Jen Malone, Dr. Marcus Collins Lead SXSW Sydney’s 2025 Music Conference Speakers

Fresh off the back of revealing their first round of performing artists, SXSW Sydney has detailed the first wave of music speakers for its 2025 event.

Taking place in Sydney from October 13-19, the third outing of the Australian event will feature “some of the world’s best thinkers, buyers and culture-makers,” as per a press release. 

Leading the charge of their first speaker announcement is the Emmy Award-nominated Jen Malone, who is best-known as one of Hollywood’s most in-demand music supervisors thanks to her credits such as Euphoria, Wednesday, Mr & Mrs Smith and more. 

Malone is joined by Dr. Marcus Collins, who is renowned as an Award-winning marketing professor, cultural translator and best-selling author, having also previously served as the former director of digital strategy for Beyoncé.

A number of international figures have been confirmed for the first round of speakers, including Senior Director of A&R at All Flowers international label Group, Alex Berenson; Rareform’s Hallie Anderson; tech entrepreneur Andrew Batey; and Brian Hobbs, the Director of Music Festival Programming at SXSW.

Other international names added to the first round include Founder of Hong Kong’s Clockenflap Festival Justin Sweeting (Hong Kong); Apodaca Group and Pal Norte Festival’s Macarena González (Mexico); Meng Ru Kuok CEO of Caldecott Music Group (Singapore); Sally Dunstone, Agent/Partner from Primary Talent (UK); and Lucy Atkinson, Senior Agent at ATC Live (MØ, Erika De Casier) (UK).

A strong contingent of local names are also on the schedule for this year, including John Watson, President of Eleven Music and John Watson Management; music industry consultant Jono Harrison; and host of Airing Your Dirty Laundry podcast, Daphne Berry.

“SXSW Sydney is about big ideas, bold conversations and unexpected connections,” said SXSW Sydney’s Head of Music, Claire Collins. “It’s a chance to hear directly from the people who open doors — the buyers, curators and deal-makers — and to better understand how to cut through, stay independent, or scale globally. 

“Whether you’re building a team, exploring how AI can support your creative and business goals, or just looking for inspiration from other creative industries, this is where the conversations start.

“We’re proud to bring this talent to Sydney, and to connect them with the broader SXSW Sydney community,” Collins added. “It’s a week packed with fun, discovery, and opportunities to connect, collaborate, and imagine what’s next for music in our region and around the world.”

The first round of music speakers joins a solid selection of performers which have already been confirmed for the 2025 edition of SXSW Sydney, including Australian acts such as Swapmeet, RICEWINE, and Jamaica Moana, alongside names from Ireland, Thailand, Japan, New Zealand, and the U.K.

Further speakers and performers are expected to be announced in the coming months, with more than 300 international and domestic artist performances set to feature on the final schedule.