SXSW Sampler Round-Up [UPDATED]

I’ve added a link to the second official SXSW torrent.

Oh hi!

I hope you’ve been enjoying my Google Reader feed. It’s a cheap way to blog, I’ll admit, but honestly, I get a lot of joy from sharing links and comments. I will be getting back to some real blogging, but until then, I have a custom link farm for you.

NO WAIT. DON”T GO! These are good links. You want these.

The SXSW Music extravaganza is almost upon us. Each year at this time, record companies, magazines, and even SXSW itself dispense MP3 samplers, featuring showcasing bands. As few as four years ago, these samples existed primarily on CD. The discs cluttered the counters of local coffee shops, and even the Austin Convention Center, where the conference is held. If you walked anywhere downtown during the music portion of the event, smiling youths would press CDs into your hand. I acquired loads of music, mostly good, just by hanging out in places I normally do, with my eyes open.

Now, of course, everything’s digital. Being in the right place at the right time isn’t relevant anymore. I can scoop up hundreds and hundreds of songs without leaving my office. And I could just as well be in Norway, rather than two miles from the center of SXSW. Good, right? Yes, but I can’t help feeling a pang of nostalgia for my once-awesome access.

I thought this year that I would do my friends and blog readers a bit of a favor, and gather links to music samplers as I find them. I can’t say I’ve been able to listen to a lot of this stuff yet, so I don’t know what’s worth your download time. That, my friends, you’ll have to work out for yourselves.

So here we go: I’ll add more links to this post as I get them.

• Official SXSW Streams
• Unofficial SXSW Torrents: 2011 part 1, part 2
• SXSW Baby Sampler (this one is worth a look because the tracks were selected, based on which bands and songs the publishers liked the best).
• Spinner Sampler (in three parts)
• RethinkPopMusic Sampler
• IODA Opening Day Sampler
• New Grenada Records Sampler
• Bloodshot Records Sampler (via Amazon)

  Added March 9

• iTunes Sampler (Just so you know, I’ve saved you a whole lot of clicks. this link takes you directly to the iTunes store. You’re welcome.)
• eMusic Sampler

Added March 10

• Don’t Mess with Texas Sampler (via Amazon)
• Dirtnap Records Sampler

Just one more thing: even digital distribution continues to evolve. Several of these samplers are hosted via the fabulous Dropbox service. Soon, I expect music to be beamed directly into my brain.