Behind The Viral Hit: Why It's Not What It Seems

Event ID: PP1162562

Sun, Mar 15, 2026 | 9:00 PM - 10:00 PM

Venue: Capitol Ballroom FGH (Downright Austin)

View on Official SXSW

Summary

In an era where TikTok virality can catapult unknown artists to millions of streams overnight, the music industry faces a critical question: how do we transform fleeting moments into lasting careers? This panel brings together industry experts to lift the lid on viral streams and explore strategic frameworks that separate one-hit wonders from career artists. Drawing from real-world case studies, the discussion will provide actionable insights for artists, managers, and industry professionals looking to build careers that transcend trending sounds and create lasting cultural impact.

Contributors

Raw Event JSON

Large nested arrays are compacted for page readability. Full payload remains in dataset files.

Open JSON payload
{
  "id": "PP1162562",
  "track": "Music",
  "focus_area": null,
  "category": "Panel",
  "event_id": "PP1162562",
  "event_type": "panel",
  "format": "Panel",
  "genre": null,
  "subgenre": null,
  "name": "Behind The Viral Hit: Why It's Not What It Seems",
  "presented_by": null,
  "publish_at": "2026-01-16T14:16:00.000-06:00",
  "reservable": true,
  "reservable_id": "PP1162562",
  "reserved": false,
  "date": "2026-03-15",
  "end_time": "2026-03-15T17:00:00.000-05:00",
  "start_time": "2026-03-15T16:00:00.000-05:00",
  "message": null,
  "image": null,
  "credentials": [
    {
      "name": "Music Badge",
      "type": "music"
    },
    {
      "name": "Platinum Badge",
      "type": "platinum"
    }
  ],
  "contributors": [
    {
      "id": 78410,
      "company": "FUGA",
      "credential_types": [
        "music"
      ],
      "entity_id": 2239377,
      "name": "Victoria Tsigonis",
      "speaker_types": [],
      "title": "Senior Marketing Services Director - Americas",
      "image": {
        "alt_text": "Victoria Tsigonis",
        "credit": "",
        "url": "https://images.sxsw.com/3aOYmiN52gxxRNVIBKm-3vlNVao=/28x11:185x168/600x600/images.sxsw.com/48/abf8308d-12b1-4292-9c37-2ac3b746b0d8/pcid-1623852"
      },
      "speaker_type": "Speaker",
      "details": "With over 15 years of industry experience, Victoria Tsigonis has held senior executive roles at\rIsland Records UK, BMG, Shelter Music Group, and now FUGA, overseeing the marketing teams\racross North and South America. A specialist in artist development, global marketing, DSP\rstrategy, and creative direction, she has played a pivotal role in orchestrating projects that have\rtopped charts, secured prime playlist placements, and delivered innovative marketing campaigns.",
      "links": {},
      "type": "person"
    },
    {
      "id": 24506,
      "company": "Cool Shit, Cool People",
      "credential_types": [
        "music"
      ],
      "entity_id": 2021895,
      "name": "Gabriela Gironas",
      "speaker_types": [],
      "title": "Founder",
      "image": {
        "alt_text": "Maria Gabriela Gironas",
        "credit": null,
        "url": "https://images.sxsw.com/tDIDMgqSP2wtN3WbLLyWAQ_2jMw=/630x668:2161x2199/600x600/images.sxsw.com/48/c80e80f9-2a1a-43b6-8ae3-3f08aa43c510/pcid-1019914"
      },
      "speaker_type": "Speaker",
      "details": "Gabriela Gironas (they/them) is a Forbes 30 Under 30 honoree and a leading voice at the intersection of music, technology, and the creator economy. The child of Bolivian immigrants, Gironas has spent over a decade championing empathy-led partnerships and building platforms for underrepresented creators to thrive. Their career spans brands like YouTube, Reddit, Fender, Human Re-Source, and Q&A, as well as mission-driven organizations like Keychange U.S. They currently serve as Senior Director of Creator Strategy at Wasserman and Founder of Cool Shit, Cool People, a creative agency focused on elevating the next wave of talent and technology.\n\nAt Wasserman, Gironas leads creator strategy for global brands including Google Play, Samsung, and Taco Bell, developing scalable frameworks that help brands identify, activate, and collaborate with creators across platforms. Their work blends talent development, data-driven storytelling, and culture-first strategy to drive measurable impact. This builds on a decade of launching fan campaigns and artist careers—from crafting re-release strategies for Julia Michaels to growing ANGEL22’s following from zero to 10 million. From BTS billboards in Times Square to redefining K-pop rollouts, Gironas has helped shape the careers of Lauv, Jensen McRae, Madilyn Bailey, Moses Sumney, and Jada Kingdom.\n\nA respected leader in advocacy and governance, Gironas serves as Governor of the Recording Academy’s Los Angeles Chapter, At-Large Member of the LA County Governance Reform Task Force, and Global Chair of Diversity, Inclusion & Community at Women In Music. They also sit on the boards of Industry In Spanglish and Keychange U.S. A frequent speaker at SXSW, Reeperbahn, and Music Biz, Gironas continues to shape the future of inclusive leadership across music, tech, and culture—with creativity, empathy, and conviction.",
      "links": {},
      "type": "person"
    },
    {
      "id": 80901,
      "company": "Transgressive / Canvasback",
      "credential_types": [
        "music"
      ],
      "entity_id": 2242491,
      "name": "Jack Hedges",
      "speaker_types": [],
      "title": "GM",
      "image": {
        "alt_text": "Jack Hedges",
        "credit": null,
        "url": "https://images.sxsw.com/xtEe-g4BaG_BrB2dA2Ce9Qddw20=/99x272:953x1126/600x600/images.sxsw.com/48/89e2ec7d-ccd3-456e-aeb4-4f90fd196854/pcid-1301071"
      },
      "speaker_type": "Speaker",
      "details": "Jack oversees the North American operations for Transgressive Records, who’s recent releases include Arlo Parks, Sparks, The Antlers, The New Eves and Graham Coxon. For 20 years he’s stewarded the Canvasback Music imprint, currently home to Greg Freeman and Rocket. As co-founder of Canvasback Jack has worked on creative and strategic endeavors for artists such as The War On Drugs, alt-J, Frightened Rabbit, Death Cab For Cutie, GROUPLOVE, Manchester Orchestra, Briston Maroney and many more.",
      "links": {},
      "type": "person"
    }
  ],
  "venue": {
    "accessible": false,
    "age_policy": null,
    "floor": null,
    "id": "V2406",
    "indoor_outdoor": null,
    "name": "Capitol Ballroom FGH",
    "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": "In an era where TikTok virality can catapult unknown artists to millions of streams overnight, the music industry faces a critical question: how do we transform fleeting moments into lasting careers? This panel brings together industry experts to lift the lid on viral streams and explore strategic frameworks that separate one-hit wonders from career artists. Drawing from real-world case studies, the discussion will provide actionable insights for artists, managers, and industry professionals looking to build careers that transcend trending sounds and create lasting cultural impact.",
  "experience_level": "Intermediate",
  "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": "In an era where TikTok virality can catapult unknown artists to millions of streams overnight, the music industry faces a critical question: how do we transform fleeting moments into lasting careers? This panel brings together industry experts to lift the lid on viral streams and explore strategic frameworks that separate one-hit wonders from career artists. Drawing from real-world case studies, the discussion will provide actionable insights for artists, managers, and industry professionals looking to build careers that transcend trending sounds and create lasting cultural impact.",
  "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": "BEHIND THE VIRAL HIT: WHY IT'S NOT WHAT IT SEEMS",
  "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
}