Be Your Own Tastemaker: Music Discovery in 2014

Is music discovery dying? The streaming charts are full of pop hits, festival lineups could be copy-pasted from week to week, hundreds of bloggers post the same track from the same PR email blast every day and satellite radio plays major label bands masquerading as indie acts. And yet, there's never been more new music than ever before. So where is it? And why don't many listeners care?

Presenters

Andrew Jervis

Chief Curator

Bandcamp

I host the Bandcamp Weekly show, co-ordinate all the homepage editorial, and work with labels and artists to help make maximize their sales and exposure.

David Greenwald

Journalist

Rawkblog

David Greenwald is the Oregonian's pop music critic and the founder of Rawkblog. Previously an editor at Billboard and the Los Angeles Times, he has written for publications including Rolling Stone, GQ and the Atlantic. "Be Your Own Tastemaker" is his third SXSW panel.

Greg Katz

Dir of A&R

Angry Mob Music Group

Greg is A&R director for the boutique music publisher Angry Mob in Santa Monica, Calif., where he signs songwriters, acquires catalogs and helps artists develop. He also owns the independent alternative label New Professor Music, which has released adventurous records from a variety of indie rock acts including Body Parts, LA Font, Gothic Tropic and yOya. Greg is also known to produce records; DJ; and play bass.

Marion Hodges

Host, The Lab

KCRW

Marion Hodges is a DJ living in Los Angeles, California. She hosts a semi-weekly radio show on KCRW (89.9 FM in Los Angeles, kcrw.com worldwide). She's DJed live events for the L.A. County Museum of Art, the Sundance Institute, and the Skirball Center. In 2008, she co-founded an all vinyl indiepop/Northern Soul dance party called Hungry Beat! Her latest venture is a monthly storytelling series/dance party called Radio Picture Show. She's also contributed band profiles and essays to the kcrw.com Music blog, and several other L.A. based music blogs.