Technology has driven fierce competition over fan engagement and revenue across the entertainment industries, with every advance and its creative applications are changing the whole playing field. Live music performances are experimenting with XR and holograms, a rush to market in streaming services threatens a paradigm shift in gaming — and above the whole sector looms the tidal wave of 5G and its promise of a revolution in the mobile media experience.

Tracks: Advertising & Brand Experience, Creating & Monetizing Music, Experiential Storytelling, Fantastic Future, Future of Music, Game Industry, Making Film & Episodics, Tech Industry & Enterprise, XR

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The upcoming elections promise to be hotly contested, with far-reaching consequences on every issue from climate crisis and global geopolitics to civil rights and accepted social norms. What tools and strategies are grassroots organizations employing to engage voters and effect positive change in the face of well-funded disinformation campaigns, systematic voter suppression, and a myriad of threats to the integrity of the elections? What will happen when the results are in?

Tracks: Climate & Social Action, Government & Politics, Media & Journalism

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The problems of hacking and surveillance capitalism aren’t going away as governments, media, and internet platforms remain slow to contend with existing technologies, let alone emerging issues like misinformation and deepfakes. Private sector innovation is stepping up to meet the demand for data security, but is it enough to address the influence of personalized propaganda and state-sponsored cybercrime?

Tracks: Advertising & Brand Experience, Connection & Culture, Government & Politics, Media & Journalism, Tech Industry & Enterprise

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The commercialization of space travel is opening up new opportunities and markets for startups as well as established players — along with a host of technical and ethical issues. With access to low Earth orbits becoming an everyday reality, the prospect of recreational space travel draws closer — but new visionaries are calculating their trajectories to the surface of Mars.

Tracks: Fantastic Future, Government & Politics, Space, Startups, Tech Industry & Enterprise

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The collapse of moral authority in Washington has created a vacuum. In the absence of coherent policy on critical issues, activists are stepping into the breach on women’s rights, gun control, climate change and more — meanwhile, corporations are noticing that profit and productivity improve when they take a stand, and the increasing backlash when they capitulate.

Tracks: Climate & Social Action, Connection & Culture, Government & Politics, Media & Journalism

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Technologies and practitioners are finally beginning to deliver on the promise of uniquely tailored medicine. Patients will be able to deliver increasingly specific health information through their mobile device, with the expectation of significant quality-of-life impact.

Tracks: Fantastic Future, Health & MedTech, Startups, Tech Industry & Enterprise

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As businesses ranging from traditional retail brands to entertainment giants are rushing to cut out middlemen and build their own self-contained ecosystems, there’s more in mind than simply bringing the markup in-house. The customer data this direct relationship creates can precisely inform spending decisions and engage customers by personalizing communications at scale — data that was immensely expensive to obtain through traditional means, but is now easily harvested by a platform owner while presenting its own opportunities for direct profit.

Tracks: Advertising & Brand Experience, Connection & Culture, Game Industry, Media & Journalism

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Cannabis legalization is one of the few remaining issues with broad bipartisan consensus. With major corporations preparing and executing cannabis market entry strategies, can the industry pioneers who have labored under onerous conditions for years be fairly treated? With decriminalization and acknowledgement of the acceptability of cannabis, what justice will there be for those who have spent their lives in prison only for corporations to reap the benefits?

Tracks: Cannabusiness, Climate & Social Action, Government & Politics, Health & MedTech

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At a time when the world is more connected than ever, the lack of contact leaves people feeling increasingly alone — with health and social consequences far exceeding expectations. But collaborative, creative online spaces promise meaningful and rewarding social interactions, and younger internet users are using games like Minecraft, Roblox, and Fortnite to connect and network instead of mainstream social media. Can better virtual experiences help stem the tide, or is the only cure to rethink the design of our cities, workplaces, and lives?

Tracks: Advertising & Brand Experience, Connection & Culture, Fantastic Future, Game Industry, Tech Industry & Enterprise, Workplace

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The proliferation of new entertainment platforms is fueling an unprecedented demand for original content. With streaming services paying increasingly high premiums for content that will attract subscribers, the rush to make high-quality entertainment is creating a drought of skilled production staff. Alongside the increasingly professional podcast scene, the rise of TikTok and the resurgence of Snapchat offer low barriers to entry, promising creators immense exposure to a global audience and turning casual users into microinfluencers.

Tracks: Advertising & Brand Experience, Connection & Culture, Experiential Storytelling, Game Industry, Making Film & Episodics, Media & Journalism

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Dive into trends from previous SXSW events in 2019, 2018 and 2017.

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