Online fest runs Mar 16-20th
South by Southwest (SXSW) Conference and Festivals has announced the final round of Keynote and Featured Speakers during its first-ever online conference, running March 16-20th. Chance the Rapper, Mick Fleetwood, Timbaland, Swizz Beatz and several music executives are among the final additions to the previously announced Demi Lovato, Mary J Blige, Carole King and Willie Nelson.
Kenan Thompson and Chance the Rapper sit down for a fireside chat discussing Kenan’s successful long-ranging career, including his new NBC series, Kenan and his historic 18 seasons on Saturday Night Live, during A Conversation with Kenan Thompson and Chance the Rapper.
Today’s musical artists crave two things: global virality on platforms such as TikTok and career longevity. Mick Fleetwood has achieved both. Sustaining over 50 years in the industry as a founding member of Fleetwood Mac, Fleetwood was also part of TikTok’s biggest viral trend of 2020. TikTok has become the music industry’s best promotional tool since launching; breaking artists, new music and giving new life to catalog hits. Billions of video creations are set to music and its leaned-in and engaged community is driving chart success. TikTok’s Global Head of Music Ole Obermann has been at the heart of TikTok’s ascent since joining in 2019. Join Fleetwood and Obermann as they talk music, how to sustain a career, discovering new talent, the role of technology in shaping trends and culture, and what today’s music stars can learn from Fleetwood’s decades at the top for Going Viral: In Your Dreams.
Musicians didn’t think twice about internet concerts before 2020. They could make more money in one night on the road than they could in a year on Twitch or Instagram Live. But the pandemic has stranded thousands of professional musicians at home, and brought out their innermost creativity. Of all the biggest at-home concerts, nothing comes close to Verzuz, a recurring event that is part concert series, part history lesson. Every few weeks, two musicians gather and take turns playing their biggest hits and telling stories from their careers. The project is the brainchild of Swizz Beatz and Timbaland, two producers responsible for some of the biggest hits of the past 25 years. The old friends started by talking live on Instagram from their respective homes. But what started as an impromptu conversation between two music industry kingpins quickly morphed into must-see programming. Join Grammy-Award Winning music producer, entrepreneur and visionary Swizz Beatz, multi-platinum Grammy winning Super-producer Timbaland, music industry veteran Fadia Kader in conversation with Bloomberg News reporter and author of the Screentime newsletter Lucas Shaw, for a conversation called The Pandemic’s Hottest Concert Series.
Raising the Bar: Accelerating Diversity in Music is a session with Warner Music Group Global Head of Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Dr. Maurice A. Stinnett, Recording Academy Chief Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Officer Valeisha Butterfield-Jones, Color Of Change president Rashad Robinson, Sony Music EVP, Chief Diversity and Inclusion Officer Tiffany R. Warren, and SVP, Chief Diversity, Inclusion and Belonging Officer at the Universal Music Group Liliahn Majeed that evaluates how inclusive the music industry is at this time across race, gender, age, and across all genres of music, highlighting the good, the bad, the ugly. Immersed in the day to day, music leaders on the panel will take a step back and discuss the most surprising and least surprising DE&I insights from within their organizations and their communities.
