SXSW Sydney has unveiled the first wave of speakers for its 2025 Music Conference, with a globally diverse line-up of culture-makers, strategists and industry leaders set to tackle the state of independence, global scalability, digital strategy, and AI’s growing role in music.
Leading the announcement is Emmy Award nominee music supervisor, Jen Malone. Known for her work on Euphoria, Wednesday and Atlanta and Dr. Marcus Collins, former digital strategist for Beyoncé, now a best-selling author and marketing professor.
Other high-profile names include Alex Berenson (All Flowers Group), Brian Hobbs (SXSW Austin), Andrew Batey (tech entrepreneur), and global industry players from the UK, Hong Kong, Mexico, Singapore, Germany and India.
Local talent will also feature prominently, including John Watson (Midnight Oil, Gotye), Daphne Berry (Airing Your Dirty Laundry), Kartini Ludwig (Koup Music) and Mardi Caught (The Annex).
“SXSW Sydney is about big ideas, bold conversations and unexpected connections,” said Claire Collins, Head of Music. “It’s a chance to hear directly from the people who open doors — the buyers, curators and deal-makers — and to better understand how to cut through, stay independent, or scale globally.
“Whether you’re building a team, exploring how AI can support your creative and business goals, or just looking for inspiration from other creative industries, this is where the conversations start.”
This announcement follows last month’s artist showcase reveal, which includes Jamaica Moana, Cardinals and Sacred Hearts, with more speaker sessions, panels, workshops and over 300 artist performances still to come. Last month SXSW announced its first keynote speaker.
Here’s the confirmed list of music speakers so far:
Jen Malone (Music Supervisor, Black & White Music), USA
Dr Marcus Collins (Culture Academic and #1 Selling Author), USA
Alex Berenson (Senior Director of A&R, All Flowers), USA
Andrew Batey (Founder & Co-CEO, Beatdapp), USA
Brian Hobbs (Director of Music Festival Programming, SXSW), USA
Daphne Berry (Podcast Host, Airing Your Dirty Laundry), AUS
Hallie Anderson (Co-Founder, Rareform Agency), USA
Jashima Wadehra (Founder, Ode), USA
John Watson (President, John Watson Management / Eleven Music), AUS
Jono Harrison (Music Industry Consultant), AUS
Justin Sweeting (Co-Founder & Music Director, Clockenflap Festival), Hong Kong
Kartini Ludwig (Founder, Koup Music), AUS
Lucy Atkinson (Senior Agent, ATC), UK
Macarena González (Live Talent Coordinator, Apodaca Group / Pal Norte Festival), Mexico
Mardi Caught (Head, The Annex), AUS
Meng Ru Kuok (Group CEO & Founder, Caldecott Music Group), Singapore
Patrick Daniel (Project Manager, Reeperbahn), Germany
Priya Dewan (Founder & CEO, GigLifePro), Singapore
Roochay Shukla (Head of Creative Marketing India and South Asia, Believe), India
Sally Dunstone (Partner and Agent, Primary Talent), UK
You can buy passes here.