Lest SXSW be confused as a pack of bands all vying for media attention, the trade show in Austin’s Convention Center (the home base for all things SXSW) offered festival-goers the opportunity to check out the latest gadgets and products on the market.
If you’re a DIY artist or label, there were plenty of products and services that the trade show had to offer. For starters, folks from vinylrecorder.com were demoing their vinyl record maker. While analog to digital seems to be the logical transition for most, the impressive device allows users to reverse the direction, and can turn any CD into a vinyl record. Other music-related kiosks included the Berlin Music Commission, which served as an advertisement for the many events that the organization was holding during SXSW. Audiophiles on the hunt for the latest in noise-cancelling technology had plenty of chances to see what products have been hitting the market and could enjoy semi-private shows in the trade show by listening to bands in sound-proof rooms playing directly into headphones.
In addition to music-related products, the trade show also included kiosks by start-ups like Lead Rocket, a social media aggregating system that makes HootSuite and TweetDeck look like children’s toys. If you’re attending SXSW this year and are in need of a caffeine boost, Lead Rocket gladly jacked folks up with whatever espresso or latte you were in the mood for (in exchange for tweeting their hashtag, of course). The relatively new company also offered free t-shirts (who doesn’t love a free t-shirt!) for people willing to beta-test their latest product.
If you’re in Austin, there’s still a chance to check out the trade show and pick up some free swag. The SXSW trade show is open until Wednesday at 4pm in the Austin Convention Center.
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