Belmont Students to Experience SXSW For Class Credit

A select group of Belmont University upperclassmen will get a unique opportunity to learn by immersing completely in the hustle of SXSW. Fifteen BU students are headed to Austin this week for the annual music conference and festival, which runs March 13-18.

The trip is part of an experiential learning course offering from Belmont’s Mike Curb College of Entertainment and Music Business, and participating students will receive one hour of credit. Students will be required to complete a series of course objectives that include identifying and networking with executives, learning about industry trends, and discovering emerging new artists. Following the conference, the Belmont students will write a paper and make a presentation to faculty to recount what they learned.

“As an innovative college in the field of music business, Belmont University views SXSW as an opportunity for our students to use this preeminent industry conference as a giant classroom,” said Dan Keen, faculty advisor and instructor for the course. “Our goal is to equip our students attending the event with the tools, strategy and mindset to come away from the experience with ideas, concepts and inspiration that they can immediately apply to the realization of their career goals and dreams. Oh, and we hope they immerse themselves in some amazing new music as well!”

SXSW offers numerous industry events, panels, and networking opportunities at Austin Convention Center during the daytime. After hours, over 2,000 artists from across the globe will showcase for attendees. Among the conference highlights are the keynote speech from Bruce Springsteen, and artist Gloria Gaynor discussing legislation that will allow artists to reclaim their copyrights after 35 years.