Music industry sources say SXSW could be coming to Brisbane?

The success of South By Southwest, and its undeniable impact on gaining international deals for Aussie acts, has seen efforts in the past to recreate a similar format event in Australia.

There was Myriad in Brisbane, a recent attempt called South By Southeast in Canberra, while through the years, every state government has made a pitch to host a local version.

However in the latest move, discussions have reportedly started to approach the SXSW organisers in Austin, Texas, to hold a satellite version in Brisbane.

TMN understands that the entrepreneurs involved have approached the Queensland Government and private investors to fund it.

The Courier Mail’s Talk of the Town column, which broke the story, reported, “Finance is being put together, with the state government considering its options through Tourism and Events Queensland.

“High-level music industry sources have told Talk of the Town that the event would require up to 60 full-time staff.”

The music-films-tech format would appeal to the Queensland government which has been supporting all three sectors, and in particular, wants to turn SE Queensland into a convergence tech hub.

Secondly, it would be eying how SXSW pumps $500 million into Austin’s economy each year.

Thirdly, it would place Brisbane in a central gateway for the Asia Pacific.

MIDEM, in Cannes, France, trialled a Hong Kong version twenty years ago but it was probably a bit ahead of its time as far as many of the Asian music markets were concerned.

In 2019, SXSW drew from Australia over 750 delegates and 54 showcasing acts, with the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade funding Australia House as a hub for delegates, networking and showcases, and Sounds Australia coordinating events and meetings.

This week SXSW announced that keynotes for its March 13 – 22, 2020 event are musician/visual artist Kim Gordon and Reggie Fils-Aimé, former president and COO of Nintendo of America.

Aside from 30 more speakers, it also unveiled some panels, including those covering using culture to transform social problems, making story-telling more inclusive, and understanding pop & politics.