The music industry is a-dyin’, or so the doomsaying goes, and if you were sat in on the many speeches, spiels and panel discussions at this year’s 22^nd annual SXSW music conference and festival—the Sundance of the music biz but times a bazillion—you might even believe all the sad suits.

But if you left the Convention Center and wandered about Austin’s famed 6^th street and surrounding environs, you’d realize that there are two truths at play—sure, folks are “buying” less music than they used to…but they are “listening” to more than ever before. The net has changed the game and though keynote speaker and indie-scene godfather Lou Reed railed against the sound quality of MP3s (“Technology is making it easy to make things worse”) he also proclaimed You have the Internet — what do you need [a major label] for?” Then he proved it by name-dropping Toronto< indie electronic act Holy Fuck, who garnered massive buzz without massive marketing—they even got booked to play a Rachel Ray party (!) though the kitchen diva refused to utter their name.

Still, times have certainly changed SXSW. Five years ago, a wristband was enough to access almost everything. This year, with attendance soaring almost as high as the Texas temperatures, club-hopping amidst the 90+ venues to see some of the 1900 acts required one be frustratingly strategic and even that didn't ensure entry. Moreover, the dayparties and side-festivals have exploded, bringing in thousands and thousands of non-badge-holders to take in the free music—one downtown park even held a 10-hour, three-stage fest headlined by alt-icons The Breeders, UKtechno-pop twosome Simian Mobile Disco and skate-punk legends NoFX.

For five days Austin was invaded and occupied by hipsters, hip-hoppers, indie-rockers, punks, and um, Perez Hilton. Yep, Hollywood tried to join the hoedown and the gossip-blog queen held an afterparty that stole some of the steeze from traditional fest-ending Vice party (which also suffered from being in the same abandoned printing press warehouse as the Playboy party earlier in the week, a far cry from the old days when it would be held on biker compounds or hippie communes, though once again the cops shut it down early). But this was a rebuilding year. The bigger-name indie acts largely took a pass and the up-and-comers weren’t necessarily able to hold their own. In recent years there’s been on-the-verge artists like Hot Chip or Amy Winehouse, but there was no similar breakout this year.

In fact, Spin cover boys Vampire Weekend arrived with so much hype that, unable to meet expectations with their weak live show, they walked away with a backlash for their troubles. Instead, medium-sized acts like Virginia coke-rappers Clipse and Danish retro-fuzz duo The Raveonettes—alongside smaller artists like Brooklyn eardrum-bursting shoegazers A Place to Bury Strangers, Chicago MC Kid Sister and Swedish pop princesses Robyn and Lykke Li—walked away with all the buzz.

Biggest trend: Indie electronic acts—Canadian acts Holy Fuck, Crystal Castles and Woodhands along with the UK's Ting Tings, who just may be SXSW’s biggest beneficiaries, and Does It Offend You, Yeah.

Biggest Trend II: Hipster-hop. Between Cool Kids, A-Track, Ghislain Poirier, Cadence Weapon, Kid Sister, Santogold and Del the Funky Homosapian, there was a veritable indie-rap army.

Funniest Lyric: Daryl Hall (yes, that Daryl Hall) changed the lyrics to “Maneater,” singing “Watch out boy, she’ll steal your song/Oooh here she comes, Nelly Furtado.”

Funniest Lineup: The Slits. Shooting Pains. The Dicks. Biggest Comeback: Nada Surf. The onetime one-hit-wonders proved so, er, popular, their showcases boasted lines down the block.

Toughest Slot: Thanks to her Juno fame, Kimya Dawson had to follow an all-star jam session between ex-Rage Against the Machinist Tom Morello, System of a Down’s Serj Tankian and activist-crooner Billy Bragg.

Worst Fan-Service: Before MGMT took the stage at the Playboy afterparty, they played their hit “Time to Pretend” on record rather than performing it live. Runner up: Van Morrison had the bar closed down during his hits-free set at La Zona Rosa.

Best Fan-Service: NoFX played 1994’s Punk in Drublic from beginning to end. It ruled.