Austin, Texas during the SXSW Music Conference has always been the breeding ground for new industry relationships, but it's increasingly grown as the mainline from breaking bands to the fans who will love them. Some of independent music's most popular mainstays -- like Sub Pop, Mute, Anti- and others -- find exactly their kind of audiences at the festival.

Sorting out what acts to check out can be daunting there are a few thousand official showcases, a couple thousand unofficial, and some artificial and practical ways we, as fans, can sort them out.

I'll be publishing several lists prior to and during SXSW this year on Artists To Watch. In the following pages I outline some new and some old artists culled from my favorite rock/pop/electronica-leaning labels. Label rosters that you can trust can be a decent guide to discovering new music -- and finding what you do and do not like about a label.

Read up on Emma Louise to Lost In The Trees, Rusko (pictured) to Deerhoof, Cold Specks to Caveman.