SXSWORLD

SXSW Music Conference Speakers (con't) of UK Music, a key British music industry umbrella organization, and also the voice behind the late legendary BBC DJ John Peel's signature song? "I can, to be perfectly honest, call some quite interesting people and my calls get put through," says Feargal Sharkey, who got his "Teenage Kicks" fronting the Undertones. "But it's 20 years since I made a record. It's much more important that I focus on the next generation of 17 year-olds that are doing what I did 30 odd years ago: sitting in a bedroom, dreaming about creating songs and going out there and trying to be a successful musician." Formed in 2008, UK Music seeks to unify What does it mean when you are the CEO Feargal Sharkey CEO, U.K. Music the different aspects of the British music busi- ness, including performers, labels, publishers, managers and others, particularly in this time of economic uncertainty and technological revolution. At SXSW, Sharkey plans to discuss "what we feel the future of the industry might look like, and how we need to get there," he says. "We want to ensure that in five to 10 years' time there will still be a very successful, very vibrant British music industry." the British government and ISPs to fight illegal downloading—at MIDEMnet 2009, the garrulous Irishman dismissed the "Free" crowd as "pseudo-intellectual cyber profes- sors." "I think we worry too much about how music is going to be purchased," he says. "I think we should worry about if it's going to be purchased." But he's still bullish on the business. Doing it Sharkey is perhaps best-known for lobbying yourself is easier than ever, but artists still need to be most focused on the actual playing and recording, while enjoying the support of struc- tures that can help them make a living. "Are people going to want to stop creating music? That's simply never going to happen," Sharkey says. "Are we, as a general public, going to stop wanting music to be part of our everyday life? That's just never going to happen. The bits that join those two ends together is the music industry. I can't think of any other industry that's in such an extraordinary position." - Jason Cohen Feargal Sharkey will speak on Thursday, March 18. ects to artists through a system of "dispersed patronage." To do this, Strickler and his Kickstarter partners hit on the idea of "crowd funding," whereby artists can solicit contributions from their fans and the world at large. Strickler says this is "a way for groups of people to rally behind a common goal." This allows for a complete paradigm shift for Yancey Strickler Co-founder, Kickstarter Parker, artists have long relied on something or someone larger than themselves for support in their artistic and career pursuits. Co-founded this past year by Yancey Strickler, Kickstarter seeks to restore the power of creative proj- From Lorenzo de Medici to Colonel Tom artistic endeavors: "They get to craft their own economy where they define every part of it. I think that's a really cool opportunity that will possibly lead to more art that is more grassroots and more DIY." From stories of making homemade gumbo thinking," but he remains upbeat about the prospects of Kickstarter and crowd funding in general: "We're moving from this consumer economy to a creator economy; it is what this whole decade has been about." With so much creative output impeded by with musicians to comic creators seeking help in publishing a book, this new system of dis- persed patronage is marked by numerous success stories in its short life. "Kickstarter is a very simple way for people to activate their net- works, to do things their own way, for people to sort of dream big," explains Strickler. Strickler notes that the biggest challenge is not an entity, but rather "a calcified way of market pressures or executives worried about their ROI, Kickstarter has found a niche. Not only is it applicable for individual creators, but Strickler asserts that it is ideal for com- panies as well. Financing projects through methods of crowd funding allows companies to test commercial waters before jumping in. Additionally, by financing projects through the fans themselves, labels are able to connect with the people who care the most about a particular project. It is this sort of intimate connection between the creators and the audience that speaks the loudest to Strickler. - Peter Lewis Yancey Strickler will moderate the "Crowdfunding Music: Raising Money From Your Fans" panel on Wednesday, March 17. 60 SXSW ORLD / F EBRUAR Y 2010

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