.

Propellerhead released Reason 5.

NYC suffered losses when beloved people and places left us:

Recording icon Walter Sear passed away.

The great hip hop/jazz experimentalist Guru was gone before his time.

Clinton Recording Studios hosted its last session.

Brick and mortar music retail took another hit when Fat Beats shuttered its last stores.

Baseline Studios, home of Just Blaze and countless Jay-Z hits, closed.

Chung King Studios started off 2010 with a bang by suddenly vacating Varick Street.

NYC-based producers, mixers, engineers and artists became businesses in their own right:

Producer Chris Coady worked on some hugely acclaimed records this year, including Beach House Teen Dream and Delorean Subiza, as well as records with Hooray for Earth, Zola Jesus, Smith Westerns, Cold Cave.

People like Allen Farmelo developed their distinctive sound.

Choice songwriter Claude Kelly made a business of hits.

Shane Stoneback’s career took off via work with Sleigh Bells and Vampire Weekend.

Mixer Mark Saunders embraced multiple aspects of the biz from his studio at Beat 360.

Dream Theater’s Jordan Rudess took his iPad/iPhone app MorphWiz all the way to #1.

Joel Hamilton continued down an immersive production path, working on records with Blakroc, Dub Trio, The Parkington Sisters and Blakroc.

And John Agnello brought his classic production and engineering technique to new records for Kurt Vile, J Mascis, Shayna Zaid And The Catch and Dead Confederate (among others).

The studio scene got a lot more socialicious and FUN:

Flux Studios was always hosting something in the East Village, like Alto and Dangerous converging for a schooling from Fab.

Digital Music NY was one of many popular business-based meetups.

Stadium Red partied down post-CMJ.

20dot20 mixed advertising and music.

And the Connectors connected a LOT of people.

What big stories would you include? And what do you see next in 2011? Don’t be shy – leave a comment and let us know!

– Janice Brown and David Weiss

Paper Garden Grows in Brooklyn

CLINTON HILL, BROOKLYN: It’s a good time to be a young music entrepreneur. Talented indie bands are everywhere and searching for the right partnerships to help them develop. NYC and, more specifically, Brooklyn is a breeding ground not only for the bands, studios and live music venues, but also for innovative music businesses like Bryan Vaughan’s Paper Garden Records.

Vaughan, a 20-something graduate of Belmont University in Nashville, is building his business — a full-service record label and publicity firm — more in the tradition of Saddle Creek and Sub Pop Records than Interscope or Jive.  And this business is one that simply would not have been able to thrive ten years ago as it does today.

Paper Garden Records first popped onto our radar last November, with promotions for a music + art party they curated at Brooklyn’s 3rd Ward, called Multiverse Playground.

A multimedia exhibition featuring live music by Paper Garden artists among others, art/light installation, photography and comedy, the event demonstrated the label’s efforts to create a dynamic environment in which new audiences would experience their artists’ music in a new way.

Since then, Paper Garden’s roster has grown from 3 artists to 12 — including Peasant, Emanuel and the Fear, Philadelphia Slick, Mighty Tiger and SAADI — and the second Multiverse Playground just went off in Los Angeles this past weekend at Urban Outfitters’ Space 15 Twenty.  Vaughan and the rest of the Paper Garden crew run the business as if there’s not a second to waste; new opportunities are both found and forged — sometimes in their own backyard. Literally.

When we visited Paper Garden HQ, and the home offices’ backyard in Clinton Hill, Vaughan pointed out the remnants of Hillstock, a DIY music festival that took place in his and the adjoining backyards. There, we talked about Paper Garden past, present and future over a beer…

Tell us about how Paper Garden came to be…you started in Nashville, right?

Yep, I started the label five years ago when I was still in school and interning at Saddle Creek in Nebraska for the summer. The first band was a Lincoln, Nebraska band, Eagle Seagull. For the first two years, it was basically me doing artist development with them and figuring out the whole distribution process.

