SXSW Sydney is powering ahead with the appointment of Claire Collins as head of music, one of the event’s critical roles.
The Texas-bred event conference and festival is set to expand next year into Australia, for what will be its first international edition.
In her new role, confirmed in an internal message, seen by Billboard, Collins is responsible for the “vision, programming, and execution” of the SXSW Sydney music festival and music industry-focused content, stretching across the conference, expo, activations and networking events.
She’ll work closely with Colin Daniels, announced in late June as SXSW Sydney’s managing director.
A Sydneysider, Collins is one of the domestic music industry’s top talents with experience across management, events, PR and entertainment law.
Her reputation for discovering and nurturing emerging talent has been recognized on several occasions with inclusion in The Music’s Power 50 list.
As founder and director of independent PR and artist management business Bossy Music, Collins has worked with the likes of Flume, Billie Eilish, Lorde, Cub Sport and Laneway Festival, for which she managed national publicity across 15 years.
And as an artist manager, she has launched and steered the careers of D.D Dumbo, one-time winner of J Award for Australian album of the year; Mia Wray; and Sycco, the first person to win song of the year and the pop award back-to-back at the Queensland Music Awards.
Collins, who boasts an arts/law degree from University of Sydney, has also practised law at leading entertainment firm Brett Oaten Solicitors and is a patron and former board member of the Association of Artist Managers.
SXSW Sydney will bring together the industries of music, gaming, film, television, technology and innovation much like the American version that launched in 1987.
The pow-wow will take place across seven days and nights from Oct. 15-22, 2023, and will be a collaboration with Australian promoter TEG and The New South Wales (NSW) Government along with its tourism agency, Destination NSW.
The new edition will serve as the official annual Asia-Pacific installment of SXSW as the brand builds on its more than three-decades-long foundation.
In April 2021, it was announced that SXSW had signed a “lifeline” deal with P-MRC, a joint venture between Penske Media Corporation and MRC, making P-MRC a stakeholder and long-term partner with the Austin festival. P-MRC is the parent company of Billboard.
Industry professionals, talent, partners and more can register their interest now at sxswsydney.com.
