iTunes Music Fest Coming to SXSW

19 Feb, 2014

iTunes is putting its stamp on South by Southwest, piggybacking on the annual event with its own music festival.

The company said Wednesday it will debut its popular iTunes Festival, a free concert series held in London for the past seven years. While the London version is a 30-day event, the U.S. festival will feature five nights of rock, country, pop and hip-hop at

South by Southwest, an international showcase for music, film and interactive projects to be held next month in Austin, Texas.

“We’re pretty excited about doing this for the first time here in the U.S. at South by Southwest,” said top Apple executive Eddy Cue in an interview Tuesday.

“One of the cool things about trying to do the festival is that it’s all about the music, the musicians and the fans,” Cue said. “You want it in a really close atmosphere where the fans are getting to see these musicians in places they’ll never see them again, because they play in much bigger venues.”

The iTunes festival will be held March 11-15 at ACL Live at the Moody Theater, where Austin City Limits is held. The first night will include performances by Coldplay, Imagine Dragons and London Grammar.

Coldplay said it was “thrilled” to be playing on opening night, adding: “It’s a great honor for our band and we hope everyone has a fantastic time.”

Other performers include Keith Urban, Willie Nelson, Pitbull, Zedd and newcomer Mickey Guyton. Cue said other acts will be announced later.

The iTunes festival in London typically attracts artists like West and Coldplay. Lady Gaga, Elton John, Justin Timberlake and Katy Perry were among the performers at the Roundhouse Theater last September.

The festival will be streamed live and on-demand through the iTunes store, iTunes radio and on Apple devices.

Cue, Apple’s senior vice president of Internet software and services, said iTunes had long considered having a U.S. counterpart to its U.K. festival, but had struggled to find the right fit. SXSW turned out to be a natural.

AP

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