After that, I signed two more bands — Peasant and Darla Farmer — and things progressed with them pretty quickly. That’s when I came up to NYC. I was still in school; Belmont has a program in New York City. So I did that for a semester and then went back down to Nashville to finish up school then moved to Brooklyn.

How do you get a band to sign with you when you’re in college? You must have had an impressive pitch!

Tricks! (laughs) Well, it’s all been a little different with each band. Eagle Seagull were friends of my older brother’s. They were a small band looking to do what they could and I was just figuring it all out. Working together came naturally.

I discovered Peasant through Myspace. He was a fan of Eagle Seagull. I used to listen to every friend-request from bands on Myspace and I responded to this one. He sent me a few more demos and then I went to see him at CMJ and we talked more from there.

All the bands I started working with were in very early stages of things. Darla Farmer were friends of mine from school in Nashville.

So, once you moved to NYC, how’d you discover Emanuel and the Fear — the band we first heard/loved of the Paper Garden family?

I originally talked to Emanuel [Ayvas] through his other band, Motion Commotion. He sent me a demo. Then I met his manager at an Eagle Seagull show and we started talking. At that point I had just changed distribution to go through TeamLove, which goes to ADA, and in doing so established a much more solid distribution line.

Emanuel’s EP was a test run for both of us to make sure it made sense — he’d already put the money into making it himself, so it wasn’t the typical deal. If it worked for both of us, we’d develop that into a deal for the full-length album. And it did work out. As we moved into the recording of the LP, I finally left my day job. I’d been working at The MuseBox as director of online marketing.

So, what was your philosophy in setting up Paper Garden Records? What kind of music did you want to put out? What did you want to DO?

My goal was to build the bands that I liked and respected both musically and creatively and which would be cohesive with the Paper Garden brand.

I wanted to make sure the label’s roster was diverse, like my musical taste, but unlike a lot of other indie labels at the time that I still admired and drew inspiration from. The music industry is ever changing and ever evolving, and I really didn’t want to pigeon-hole the label into a specific genre.

How does the diversity in style impact the artists on the label? You have a hip-hop group, an 11-piece rock orchestra, an indie-folk-singer, an indie-rock-band, an ambient electro-pop artist, etc…

Occasionally, I’ll get a little flack for it being so diverse, but for the most part I think it’s a very positive thing because each one of the bands provides a different opportunity or hits a different demographic. Granted, media-wise, if a hip-hop band like Philadelphia Slick gets something with Okay Player that’s obviously not going to be relevant to Peasant.

But there are a lot of media outlets that do eventually tie-in and come back and provide new or different opportunities to a different act on the label.

Generally, I think people have more diverse tastes now than years ago where you had your genre and you stuck with it because you weren’t as easily exposed to different kinds of music and new bands.

Is there anything you’d say you actually look for in an artist beyond the obvious — talent — perhaps as far as attitude or goals?

Yes! And my criteria have definitely sharpened in the last couple years. First of all, I need a band to tour, because that shows their efforts towards developing themselves as an artist and growing their fan-base into different markets.

But the other thing I really look for is a band’s level of creativity outside of just the music. If they’re coming up with lots of ideas for different videos or remixes, or if they’re just out meeting and talking to other bands a lot, that makes a huge difference. I need a band to be active — whether it be touring, or coming up with video ideas, or getting your music out to the music supervisors, or just going out a lot in general and mingling —all of these things play a key part in a band’s ultimate success.

Touring is easier for some than others. What’s the approach with a large ensemble like Emanuel and the Fear, for example? How have you guys adjusted your approach?

Emanuel knows how important it is to tour and he’s really a thinker as far as coming up with ways to make it work. For example, we’ve been brainstorming and trying to figure out ways to get into the college circuit, even outside of the NACA program. Since Emanuel is a composer and went to music school, we’re looking at music schools, even elementary schools where he can play and teach kids.

