Apple Music threw an awkward rap party at SXSW, and we were there for the weirdness

Is wearing Apple AirPods at a concert normal? Probably not. But it made sense at last night's Apple Music party. 

Kind of.

So goes the music portion of SXSW, which has traditionally involved Pandora, Spotify, Soundcloud and record labels throwing solid parties with fairly respectable lineups of artists, to say nothing of the dozens of showcases putting globally up-and-coming music talent on display. 

This year, however, we saw Apple Music make its mark. 

SXSW has been going on since 1987, bringing together executives and influencers in technology, music, and entertainment. It's a lot of loud "activations," closed-door dealmaking, and partying. It's gotten increasingly bigger (and some might argue: worse) every year. And true to its recent history, this year marked yet another SXSW first, with Apple getting in on the frenzy with its own events. Read more...