And now, on to that part of SXSW I’m fuzziest about. Every day of the Music Conference, the Austin Convention Center fills with hopeful musicians, managers, publicists, writers, label heads, radio reps, and every other manner of industry and/or artistic type hoping to find a break, make connections, or just learn a little something. The schedule is crammed with “Mentor Sessions,” “Demo Listenings,” and countless panel discussions and tutorials.

The celebrity interviews are even bigger draws: this year, the Beastie Boys, Sam Moore, k.d. lang, Kris Kristofferson, Morrissey, Ted Cohen (of EMI), Mathew Knowles (Beyonce’s dad), Ray Davies, Billy Bragg, and Judy Collins will all speak and be spoken to. Neil Young & Jonathan Demme will deliver the keynote address.

And me? Well, between a) sleeping late, b) enjoying the Texas weather in March and c) hitting the circuit of daytime, outdoor parties, I’ve rarely ventured into the Convention Center in the past. But this year I’m curious to see what I’ve been missing. Discussions on the role of media both new (blogs and podcasts) and old (radio and print) have the potential to be enlightening. And given the up-in-the-air relationship between Intellectual Property law and technology, I’m especially interested in the Continuing Legal Education (CLE) portion of the Conference, featuring representatives from Minneapolis’s own Lommen Abdo Law Firm.

Oh yeah, and apparently some radio station that’s broadcasting live from Austin has invited a bunch of acts up to its hotel suite for a series of public performances too…

Anyway, I'd be curious to hear if anyone has learned anything useful about the business from past panel discussions.