Then, also, there are the city orchestras: he has all the parts written out so if he’s able to connect with the program early on, we can create a show that will definitely have that town draw because the people in the band are now from that town.

What do you think is the most important aspect of what Paper Garden does, speaking to what it is artists seem to most need from you right now?

It’s a different thing artist to artist. Everyone on the roster right now knows that album sales aren’t going to be great. I think what Paper Garden does provide is a constant forward-thinking train of thought and actual proactivity. If you have some random idea, we’re going to figure out how to make it happen. We’re also able to setup the old-school distribution and promotion. And publicity.

A lot of companies will want to separate the label side from the publicity side, but I don’t see the need to do that because I feel providing publicity to a good band who already has a record label and distribution, will show Paper Garden’s credibility and may connect somehow to some of our label clients.

Also, we’ll represent the whole roster for all kinds of opportunities, i.e. when a synch licensing opportunity comes into Paper Garden as a whole — if we have an artist on the PR side of things that suits the request more, I’ll submit that over something that’s not as much a direct hit from the label side.

Some of your publicity clients are one-off shows and project deals, right?

Yes, and we often provide more than just PR when we do publicity. For example, we signed on to do PR for [Copenhagen-based band] Alcoholic Faith Mission, to get the buzz going on their album, but from there, we setup distribution, got the albums pressed and setup a little tour for them in the States. That type of model provides incentive for both parties — makes the band want to be proactive and make sure they’re getting their money’s worth and incentivizes us to come up with all kinds of new opportunities for the band because it’s in our interest to sell records.

There are a couple bands that we’re working with in the capacity of artist development, in which case it is very similar to a manager-style contract and percentage fee, etc…

Is Paper Garden also managing any of its clients?

We do have one management client — SAADI. We started out doing PR for her EP which was released through Serious Business, and that naturally evolved into a managerial role.

My contacts and knowledge are more on the label and PR side of things, but if a band needs management and will trust in Paper Garden to get that ball rolling, we can do that. We really just want to see the band develop in the most positive way. We’re careful to build in a large degree of flexibility to our contracts so that we can adapt with the development of an artist.

Who’s representing your artists for synch licensing opportunities? Do you have specific companies you work with?

Peasant is with Zync Music, which is an exclusive deal. And then we have about five non-exclusive synch-licensing companies that we get along with really well who have provided different opportunities including Rumblefish, Jingle Punks, ishlab, Peace Frog, Tonic, and Music-By-Design.

Who inspires what you do? What record labels do you admire?

I will always have a strong respect for both Saddle Creek and Sub Pop. Saddle Creek were really at the very forefront of the new music revolution for independent artists. Also, Vice is very forward-thinking as far as events and branding. Also I really respect Cantora Records, which has a small, but incredible roster.

What is Paper Garden’s goal with the events you’re organizing?

What we’re always looking to do is get Paper Garden and the music in front of people who don’t already know of it. And we’re always looking to align ourselves with companies and ideas and individuals that that makes sense with our artists.

There are a lot of people doing a lot of creative things and I think there are different audiences for all of it. So to continue to beat the music snob crowd over the head with the same thing over and over…well, it may be a necessary thing, but we’re also looking to reach new audiences.

For example, at CMJ, we’re setting up shows at the New Museum. It will be the premier of an experimental short film for Emanuel and the Fear, which will be displayed on two projectors with the band in the middle playing live to it.  When we’re able to connect our artists in that realm of not just music than I think it becomes a lot more impactful.
Paper Garden has grown significantly recently. Tell me about that.

Yes! In the last few months, we’ve seen more and more bands coming to us.

We’ve gone from three active bands to closer to 10-12 active projects. I don’t want the roster to get out of hand, which is always a risk….if one of our artists gets really big, we have to have room to grow with them!

Visit Paper Garden Records at http://www.papergardenrecords.com.

Fiesta Fotos! SoundCtrl Takes Over Avenue A

As Internet Week draws to a close, the vast majority of memories will be of everything that happened offline.

