During the course of this past week, Austin, Texas hosted yet another blow-out experience of the annual SXSW.

South by Southwest (SXSW) is an annual conglomerate of music, film, and interactive media conferences and festivals usually taking place during the middle of March on Spring Break. It is a chance to come out and see your favorite artists perform and even get the chance to take a pic with them on the streets of Austin, but for those looking to network in the industry, SXSW would be right up your alley.

SXSW may be able to attract many heads with its headline artists, but the best thing about the festival in my experience is the opportunities it gives up-and-coming artists to perform, connect, or even sign to a label if the time is right (Palm Beach rapper Wifisfuneral signed to Interscope/Alamo Records at SXSW)!

Throughout the week you can see different artists from every genre coming out to the city using the excitement to promote their art, networking with others doing the same. Countless billboards and posters are placed all over the city, live performances on the street can be heard just walking by, promotional gifts handed out for completing social following tasks, interviews are held from bloggers and freelance writers; the whole thing makes you wonder why you’ve never attended sooner.

So if your an industry cat, or an artist looking for a chance at that next step in your career, I’d recommend to make sure your present for the festival next year. You can find the link to the SXSW website along with their complete Music Bloggers Guide below.

Official SXSW Website.

Music Bloggers guide here.