South by Southwest (SXSW) will be brought from Austin, Texas to Sydney in October 2023.
The renowned festival will bring together creators of games, music, screen, tech and innovation.
“SXSW Sydney will provide a vital new international platform showcasing the extraordinary talent of Australia’s music creators whether it's live, digital, on screen or in new technologies and interactive games," said Dean Ormston.
APRA AMCOS has applauded the announcement today by the NSW Government to host SXSW in Sydney. SXSW Sydney will shine a new spotlight on the incredible depth of diverse and globally facing Australian music, not just across the Asia Pacific region but around the world.
“SXSW Sydney is the injection that Australia’s burgeoning music industry needs as global markets seek more of our locally produced music,” said Dean Ormston, Chief Executive APRA AMCOS.
“Having SXSW hosted in Sydney is an incredible vote of confidence in local music creators. Whether it's stadium concerts, festivals, on screen or in the next generation of digital games, Australian music is already travelling the globe as one of our great exports.
“SXSW Sydney will provide a vital new international platform showcasing the extraordinary talent of Australia’s music creators whether its live, digital, on screen or in new technologies and interactive games.
“SXSW Sydney has the potential to capture the minds and imaginations of the next generation of great Australian music creators and entrepreneurs. If Australia is going to realise its goal to be one of the world’s great music markets, we must invest in a new generation of entrepreneurial and culturally and digitally literate creative music producers and artists.
“APRA AMCOS has developed an ambition for Australia to become a net exporter of music. Australia is already in the top ten music markets in the world and Australian music now stands alongside the great drivers of our national exports – education, food, agriculture, wine, tourism. Over the last five years, APRA AMCOS’ international revenue generated from the performance of Australian music overseas has more than doubled.
“Showcase events like SXSW are critical for local music creators and entrepreneurs as we grow exports to the traditional markets of North America and Europe as well as accelerating our footprint into emerging markets including the Asia Pacific and also Latin America, the Middle East and Africa.
“With a pipeline of talent coming from across the nation and with the advent of the next digital revolution, Australia has the potential to go from a music nation to a music powerhouse - a powerhouse that can fully realise the vision of making great Australian music sold to the world.
“For twelve years APRA AMCOS has supported the Sounds Australia program to showcase Australian music talent through SXSW in Austin, Texas. This has already seen nearly 500 Australian acts present since the inception of Sounds Australia in 2009.
“SXSW Sydney is an incredible next iteration of our journey with SXSW as a global gateway event and we celebrate the full depth and diversity of our nation’s music talent,” Dean Ormston said.