ASCAP Wraps Up SXSW 2025 with a Global Flair

The 2025 SXSW Music Conference & Festival was hot this year. Not only did the temperatures in Austin, Texas hover above 80 degrees throughout most of the festival, songwriters, bands and artists from around the world flooded the city, creating a beautiful mosaic of music everywhere you went. While true that the incredible number of artists performing is down from its peak of over 2,000 musical acts who showcased annually before COVID, it is also true that this year’s roughly 1,000 acts who came to conquer hearts, minds and souls, delivered incredible performances and a palpable sense of music’s power to create community and compassion. This year’s lineup contained more international acts than ever before, with 35% of the artists coming from outside the United States. That fact in addition to the music fest coming on the heels of the tech conference and the influential SXSW Film Festival, proves that SXSW’s staying power and relevance as a gathering of creatives from across multiple fields, remains vibrant.

In partnership with the SXSW Music Festival, the ASCAP Urban team presented a SXSW Music Industry Happy Hour at the rooftop lounge Rules & Regs on Wednesday, March 12, hosting hundreds of guests who networked and enjoyed exciting performances by ASCAP members DAP the Contract and Darius Martin.

ASCAP’s mission at SXSW has always been to focus on music discovery and where music begins: with the songwriters and composers at its heart. For the sixth year, ASCAP sponsored SXSW Songs, an international songwriting camp held during the festival for established songwriters, producers and artists with commercial co-writing credits. This year’s camp ran from March 10 through March 12, once again held at Austin’s legendary Arlyn Studios.

Members of the ASCAP global family of music creators who participated included Will Sims (UK), John-Samuel Gerhart (South Africa), Susobrino (Brussels/Bolivia), Bypass Music (UK), Fudasca (Italy), Wilson McBeath (US), Zoe Giosa-Hirsch (US), Ruby Duff (UK), Elia (Puerto Rico), Kassidy (Canada), Zikai (Sweden), Emma Løv (US), Kučka (Australia), Mirai (Puerto Rico) and more. The camp wrapped with an official SXSW Listening Party and Showcase at Marlow’s on Sixth Street, featuring performances from Elia, Kassidy, Zikai, Kučka and Fonseca.

The SXSW Mentor Program is an opportunity for education professionals, students, innovators, and entrepreneurs to connect with seasoned mentors and gain invaluable guidance. This year, as a SXSW Music Mentor, ASCAP SVP of Strategy and Business Development Brooke Eplee was available to share valuable industry insights with SXSW attendees.

Austin remains the “Live Music Capital of the World” and during SXSW, it more than lives up to its name. On stages large and small, in music venues both legendary and state-of-the-art, the city serves as the perfect platfrom for artists, representing different countries and generations, to reach new audiences.

ASCAP members (and foreign music creators who license through ASCAP in the US) who wowed the crowds this year included Band of Horses and Jack’s Mannequin (both US), Dope Lemon and Confidence Man (both Australia), Bon Enfant and Holy F***K! (both Canada), The Courettes (Denmark), CVC and Himalayas (both Wales), Ian Moore (US), mary in the junkyard (UK) and Claire Rosinkranz (US), among so many others.

ASCAP is proud to have been supporting SXSW Music’s core mission of creative discovery and development for much of its 38-year history.