VOTING OPEN: Symphonic’s SXSW Panel Pickers are Live!

Every year, thousands of people submit panel ideas to SXSW, but not all of them make the cut. That’s because SXSW uses something called PanelPicker, a public voting system that lets fans, peers, and industry pros help choose which panels get featured at the festival. For next year’s event, we’ve got 4 panels up for consideration, and we’d love your support to help bring them to life at SXSW 2026. 📚🤝 Check them out and cast your vote below…

VOTING OPEN: Symphonic’s SXSW Panel Pickers are Live!

How to Build a Career Without Going Viral

While there are many recent examples of viral songs on social media launching major artist careers, chasing that viral hit isn’t always necessarily sustainable or the most feasible way for an artist to go about building long-term success. Rather than solely focusing on going viral, there are several other areas an artist can look at for building their career, such as defining their unique brand and sound, consistently releasing high-quality music, and building a community. This session will dive into each of these areas to provide artists with realistic tips that they can apply to their careers. 

📌 Key Takeaways:

1. Developing and focusing on an artist’s unique sound and brand will help them stand out and build lasting success.
2. Frequency and consistency of releasing music is crucial, and making sure that those releases are high quality.
3. Posting and engaging regularly on social media is still just as important, even when you’re not going viral.

 Click here to review the idea, then click the heart if you think it should be accepted for SXSW 2026.

Owning Your Narrative: Global Strategies for Indie Artists

The international music business is far larger and more lucrative than many expect – just look at the broad worldwide impact of LATAM artists like Bad Bunny and K-Pop groups like BTS. The question is, how does an artist from these regions and beyond achieve this kind of success? The answer lies with music distributors, marketers, and data analysts, who have the tools to break talented artists both in their home countries and around the world. In this panel, experts will explain what it takes to achieve global success and share secrets to get independent artists started.

📌 Key Takeaways:

1. Why is it important to target the international market rather than just your home country?
2. What resources and team members should artists bring on board to generate international interest?
3. How can artists achieve sustained success abroad?

 Click here to review the idea, then click the heart if you think it should be accepted for SXSW 2026.

What Moves the Needle for Indie Artists and Labels Today?

For independent artists, it can be a full-time job staying on top of music industry best practices and putting in the time and legwork to get the right team and record label partner in place. For independent record labels, it is crucial to build a roster of artists who have an established voice and a supportive fan community behind them. This session will cover the most important strategic areas that independent artists should be focusing on to grow their reach and how independent record labels can successfully build their rosters and empower their artists.

📌 Key Takeaways:

1. Utilize platforms like Discord, Patreon, and Substack for direct fan engagement and to build strong communities and focus on authentic storytelling.
2. Diversify monetization beyond streaming royalties by leveraging direct-to-fan sales, sync licensing opportunities, and offering experiential content.
3. Build a strong team consisting of digital distribution, rights management, and publishing admin, and make sure you understand all of these areas.

Click here to review the idea, then click the heart if you think it should be accepted for SXSW 2026.

Algorithmic Mastery & Data Literacy for Independent Artists

“The algorithm” can often seem like a giant mystery for artists to decode across the numerous streaming and social media platforms on which they are expected to have a presence. The rules and best practices for a particular platform can change on any given day, leaving artists and their teams overwhelmed and confused about how to best break through and make sure their content gets seen and amplified. This session will dive into the most effective ways to master the algorithm and utilize all available data to an artist’s advantage.

📌 Key Takeaways:

1. Focus on strategic playlist pitching, especially editorial as opposed to simply relying on algorithmic playlists.
2. Utilize tools like Spotify for Artists, YouTube Analytics, and TikTok Creator Tools to dive into the data and inform content strategy.
3. Create moments of engagement that trigger the algorithm and encourage shares, such as making sure there’s a hook in the first five seconds of a video.

 Click here to review the idea, then click the heart if you think it should be accepted for SXSW 2026.

🚨 VOTING ENDS on 8/24 🚨

Thank you for your participation!