For the musically inclined among us, one of the highlights was the Fireside Chat held at DROM in the heart of the East Village. Curated by SoundCtrl, the night was marked by seriously fun networking, followed by a panel featuring Tommy Silverman (Tommy Boy Records) and Avner Ronen (Boxee). A performance by Interscope recording artist Jared Evan ensued, while the sounds of DJ Getlive pervaded.

In the chat intro, Jesse Kirshbaum, Co-Founder of SoundCtrl, promised we would disrupt the modern music industry with all of our might. SonicScoop sez: Stand back! The revolution will be Webicized.

Jingle Punks Music Completes Substantial Equity Funding, Establishes Strategic Advisory Board

SoHo-based music publishing/licensing/technology company Jingle Punks announced today that it has completed a substantial equity financing. The funding round was sponsored by Hammerline Capital and a team of veterans from the music and technology industries.

According to Jingle Punks, proceeds from the transaction will help fund new strategic partnerships. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

In addition, the company has established a strategic advisory board that so far includes Spencer Hyman, strategy consultant and former COO of Last.FM and Steve Kofsky from New Remote Publishing.

Jingle Punks, with its catalog of indie, production and custom music, provides music for use in television, film, advertising and interactive to media/entertainment clients. The company employs a unique library search technology to expedite the discovery and licensing of music by music supervisors, producers and other media creatives.

Jingle Punks was founded in 2008 by CEO Jared Gutstadt and CTO Dan Demole.

SXSW Reflections: Festival Feedback From NYC Music Folk

Before SXSW, there was fire, stone wheels, a couple of caves to live in. Now that the little gig in Austin has blossomed into the mama of all music and interactive gatherings, showing up Down South has become an annual rite of passage for all those in the biz.

SonicScoop polled a cross section of the NYC music industry – from A&R to PR, entrepreneurs to producers – to see what they took away from SXSW besides a hangover and tinnitus.

Jared Gutstadt, CEO of Jingle Punks Music

Why did you go to SXSW this year?

Team Jingle Punks went to SXSW this year because we are in a period of growth and wanted to do some grassroots branding amongst our peers and upcoming bands.

We took a slightly left of center approach and decided to bring a 7ft giant blue mascot (pictured) with us to several events to hand out swag and make an impression at events.

What was the most memorable thing or things you saw – band, interactive, or other?

The most memorable thing for us was winning an award for innovation in music licensing. We were honored during the interactive and music crossover day by Sound CTRL at the Flash FWD event for innovation in music licensing. Check out this video of the event:

Why do you think SXSW was important for you to attend this year? Will you go back in 2011?

SXSW had some great music and sponsors this year.  The new bands that I dug were Neon Trees, Miike Snow and New Politics.  The week was packed and everything about it was great…I only wish I would have been able to attend the interactive portion as well, apparently this year was their largest turnout for the media week.

**

Jason Jordan, VP of A&R for Hollywood Records

Why did you go to SXSW this year?

Because I had Alpha Rev performing every day in some permutation and there were some bands I actually wanted to see for a change!

What was the most memorable thing or things you saw – band, interactive, or other?

Ume from Austin.  Awesome female fronted power trio.  I was also really stoked about Middle Class Rut who are signed to the indie label Bright Antenna – they are the loudest 2-piece rock band I have ever seen.  My other fave thing was The Soldier Thread (also from Austin).

Why do you think SXSW was important for you to attend this year? Will you go back in 2011?

I ran into just about everyone I needed to see both employed and unemployed.  I got a real sense of where the music business is right now just by talking to my peers as well as meeting new people from around the world with their own global perspective.  That’s why I will return in 2011, really, as the international contingency is so massive it’s worth attending for that reason alone.

**

Scott Hull, Owner of Masterdisk

Why did you go to SXSW this year?

