SXSW 2011

All Time Low Gets High and Mighty

My introduction to All Time Low involved a stripper and a chimpanzee. It wasn’t until the second time I watched the video for their 2007 release “Dear Maria Count Me In” that I noticed there might be more to this band than gimmicks and familiar 1980s spoofs. While the group embraces gnarly guitar riffs, sugary sweet melodies, the belting roar and clarity of lead vocals, and the… more

BMI Contest Winner Morgan Brittany Mills Gets Inspired at SXSW

When singer/songwriter Morgan Brittany Mills won BMI’s inaugural “What’s Your Inspiration” photo contest, she was overwhelmed by one immediate reaction: shock. “I had never entered a contest like this before,” says Mills. “I had no idea what to expect. When I won, I was so surprised!” BMI staged the contest to help celebrate 25 years of South By Southwest, which BMI has proudly sponsored since its inception.… more

Bright Light Bright Light video blog

Chris, Rod and Alex from UK band Bright Light Bright Light, featured at the BMI showcase at the Ghostroom, produced a video tour of SXSX 2011. Check out this Brit's-eye-view of SXSW 2011 in this deftly crafted video blog: more

BMI/Billboard Acoustic Brunch

BMI's Samantha Cox talks with Allison Hagendorf for Nikon at the BMI/Billboard Acoustic Brunch on the lawn of the Four Seasons during SXSW. Learn about this annual favorite and some of the musicians and industry folks that make the event such a success. more

The Fishermen Three Wins Best Documentary Score at SXSW 2011

For Brooklyn-based BMI composer Simon Beins, last week’s industry-wide invasion of Austin was especially memorable. Known to many in film and television music circles under his moniker The Fishermen Three, the versatile artist earned the impressive jury prize for Best Documentary Score in recognition of the soundscape he created for feature length documentary The City Dark during SXSW 2011. With his band the Wowz, The Fishermen Three… more

iZLER Takes Home Best Score at SXSW

BMI composer iZLER is celebrating resounding applause for his penetrating work on Natural Selection, which garnered the Best Score/Music win in the narrative feature field at the 2011 SXSW Film Festival.  As the prizes were handed out Tuesday night in Austin, the Natural Selection team returned the stage again and again, also claiming the festival's grand jury and audience awards for narrative feature. For more information, visit… more

SXSW Ready: Bachaco

Bachaco will play BMI’s SXSW St. Patrick’s Day showcase on Thursday, March 17 at 9:45 p.m. at The Ghost Room. Miami may be best known for its nightclubs and DJs, but that city’s inimitable melding of Latin American and Caribbean musical styles has resulted in one of the most vibrant and diverse music scenes in the world. Cue Bachaco. Named after ant native to Venezuela used by… more

BMI @ SXSW: 9 Questions with THE KINGSTON SPRINGS

The Kingston Springs will play BMI’s SXSW St. Patrick’s Day showcase on Thursday, March 17 at 10:30 p.m. at The Ghost Room. The band answered BMI’s rapid-fire round of questions about songwriting, heroes, and SXSW anticipation. What’s the name of the first song you ever wrote? “On the Otherside”  If you could only name one favorite songwriter, who would that be? A Young Dylan… more

SXSW Ready: Midnight Riot

Midnight Riot will play EXPRESS ROCKS! Music Lounge at Cedar Door (2nd & Brazos). Admittance is free, and the band takes the stage Thursday, March 17 at 2:10 p.m. On the official website for unsigned Texas rockers Midnight Riot, guitarist Kyle Samuel lists a seemingly simple career goal: “To live off of art.” As most creative people throughout history could tell, earning a living through art is… more

SXSW Ready: Andy Grammer

Andy Grammer will play BMI’s Acoustic Brunch during SXSW. Holding the attention of an audience is one thing that Andy Grammer knows how to do. It’s a skill that he had to master. That’s not to say it’s something he merely strove for: He literally had to master it in order to put food on his table and a roof above his head as a street corner… more

SXSW Ready: Carla Morrison

Carla Morrison will play BMI’s Acoustic Brunch during SXSW. Carla Morrison is a little overwhelmed at all the attention she has been getting. The young singer with the gilded voice just returned from playing a show in Mexico City, where she thought maybe 100-200 people would attend. More than 750 showed up. She is exhilarated by the quick rise to stardom in her native Mexico and especially… more

