State of the DIY Artist
Summary
Abe Batshon (BeatStars) and Curtiss King map how creators are building careers on their own terms — from publishing and direct monetization to growing audiences and protecting IP. Expect actionable tactics, honest tradeoffs, and a live Q&A that gives producers and indie artists the step-by-step playbook to level up.
- Format: Fireside Chat
- Category: Fireside Chat
- Event Type: panel
- Presented By: n/a
Contributors
- Curtiss King
- Abe Batshon
Raw Event JSON
Large nested arrays are compacted for page readability. Full payload remains in dataset files.
Open JSON payload
{
"id": "PP1150656",
"track": "Music",
"focus_area": null,
"category": "Fireside Chat",
"event_id": "PP1150656",
"event_type": "panel",
"format": "Fireside Chat",
"genre": null,
"subgenre": null,
"name": "State of the DIY Artist",
"presented_by": null,
"publish_at": "2026-02-09T15:18:00.000-06:00",
"reservable": true,
"reservable_id": "PP1150656",
"reserved": false,
"date": "2026-03-14",
"end_time": "2026-03-14T17:00:00.000-05:00",
"start_time": "2026-03-14T16:00:00.000-05:00",
"message": null,
"image": null,
"credentials": [
{
"name": "Music Badge",
"type": "music"
},
{
"name": "Platinum Badge",
"type": "platinum"
}
],
"contributors": [
{
"id": 92290,
"company": null,
"credential_types": [
"music"
],
"entity_id": 2255009,
"name": "Curtiss King",
"speaker_types": [],
"title": "Rapper, Producer, and Media Entrepreneur",
"image": {
"alt_text": "Curtiss King",
"credit": "",
"url": "https://images.sxsw.com/bQIYjiV0Pk5erLpykWOj3PqkcNc=/252x10:2098x1856/600x600/images.sxsw.com/48/d7c44184-ac44-4c98-87b2-c5552a38ab45/pcid-1641419"
},
"speaker_type": "Speaker",
"details": "Curtiss King is an independent rapper, producer, and media entrepreneur championing DIY artists. He has production credits with Kendrick Lamar and E-40, and founded Curtiss King TV, reaching over 340K creators through hip hop analysis, interviews, and education. A direct-to-consumer pioneer, his album DIY 2 hit #1 on iTunes Hip Hop. He is the author of The Prosperous Hip Hop Producer and a leading voice on music, culture, and independence.",
"links": {},
"type": "person"
},
{
"id": 8957,
"company": "BeatStars",
"credential_types": [
"music"
],
"entity_id": 1937701,
"name": "Abe Batshon",
"speaker_types": [],
"title": "Founder, CEO",
"image": {
"alt_text": "Abe Batshon",
"credit": "",
"url": "https://images.sxsw.com/d3FO2PxAYUsIrPIOZs0ya__Aft8=/600x600/images.sxsw.com/48/efb0f853-c6b5-4fee-9e61-a7adac233cd4/pcid-742736"
},
"speaker_type": "Speaker",
"details": "Abe Batshon is the visionary Founder and CEO of BeatStars, the world's largest digital production marketplace. Under his leadership, BeatStars has paid out over $450 million to independent producers and has become the go-to platform for beat licensing and rights management. Abe is passionate about empowering independent creators and building a more equitable music industry.\r",
"links": {},
"type": "person"
}
],
"venue": {
"accessible": false,
"age_policy": null,
"floor": null,
"id": "V2397",
"indoor_outdoor": null,
"name": "Capitol Ballroom ABCD",
"parent_id": "V2427",
"parent_venue_name": "Downright Austin",
"venue_entry_info": null,
"formats": null,
"location": {
"address": "710 E. 10th St.",
"lat_lon": [
30.2698058,
-97.7343172
],
"city": "Austin",
"postal_code": "78701",
"state": "TX",
"name": "Global Stage @ Downright Austin Backyard"
},
"root": {
"accessible": null,
"age_policy": null,
"floor": null,
"id": "V2427",
"indoor_outdoor": null,
"name": "Downright Austin",
"parent_id": null,
"parent_venue_name": null,
"venue_entry_info": null,
"formats": null
},
"events": "[omitted 5 venue events]"
},
"description": "Abe Batshon (BeatStars) and Curtiss King map how creators are building careers on their own terms — from publishing and direct monetization to growing audiences and protecting IP. Expect actionable tactics, honest tradeoffs, and a live Q&A that gives producers and indie artists the step-by-step playbook to level up.",
"experience_level": "Beginner",
"accessibility": [],
"accessible_venue": false,
"add_bcl_url": false,
"add_slido": false,
"age_policy": null,
"american_sign_language": false,
"apple_url": null,
"audio_description": false,
"caption_url": null,
"closed_captioned": false,
"cpe_credit": false,
"has_subtitles": false,
"hash_tags": [],
"high_sensory_experience": false,
"live": false,
"long_description": "Abe Batshon (BeatStars) and Curtiss King map how creators are building careers on their own terms — from publishing and direct monetization to growing audiences and protecting IP. Expect actionable tactics, honest tradeoffs, and a live Q&A that gives producers and indie artists the step-by-step playbook to level up.",
"meeting_url": null,
"meeting_url_live": false,
"mentorly_url": null,
"mobile_audio_url": null,
"open_captioned": false,
"playlist_tag": null,
"rebroadcast": false,
"recommended_ids": [],
"search_conversions": null,
"short_program": false,
"slido_url": null,
"sort": "STATE OF THE DIY ARTIST",
"source": "Official",
"squad_up_url": null,
"stream_embed": null,
"stream_id": null,
"stream_url": null,
"strobe_warning": false,
"subdiscipline": null,
"summit": null,
"summit_display_name": null,
"tags": [],
"talent_attending": null,
"title_only": false,
"track_display_name": "Music",
"trailer_id": null,
"trailer_url": null,
"video_on_demand": null,
"vimeo_id": null,
"vod": false,
"xr_project_type": null,
"youtube_id": null,
"related_sales_client": null
}