Friday! My last day here! 
I know a lot of the music is just beginning but for reasons beyond my control, I must go. I decided that I wanted to check out the guitar expo at the Austin Convention Center, so I first made my way there. It was great. So many guitars, my mouth was watering.
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Today I had the opportunity to take part in a few music industry discussions and panels. After waking up late, I made my way to the Austin Convention Center. I was initially excited to go because I thought the guitar expo would be taking place in the ACC, but sadly I found out it isn’t happening until tomorrow (Friday). One particular panel I was excited to take part in was one entitled “Music Deals and Artist Compensation of the Future.” For one of the smaller panels I had attended, it was flooded with people and excessively warm, but I did my best to concentrate. The panel consisted of Bertis Downs, Darius Van Arman, Edward Pierson, Jordan Kurland, and Rachel Flotard, all industry experts in their own ways. The concept of the discussion was experts exploring the various deal structures and compensation for artists in the realm between DIY and traditional label publishing deals, and the new roles for lawyers, managers, labels, publishers and attests in this process. Some preconceived questions that were touched upon included, “How will new revenue models be structured for music that may be free, ad supported, subscription based, or independently released?” and “What future agreements may emerge to compensate the artist for his/her work in the future?” Overall, the discussion incorporated many of the things I am currently learning at Syracuse. Nothing in particular stuck out as a new or inventive idea, but I did hear reiterated multiple times was that in order for a label to succeed in today’s industry, they will have to start taking on new roles, whether it be managerial roles, or content management roles. Pretty interesting.
Today was all over the place! Talk about media overload! I saw two films and three bands. Wow, am I tired. Here’s a quick recap of the day. I ate at a nice breakfast eatery called Annie’s. Yum. ‘Nuff said. Following Annie’s, I went and saw a series of animates shorts at the Alamo Lamar A theater. First off, let me explain how awesome this theater was. They served food, beer, beverages, snacks, anything you wanted and you didn’t even have to leave your seat! Talk about a premium theater. To top it off, the animate shorts were great. Some I had seen already on websites like Vimeo, but those that I hadn’t seen were awesome. The animated shorts were: The Beaufort Diaries, BOOBatary, Denmark, Dinosaur Ballet, The Eagleman Stag, Get With The Program, Heart, A LOST AND FOUND BOX OF HUMAN SENSATION, Paths of Hate, Preferably Blue, Teddy Goldblatt, Weather Report, and The Wonder Hospital. If you haven’t seen or heard of any of them, I suggest you look for them online. They are well worth a quick watch. They ranged from super dark, ridiculously hilarious, and everywhere in between. I am glad I gave in to seeing a show I normally wouldn’t have seen.