We have always gone to SXSW to meet old friends and new, sample some of the new music out there, and often we are asked to participate in the panel discussions. This year I was asked to be on Bob Ludwig’s Mastering panel and [Masterdisk’s] Andy VanDette helped young bands with advice in the quickies sessions.

What was the most memorable thing or things you saw – band, interactive, or other?

Sharon Jones and the Daptones at Stubbs was a lot of fun. At the other end of the spectrum, by accident I caught a really high-energy “British” power pop band from Boston called Muck and the Mires. They gave a great show Friday night at BD Riley’s.

Out of town to the north was a great outdoor stage at Kenny Dorham’s Backyard.  I went to see an old pal of mine, David Garza, playing Tejano for a large crowd.  After Garza was a reunion of the classic party band Texas Tornados featuring many of the original members.

Also, I was quite surprised at the drop in quality in the audio/PA/engineering at some of the venues.  Many of the larger stages were perfect, as always.  But unlike previous years, I noticed several shows where the band’s performance was completely ruined by a bad PA mix.  I know it’s a challenge to pull off so many diverse showcases one after the other.  But this year, something slipped and if it continues to slide it will be really bad for the bands that want to be heard.

In my opinion far too much attention is being paid to being the loudest bar on the strip, and not enough attention being paid to being actually able to hear what the singer is singing.  I’m a professional audio engineer, and producer, and I walked out of at least three performances because the sound was very poor. I often ask the sound guy, “What band is up next?” Most of them had no idea what the name of the band was that they were assigned to mix for.

Bands please take notice: You should consider having your own FOH person there to assist in the setup.

In my opinion some of the venues’ sound was perfect. But howling feedback and people grabbing their ears in pain does not set the stage well. In previous years– I didn’t even once hear a feedback noise or a problem with the PA. I hope the venues that were having problems noticed and make some adjustments for next year.

Why do you think SXSW was important for you to attend this year? Will you go back in 2011?

It’s always important to spend a little face time with our clients and producers and artists that don’t have the opportunity to come to New York during their mastering sessions. Yes, we will go back next year.

**

Victoria Patricia Davis, NYU Music Business Student/ SonicScoop.com Intern

Why did you go to SXSW this year?

I went to SXSW this year for several reasons. First of all, I am from Austin, TX and grew up around the festival and I have always wanted to attend it without having school as a conflict. I also had a good friend at NYU who wanted to go so we got badges early on since we would have a free place to stay. I really wanted to learn and experience new, upcoming indie music and be able to tell others about it.

What was the most memorable thing or things you saw – band, interactive, or other?

The most memorable part of SXSW was making connections and seeing some amazing artists. The two bands I enjoyed the most were Surfer Blood, a college-aged, reverb heavy, lo-fi, psychedelic pop-rock 5-piece band from West Palm Beach, FL; and First Aid Kit, a Swedish sister folk teenage duo.

Why do you think SXSW was important for you to attend this year? Will you go back in 2011?

I think it was vital to attend SXSW in order to get a better glimpse of how the music industry works and how people connect with each other in the business. If I have the time and funds to attend next year, I will definitely return to SXSW 2011.

**
Mr. Fantastic, Pop songwriting/production team

Why did you go to SXSW this year?

We didn’t go SXSW this year.  Heard it was cool though.  Being pop guys, NY or LA is usually where we’re at … or Stockholm ’cause those Swedes dominate the pop landscape!  SXSW tends to lean more towards bands and self-contained acts.  Regardless, I’m sure it’s a great place to be and hope to make it next year!

**

Steven Beer, Artist Representative/Attorney, Greenberg Traurig, LLP

Why did you go to SXSW this year?

Musicians Natalie Gelman, Emii, and Matt Lowell are clients of mine that performed at the festival. This year, I went to the music portion of the festival to show my support.

What was the most memorable thing or things you saw – band, interactive, or other?

It was thrilling to see Emii perform live. She’s worked very hard the past year and she has really grown as an artist. She’s come into her own and SXSW was a great space to showcase her talents.

