SXSW 2010: 'Be more like the porn industry' -- survival tips for the music business
Gregg Gillis of Girl Talk, at left, performs at Congress Theater. The band was discussed at a 2010 SXSW panel called “Why hasn’t the music industry sued Girl Talk?” (Photo for the Tribune by Shauna Bittle)
AUSTIN, Texas --- Booze and porn – the future of music?
The suggestions were only partially tongue in cheek as the music industry took a critical, sometimes humorous look at itself during the 24th annual South by Southwest Music Conference, which concluded last weekend.The forward-looking tone of the conference was a notable shift. At South by Southwests of the past, executives frequently complained bitterly about what once was – the ultra-profitable $15 billion-a-year industry of the 20th Century. Now a new breed of decision-makers is looking toward what might be in 2020. At this year’s conference, the search was on for new business models and new ways of thinking about how music will be made, distributed and consumed. And it’s about time. While the industry dithered the last 10 years, its economy bottomed out; sales of its cash cow, the compact disc, have plunged more than 50 percent.
In uncertain times, people look for guidance, revelation, a sign from above. And so South by Southwest became a search for The Answer. A few industry insiders could even joke about it.