BMI @ SXSW: 9 Questions with CARLA MORRISON

What’s the name of the first song you ever wrote? “Que bonito!” I wrote it a long time ago, it was my first song....I still love it. If you could only name one favorite songwriter, who would that be? Jose Alfredo Jimenez Use just one word to describe your own songwriting style: Honesty. What’s the one thing you can’t go to Austin without?… more

BMI @ SXSW: 9 Questions with MIDNIGHT RIOT

What's the name of the first song you ever wrote? The first song that the band wrote was "Illusion," our first track on our EP. If you could only name one favorite songwriter, who would that be? There are so many great songwriters, the band can't choose only one. Use just one word to describe your own songwriting style: Our songwriting style is collaborative. Someone brings… more

SXSW Ready: Wallpaper

Wallpaper will play BMI’s SXSW St. Patrick’s Day showcase on Thursday, March 17 at 12 a.m. at The Ghost Room. It’s hard enough being one person. Wallpaper’s Eric Frederic is two. He’s the workaholic producer who lives to puzzle over the wonders of a Quincy Jones piano chord, but he’s also the sequin-encrusted, perpetually plastered pop star Ricky Reed. Ricky has fronted Eric’s Bay… more

SXSW Ready: The Civil Wars

The Civil Wars will play BMI’s Acoustic Brunch during SXSW. Sometimes there’s no accounting for great musical chemistry. Just ask Joy Williams and John Paul White, better-known to fans as the acclaimed duo, The Civil Wars. Despite their wildly disparate backgrounds – White boasts a southern-rock pedigree, while Williams hails from the contemporary Christian pop world – the duo’s intimate, roots-based material sounds like… more

SXSW Ready: Macklemore & Ryan Lewis

Mackelmore & Ryan Lewis will play BMI’s SXSW St. Patrick’s Day showcase on Thursday, March 17 at 12:45 a.m. at The Ghost Room. Some artists search the musical landscape high and low, dabbling in this sound or that, until they finally discover a stylistic home. There are others who immediately fall head over heels into a style that seemed to call out to them.… more

BMI @ SXSW: 9 Questions with RAYLAND BAXTER

Winsome Nashville singer/songwriter Rayland Baxter is slated to perform at BMI’s Acoustic Brunch. Baxter answered BMI’s rapid-fire round of questions about songwriting, heroes, and SXSW anticipation. What’s the name of the first song you ever wrote? “Stanley Merona, The Dreamer” If you could only name one favorite songwriter, who would that be? Bob Dylan Use just one word to describe your own songwriting… more

BMI @ SXSW: 9 Questions with JUMBO

Jumbo is a jangly alt-rock outfit out of Monterrey, Mexico, slated to perform at BMI’s SXSW St. Patrick’s Day showcase on Thursday, March 17 at 9:45 p.m. at The Ghost Room. Guitarist Flip Tamez and lead vocalist Clemente Castillo answered BMI’s rapid-fire round of questions about songwriting, heroes, and SXSW anticipation. What’s the name of the first song you ever wrote? FLIP: One called "Ella No… more

BMI @ SXSW: 25 Years and Counting

In 1986, BMI found a kindred spirit in a baby music festival with big ideas. 25 years later, the SXSW Music and Media Conference sets the industry standard, and anchor sponsor BMI is still one of the festival’s most dedicated supporters. At its core, SXSW’s and BMI’s relationship is one of shared values. SXSW has long-since perfected the marriage of raw musical thrill and real-stakes business machine—the same balance of… more

3.13.11

BMI @ SXSW Sound Decisions: A Reality Check on Using Music in Film

3.15.11

BMI @ SXSW Profiting from Technology: Online, Offline and On Tour” panel

3.16.11

The San Diego Hoe-Down: Austin, TX

3.17.11

BMI @ SXSW Who’s The Rockstar? Sports As Entertainment And How Music Fits In

3.17.11

BMI Showcase @ SXSW: Girls Rock Camp Benefit at Cedar Street Courtyard

3.17.11

BMI @SXSW St. Patrick’s Day showcase at The Ghost Room

3.18.11

BMI @ SXSW BMI Presents… Lost Highway Records 10th Anniversary Revue