Why do you think SXSW was important for you to attend this year? Will you go back in 2011?

SXSW brings everyone on the cutting edge of film, music, and media together in a great city.  The musicians I represent are creative, young, edgy people that can really connect with the audiences at SXSW in their own unique way.  I definitely hope to make it an annual event for my clients and me.

**

Chris Hacker, Label Manager, Engine Room Recordings NYC (@engineroomnyc)

Why did you go to SXSW this year?

I went to discover new bands and network with others who work in the music industry.

What was the most memorable thing or things you saw – band, interactive, or other?

Would have to be Miike Snow at the Filter Magazine party. The stage presence they have and such good songs, just a lot of fun to watch.

Why do you think SXSW was important for you to attend this year? Will you go back in 2011?

It was important due to the fact that I accomplished my goals of why I went, that I did indeed see some new bands that we want to work with and I met several people that work in the music industry that we probably will be collaborating with this year in some capacity.  And yes will definitely go back next year.

**

Dayna Ghiraldi, President of full-service PR agency Big Picture Media

Why did you go to SXSW this year?

Big Picture Media loves SXSW and our whole staff went this year because we had a large presence, our biggest yet! We hosted our own Rise N’ Shine daytime party on Friday sponsored by Yak Pak, Dry Comal Creek Wines and Katie M. Jewelry Designs. We also handled the press for the PureVolume House for the 3rd year running and also worked press for the ATN Showcase. Our music clients at SXSW included: Frank and Derol, The New Collisions, Emii, Matt Lowell, Ahimsa Sunrise, Ionia and The Colourist.

What was the most memorable thing or things you saw – band, interactive, or other?

Without being biased, the most memorable moment of SXSW for me was our Rise N’ Shine showcase. It was such a diverse roster of music, the vibe was great and the bands had a blast! Next year we want to go bigger!

Why do you think SXSW was important for you to attend this year? Will you go back in 2011?

We will absolutely be back in 2011! We are already looking into a larger venue for our party, begun chats with sponsors and booked our hotel rooms! SXSW is very important for us to attend to seek out new music, build upon our relationships with journalists that live outside of the NYC area and get a break for the cold weather!

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Jimmy Landry, Producer/Songwriter/Mixer/Artist Relations

Why did you go to SXSW this year?

I was there scouting for two major labels, supporting artists who I’ve worked with, looking for new talent to work with and meeting with industry peeps and artists using Cakewalk products.

What was the most memorable thing or things you saw – band, interactive, or other?

The bands Keep Me Conscious, Alpha Rev and Mother’s Anthem

Why do you think SXSW was important for you to attend this year? Will you go back in 2011?

SXSW was great for me this year because I was able to catch up with a lot of industry colleagues friends/artists who I don’t get to see a lot.  The caliber of bands was great t is year as well and any one who says “I didn’t really see anything great” was probably on a deck somewhere drinking margaritas in a blackout like this dude in this pic.  I will be back in 2011.

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Walt Ribeiro, Composer at For Orchestra

Why did you go to SXSW this year?

Been wanting to go for years. Every year was always another excuse, so this year I decided last minute to go. It was an awesome experience.

What was the most memorable thing or things you saw – band, interactive, or other?

I think the most spontaneous thing was the road-trip from NYC to Austin to get there. I had Twittered out that I was looking for a ride, then 1 hour later I was in a car with one of my followers headed to Austin.

Then there was the Cogaoke contest which was one of the funnest nights I’ve had in a while. Basically, its a huge Karaoke tournament, complete with a Judge panel, theatrics, audience participation, open bar, party vibe, and more. it was so much fun.

Why do you think SXSW was important for you to attend this year? Will you go back in 2011?

SXSW was important to me because it forced me to break away from the NYC hub and meet people from around the world I wouldn’t normally meet otherwise. I also was able to discover new bands, and experience SXSW for the first time. I’m definitely going back in 2011.