Go back to your bunker Eugene.

Man am I sick of reading, listening, and writing about that crappy economy.  If you don’t know that our economy is bad then go back to your Y2K bunker and hunker down for another 4 or 5 years.  Trust me, you’ll be happy you did.

The music industry has been hit HARD by the recession.  All facets of the business have been effected.  Labels, distributors, marketing companies and venues have shuttered their windows and locked their doors.  Still, the concert scene has been relatively healthy.  Lollapalooza and Coachella had record crowds again this past year.  Madonna made a ridiculous amount of money on tour (nice move by Live Nation) as did the Boss (nice work Azoff and Ticketmaster), the Police and Metallica.   CMJ was packed with a lot of promising new artists and some main stays who have some exciting new material.

Which leads to my surprise about the rather unorganized and lackluster roster for the premier music conference, South By Southwest.  In the past independent artists and freshly signed artists flocked to Austin for the opportunity to strut their stuff in front of the industry big wigs and peers.  This year the industry big wigs may not be able to afford the air fare and hotel prices (which surprisingly have not gone down).  So the result seems to be a scaled back festival.

Not to fear.  Rather than bash blog about SXSW and complain from a far, I am going to take Obama’s lead and do something about it.  I have taken it upon myself (with the help of Catharsis NYC, Big Like Giants, Music Dealers and my colleague Brian Troglia) to provide SXSW with an amazing showcase featuring artists that are both brand new, on the cusp and already established.

I give you the first annual (hopefully) Lawyer 4 Independent Musicians Showcase!!!!  On March 21, 2009 from Noon to 6pm at Momo’s on 6th Street we will be showcasing amazing music and demonstrating how important a good legal team is t the success of a musician (but mostly amazing music).  Already confirmed are:  Whatsizface, French Horn Rebellion, Hey Champ, DJ White Shadow, Fat Lip, and Kidz in the Hall, with several more surprises in the works.  Its free (obviously) and will be sponsored by L4M, Stahl Cowen and Music Dealers (read more about them below).  So if you are coming to SXSW, you have to come to this showcase.

Let me know your thoughts about this year’s SXSW or if you need more details about the L4M showcase.

SHAMELESS SELF PROMOTION OF THE WEEK:  MusicDealers.com

The future of music licensing can be found at this site.  Its a must for any independent band or artist.  You sign up for free and submit your music for licensing opportunities that Music Dealers finds for you.  Its non-exclusive so you don’t have to worry about signing over ownership of your music.  Brilliant, check it out.