Conventions & Awards

SXSW Expands Music, Film, AR / VR Hackathon

SXSW[UPDATE] The SXSW Hackathon is returning for its fourth year with an expansion into VR/AR, film, and music. In a marathon 24-hour coding experience, hackers will work to solve real problems and create new tools across entertainment media.

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SXSW hackathon

Music Hackathon at SXSW 2016. Photo by Randy and Jackie Smith

The SXSW Hackathon will begin on Tuesday, March 14 at 1:00 p.m. at TechSpace Austin and final presentations will take place on March 15 at 2:00 p.m. in Salon C at the Hilton Austin Downtown. The SXSW Hackathon is produced in coordination with Travis Laurendine of Outlier.Group.

Teams will utilize programming skills, APIs and services from sponsors including MediaNet, MapQuest, Verizon ThingSpace, SOCAN, Twitter, Sonos, IBM, Even Headphones, Cloudinary, Wolfram, PubNub, Synq.fm, Microdose VR and Devpost, as they work nonstop to collaborate and compete in three hack categories: Music, Film/Video, and VR/AR.

Teams get to showcase their innovations to a group of high-profile judges, including Techcrunch editor Josh Constine, author of the Fourth Transformation Robert Scoble, Andreessen Horowitz partner and CR7 manager Santiago Rodriguez, Gracenote and Sceneplay entrepreneur and founder Ann Greenberg, 500 Startups Canada partner David Dufresne, UCLA Center for Music Innovation director Gigi Johnson, and Dot Blockchain and Pledgemusic founder Benji Rogers.

This year’s Creatives in Residence include digital artist Andrew Jones (Android Jones, Microdose VR), artist and activist Kiran Gandhi (aka Madame Gandhi and M.I.A. drummer), engineer and music hacker Chris Hughes (Network of One), startup founder and drummer Elmo Lovano (Jammcard), DJ/Producer Evan Bartholomew (Bluetech, Microdose VR), musician David Block (The Human Experience), VR director and writer Josema Roig (The ARGOS File), and film producer Tara Ansley (Tragedy Girls).

SXSW Hackathon Incubator

The SXSW Hackathon Incubator follows on March 16-18, where selected teams in each category will spend three days with mentors and artists to test their hacks in real ​life ​situations at SXSW​.​

Mentors for the SXSW Hackathon Incubator include Panos Panay (founder of Sonicbids, BerkleeICE), Dano Leman (manages Anderson .Paak, Lukas Graham), Mazy Kazerooni (digital strategist for Top 100 Hip-Hop artists, Brand Brigade), Danny Lee (mgmt.ly, will.i.am digital), Jonathan Tzou (iStaging, Data School), Justin Brezhnev (Hacker Fund), and Arpit Gupta (MIT) who will support teams during the Hackathon Incubator.

How To Apply

Visit sxsw.com/hackathon for updates and to apply to participate in the SXSW Hackathon. All interested developers, designers, and creators will be reviewed and contacted regarding their selection to participate. SXSW badge registration is not required to participate.

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