At SXSW, Musicians Looking Past Record Companies

The record industry (or, at least, the huge corporate end of it) may be in trouble, but at the South by Southwest music festival that just wrapped up in Austin, it’s clear that music – good music – is as popular as ever, and maybe more so. “In an era of plummeting CD sales and short shelf lives even for current hit makers, the festival is full of people seeking ways to route their careers around what’s left of the major recording companies.”