One major Korean entertainment label is looking to take over South By Southwest (SXSW) for a second time.
On Tuesday, YG Entertainment’s official Instagram shared an image of SXSW’s logo for the upcoming March tech, music, and film event in Austin Texas. YG artists have attended and performed at SXSW in the past, leading to widespread speculation that the picture is a hint of exciting news for SXSW attendees.
Following last year’s performance by Epik High at SXSW’s K-Pop Night Out Showcase, fans are eagerly anticipating an announcement regarding YG performers heading to this year’s SXSW.
The company wrote “Stay tuned. #YG at #SXSW” on the announcement.
YG Entertainment, the home to top K-pop acts like Big Bang, 2NE1, Epik High, and Psy, is one of the most influential agencies in South Korea, and known as one of the Big Three music labels in the country.
With it’s more American airwaves-friendly music, YG Entertainment’s attendance at SXSW for a second year signifies the company’s continued attention towards introducing K-pop internationally. 2NE1’s CL released multiple English-language singles last year, including “Hello Bitches,” and is just one of several acts that would suit SXSW’s music showcases.
South By Southwest is a variety of conferences and festivals that coincide throughout five days in Austin, Texas. The event began in 1987. This year’s SXSW begins on March 11 with the Interactive and Film portions, and continues through March 20. The music festival begins on March 15 and will continue through the end.
Several Korean acts are already performing at this year’s SXSW, including indie, K-pop, and K-hip hop acts alike. Mamma, Heo, Wym, Dok2, The Quiett, Big Phony, Bye Bye Badman, Haihm, Jambinai, Love X Stereo, Victim Mentality, Deepflow, Guten Birds, and Neon Bunny.
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Tamar Herman is a multi-media journalist and the co-founder of KultScene. She is a freelance writer and copy editor, and has written for MTV Iggy, Noisey and Paste Magazine.
