As well as every band under the sun and their management vying for attention in Austin Texas at SXSW (March 13-22), you’ll also find an ever-increasing number of music gear manufactures and distributors exhibiting there. The SXSW Music Gear Expo celebrates six years in 2015 with a host of new offerings. In addition to the much loved expo portion, the show will feature a number of special activations including: the Stompbox, Shred Shed, the brand new Synthesizer Space and Maker Zone plus the Gear Lounge, Gear Expo Store and Flatstock Stage.
Open to all registrants, showcasing artists and the general public, the Expo has become the key destination for musicians, buyers, gear and tech aficionados at SXSW. It is located adjacent to the popular Flatstock Poster Show on Level 1 of the Austin Convention Center. The SXSW Music Gear Expo hosts a unique range of companies, from established names in the industry to independently owned up-and-comers. View the 2015 exhibitors.
Gear Expo Dates & Hours: Thursday, March 19 – Saturday, March 21 11:00am-6:00pm
Meanwhile in news on the main aspect of the conference, despite the Australian and NZ dollars being at their lowest against the US buck in over five years, it seems it hasn’t deterred the Australian and New Zealand contingent from registering for this year’s event.
South by Southwest Music, Interactive & Film Festivals and Conferences (http://sxsw.com) have kept pace with with over 500 attendees already registered and paid to the events March 13-22 in Austin Texas. Last year over 750 made the trek along with 45 performing artists to this crucial event. More than 50,000 attended as paid delegates from over 150 countries.
“This is a far cry from when I started as the SXSW representative from Australia, New Zealand and Hawaii in 2002 with only 20 delegates and five bands.” says SXSW’s Phil Tripp. “SXSW has had a major impact on homegrown artists over the past decade with hundreds of showcases and dozens of major deals done and is now kickstarting the Interactive side of our presence which is currently more than 50% of our delegates. We are currently getting an average of seven regos a day.”
The current numbers back this up only 40 days from the beginning of SXSW with more than 250 last minute registrants expected to exceed last year’s 750.
There are:
465 Paid Australian delegates
35 From New Zealand
13 from Hawaii
5 are press (media passes close February 11) Over 2500 global media attend.
22 are speakers
5 Exhibition stands are in the Trade Show: Sounds Australia, MBIE NZ (Ministry of Business, Industry and Employment), Tactify Group, New Zealand Music Commission and 99 Designs. The 600 stand spaces for 2015 have just sold out.
Over 60 Australian artists have been invited of the more than 175 that applied for official showcases. There are more than 1800 artists performing from a submission list of over 8000 from 60 countries. Here is the expanding list
For those interested in attending SXSW this year, local representative Phil Tripp in Coffs Harbour can answer any inquiries on 041 22 666 77 or email tripp@sxsw.com.