Is it an audition? Is it music education? Is it group therapy? SXSW Demo Listening Sessions offer a unique opportunity for Music and Platinum registrants, as well as Showcasing Artists, to get direct feedback from music professionals - the kind of people who listen to demo tapes as part of their job.

Producers, A&R representatives, venue buyers, and publicists will all sit on various sessions. While not every session will assess every submitted band, you will undoubtedly learn something about how to present your music just by attending. The Demo Listening Sessions are offered on three days (Wednesday, March 14 - Friday, March 16) of the SXSW 2012 Music Conference.

Demo Listening Session Tips:

1. Fifteen minutes before the start of each session, a SXSW representative will be at the doorway of Room 8BC with the Demo Box. Registrants may place one copy of a CD in the box. Registrants are encouraged to note the preferred track number on the cover of the disc. Sticky notes are provided for this purpose. The speakers on each demo listening will select discs at random. No guarantees are made that all submissions will be reviewed. Speakers will listen to as much of the track as they deem necessary to form their comments.

2. Our speakers are selected because they listen to demo tapes regularly in a professional capacity. The responses the speakers give are genuine, first take reactions. They provide their opinions both for the artists and for the rest of the registrants on the panel. Their opinions reflect the range of reactions that these professionals have, and are intended to be constructive. Please treat the speakers with respect. It is at the discretion of the speakers whether or not to engage in dialogue directly with the artist during the session.

3. While we won't stop anyone from attending all the demo listening sessions, we encourage registrants to check out the other conference sessions as well. If you've attended multiple demo sessions and had your material reviewed, we ask that you allow other registrants the access which you've already enjoyed. Similarly, we ask that you respect your fellow registrants and not monopolize the speakers' time with multiple questions.

All Demo Listening Sessions will be held in Room 8BC at the Austin Convention Center.

SXSW 2012 Demo Listening Schedule

Wednesday, March 14
Demo Listening 1
12:30 PM - 1:30 PM

Thursday, March 15
Demo Listening 2
12:30 PM - 1:30 PM

Friday, March 16
Demo Listening 3
12:30 PM - 1:30 PM

Demo Listening 4
2:00 PM - 3:00 PM

If you have any questions regarding the demo listening sessions, please email musicpanels@sxsw.com.

Photo of panelist Robin Danar by Giesel Widmer
Photo of panelists David Jacobs and J Yuenger by Whitney Rearick