Cutline Speaks

Twitter, file sharing, and free stuff @ SXSW 2009

posted by Michael on March 23, 2009

The music portion of SXSW 2009 wrapped up yesterday, bringing the festival to a close for another year. By some accounts the festival was lower-key and less well attended this year (not that you'd know it by the performance of the AT&T network in Austin), but there was still plenty of news for those of us interested in the convergence of tech and content. 

Here's a roundup of some of my favorite stories from the week:

• WIRED's Eliot Van Buskirk turned out some solid pieces, including an overview of the impact social networking tools are having for bands that are using them and a man-on-the-street video about Twitter usage at the festival.
• The Los Angeles Times' Todd Martens reported on a panel on licensing for P2P file-sharing, while Ann Powers recapped a panel discussion of NPR's burgeoning online music offerings.
• CNET's Caroline McCarthy covered a couple of panels focusing on digital distribution -- one featuring Mark Cuban and Michael Eisner, and another featuring documentary filmmakers Morgan Spurlock and Gary Hustwit.
• The New York Times' David Carr reported on Guy Kawasaki's on-stage interview with Chris Anderson on Anderson's new book, Free: The Past and Future of a Radical Price, and its implications for all kinds of content.

Anything I missed? Share your favorites in the comments section below.

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