SXSW Focus: Glenn Dickie

8 August 2014 | 3:03 pm | Staff Writer

"DD Dumbo went from an artist that nobody had heard of prior to his SXSW visit to becoming one of the buzz acts of the whole conference."

Role: Export Music Producer at Sounds Australia

What do you remember about your first SXSW?
It was A LOT different in 2002. It was still very rock- and roots-based, social media didn’t exist, and the Australian presence was minimal.

Can you outline a deal or some other form of positive business that came from attending SXSW?
Well most recently I love DD Dumbo’s story. DD was discovered by Claire Collins and Danny Rogers so great team but he hadn’t done much in terms of even local touring and hadn’t been overseas before. They put a comprehensive plan in place; they used the Sounds Australia showcases amongst a bunch of others perfectly by inviting the industry they wanted to see DD play. He nailed the shows because he understood the showcase environment and was able to concentrate on playing rather than networking because his team were there to do that while he was on stage. In the end they created a perfect storm and DD Dumbo became one of only a handful of artists that nobody had heard of before SX to become one of the buzz acts of the whole conference.

What’s one way to get noticed at SXSW among all the other bands?
You’re more likely to get noticed these days when there’s already a bit of a buzz around you which these days can come from one track that’s getting a lot of blog attention. Australian artists still have a fantastic reputation when it comes to performing live so be consistently good.

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Tips for first timers looking at attending SXSW?
GO BEFORE YOU SHOW! If none of your team has been to SXSW before we would encourage you to send one person in to get a lay of the land and start creating your networks before investing the significant amounts of money it takes to be part of any of the international music conferences, but especially SXSW.

WHAT:
SXSW Meet Up
WHERE & WHEN:
Corner Hotel, Melbourne -  5.30pm, Tuesday 12 August
Newtown Social Club, Sydney - 5.30pm, Wednesday 13 August
WHO:
Melbourne - Brad Thomas (SXSW Travel Agent, Entertainment Travel Partners); Alex Lefley (Group Account Director, Edelman PR); Millie Millgate (Executive Producer, Sounds Australia); Paul Cashmere (Executive Producer, noise11.com); Andrew Mast (Group Managing Editor, The Music/theMusic.com.au).
Sydney  - Gregg Donovan (Manager - Airbourne, Grinspoon, Boy & Bear, Josh Pyke & more); Brad Thomas (SXSW Travel Agent, Entertainment Travel Partners); Shaun O’Connor (Technologist/Publicist, Mojo, formerly TBWA); Glenn Dickie (Export Music Producer, Sounds Australia); Larry Heath (Founder & Editor, The AU Review); Jackie Kralj (Digital Music Strategist, Digirascal); Sophie Blachford (Client Partner, Facebook).