SXSW 2016 Tradeshow: Innovations in Music Tech and the Future of Record Labels

By Allison Belcher
SXSW Press Team

The SXSW Trade Show is a showcase that highlights several different promising startup companies, technological innovations and forward thinking entrepreneurs from all over the world. With Artificial Intelligence and virtual reality simulators being a large part of the featured technologies of SXSW, it’s refreshing to hear about other emerging and new technologies that will be introduced sometime this year.

The Trade Show took over Ballrooms 2, 3 and 4 at the Austin Convention Center, splitting up the room into sections based on what country the inventions and technologies were from. Over hundreds of exhibitors came to display their technological breakthroughs, many of them being music oriented. Japan, in particular, had an extensive collection of genius musical inventions, from speakers that displayed song lyrics to near pocket sized turntables. A cloud of bubbles floated about one specific area, summoning interested passerby over to a tip jar meant for live musicians that spat out bubbles every time coins were dropped in. One table was displaying colorful, circular speakers that were praised and regarded as better than Bose.

A showcase titled, “The ONE,” featured a smart piano that teaches you how to play, lighting up the piano keys as you play along to the specific musical composition on the piano’s accompanying app. Whether you are an interested beginner or a long time player struggling with a certain piece, The ONE smart piano is designed to help you discover and improve your hidden musical talents.

Another impressive exhibit showcased was “Record Label in a Box” by Ditto Music. Ditto Music was founded by two British bandmates who were struggling to get signed to a label. Matt and Lee, the two bandmates, grew impatient while trying to get their own band signed, so they decided to move things along and start up their own record label company. Record Label in a Box is an easy to use package that helps you start up and run your own successful label. With an unimaginable amount of unknown musical talent, Record in a Box is the perfect way to expose artists that are worthy of signage and lets you keep 100% of rights and royalties. It’s a genius way to legally sign artists and is home to hundreds of new record labels worldwide.

It’s hard to digest just how much and how fast we are advancing in technology, but the SXSW Trade Show can help you with that.