SXSW 2024: see the festival's main talks and trends

O South by Southwest better known as SXSW is an annual festival that takes place in March in the city of Austin, in the United States, and is considered one of the biggest events in technology, music, innovations It is culture around the world, also bringing attractions from different countries for special lectures.

The year 2024 will have nine days of the event, which takes place from March 8th to 16th, and will bring notable speakers such as Jane Fonda, Elijah Wood, Daisy Ridley It is Julie Bown . The names and their respective talks are already being announced by the festival organizers and will address hot topics of innovation in the world.

Despite the annual changes and technological advances happening constantly, the event maintains the essence of discussing creativity and innovation and continue serving as a tool for people to develop their careers and projects, bringing together people from all over the world to learn and share ideas.

Following the logic of the announced lectures, the main trends at SXSW follow topics already discussed, but still very much on the rise, such as artificial intelligence, climate change and the creative process behind the creation of cinematographic content

Several lectures take place at the same time, but, to organize them, they are separated into so-called “thematic tracks”, responsible for grouping conversations regarding subjects that interact with each other in some way. Are they:

• Culture
• Beauty and Fashion
• food
• Government and Civic Engagement
• Psychedelics
• Advertising and Brand Experience
• Energy
• Health and Medical Technology
• Startups
• Film and TV Creation
• Film and TV Industry
• sports
• Game Industry
• Artificial intelligence
• Musical career
• Transport
• Climate Change
• Design
• Influencer Economy
• Music and technology
• Beginners
• Technology Industry
• Desktop
• XR

To find out which lectures each of the themed tracks cover, just access the official SXSW calendar here.

Check out the main talks from SXSW 2024

Do you want to know some of the main talks – and speakers – at the event? To help you, CNN brought together some of the main ones. Check out!

08/03

• Julie Bowen & Baby2Baby On Leveraging Celebrities For Impact

Companies are trying to master the art of celebrities, influencers and strategic partnerships, and Baby2Baby has the playbook, having successfully leveraged the support of over 75 celebrity ambassadors. In this session, Julie Bowen will speak with Baby2Baby co-CEOs Kelly Sawyer Patricof and Norah Weinstein

• 10 Breakthrough Technologies of 2024

Every year, MIT Technology Review reporters and editors put together a list of the top innovative technologies that they believe will change the world. Elizabeth Bramson-Boudreau, editor and CEO of MIT Technolgy Review, will share the list of ten innovative technologies with the SXSW audience, explaining each one and how they will impact the way we live and work.

09/03

• Five Ways to Improve Well-Being in the Workplace: Emerging Trends from the Science of Happiness

The nature of work is changing rapidly. How can we protect our mental health and reduce burnout when faced with so much uncertainty at work? Laurie Santos, Yale professor and host of The Happiness Lab podcast, will share five evidence-based tips that professionals and creators across industries can use to improve their well-being and thrive emotionally in the workplace of the future.

• Sarah Herrlinger on Accessibility at Apple

Apple's Sarah Herrlinger will talk to attendees about the company's decades-long commitment to accessibility and users with disabilities. At Apple, accessibility is seen, according to the company, as a human right and a fundamental value, which has led to advances in products, services and representation for people with disabilities. Herrlinger will share the company's latest innovations in vision, hearing, mobility, and cognitive and speech accessibility and how these capabilities advance the company's mission of creating technology that works for everyone.

03/10

• A Conversation with Daisy Ridley

Daisy Ridley continues to make her mark in Hollywood as one of today's most dynamic English actresses. She is best known for her groundbreaking role as Rey in “Star Wars” and continues with several projects scheduled for release in 2024, such as the feature film “Magpie”.

• Sue Bird & Jessica Robertson in Conversation About the Investment and Growth of Women's Sports

In this discussion, Sue Bird and Jess Robertson will delve into the cultural rise in popularity of women's sports, covering how female athletes (at all ages) have been underrepresented, what the TOGETHXR brand has done to elevate female athletes and women's sports and the essential role that big brands can play in promoting positive change in this sector.

03/11

• AI and Humanity's Co-evolution with OpenAI's Head of ChatGPT

AI is turning people into creators and responders into curators and questioners. In this conversation with OpenAI's Vice President of Consumer Products and Head of ChatGPT, Peter Deng, the role of humans in the age of AI will be explored. What are the practical and philosophical implications of AI? How will this change our perception of ourselves? And are we all destined to become instant engineers or happily unemployed artists?

• Live Podcast Episode of Visitations with Elijah Wood & Daniel Noah

On their Visitations podcast, SpectreVision's Elijah Wood and Daniel Noah visit the homes and workshops of their favorite film creators and more for intimate conversations about how they turn their lives into art. In this special live edition of the second season launch, Wood and Noah will talk to a guest from the 2024 SXSW lineup.

03/12

• Billion Dollar Teams: The Future of an AI Powered Workforce

What happens when we no longer interact with AI in different tasks, but it is present in our work? We will reach this reality faster than we did with the digital revolution. The capabilities and practices of AI-enabled individuals and teams will be explored in this theme.

• The Transformation of Music Sync: When the Songwriter Becomes the Screenwriter

Entertainment is evolving and music is no longer seen as an afterthought in film, TV, streaming and other forms of media. Songs now define entire story arcs from the beginning, with songwriters helping drive the creative process, often serving as writers, executive music producers, directors, and more.

This panel will bring together some of the most respected and innovative minds in music and entertainment to explore the players influencing these changes and the new opportunities for songwriters and artists looking to flex their creative muscles.

03/13

• John Oates Talks Fame, Fortune, and Managing A Hit Music Career

John Oates is a music legend. Oates has racked up dozens of top 40 hits, including “Private Eyes,” “Rich Girl,” “Maneater” and many more. With more than 30 years of musical career, Oates has seen it all. Speaking with Alex Heiche, CEO and founder of the music industry's largest financial company, Sound Royalties, you will be taken through the professional journey of one of North America's biggest artists and reveal how he managed to navigate the music world with lasting and significant success.

• A Conversation with Alex Cooper & Matt Kaplan

Alex Cooper, Spotify's #1 female podcaster worldwide, content creator, host, founder and executive producer of the “Call Her Daddy” Podcast, and Matt Kaplan, CEO of ACE Entertainment, will discuss their latest media venture and company of Generation Z production – “Trending” – committed to elevating today’s voices and crafting tomorrow’s stories for an independent, resourceful and inclusive generation.

03/14

• Hollywood and Activism: Insights from Jane Fonda, David Fenton, and Sweta Chakraborty

A talk to discover the secrets to creating real, meaningful change with legendary activist David Fenton, Hollywood icon Jane Fonda and climate behavioral scientist Sweta Chakraborty, who will teach how to use media and communications to mobilize the public for meaningful action and political progress.

• What Does an AI Utopia Look Like? (What does an AI utopia look like?)

Vinod Khosla will discuss the origins of change and innovation and present his predictions on how AI will alter every sector of GDP and how these predictions could create a utopian society if executed correctly.

03/15

• Top Entertainment Trends for 2024: What the Data Says

Last year, Luminate CEO Rob Jonas broke the news on stage at SXSW that music streaming platforms saw an average of 120,000 new tracks uploaded per day in the first few months of 2023 – a new record. It was just one of many entertainment trends that Jonas highlighted using Luminate's most trusted consumer and audience research data in the industry. Jonas will be back in 2024 to do it all again in his third consecutive year as a featured speaker.