The A3C Festival & Conference, a yearly Atlanta event dedicated to music, hip-hop, culture and technology, just scored major investors from Atlanta startups The Gathering Spot and Paul Judge Media Group.
Co-founder and CEO of The Gathering Spot, a coworking space, Ryan Wilson and Paul Judge, a technology entrepreneur and investor, have acquired a controlling stake in the festival for an undisclosed amount, along with A3C co-owner and managing partner Mike Walbert, according to a news release. The announcement comes ahead of the conference's 15 year anniversary, set for Oct. 8-13.
Together, the three investors want to expand the event to include more tech in addition to its influence on music, social justice and cultural experience.
The event itself typically brings in more than 30,000 attendees with more than 1,000 artists and 300 speakers. Notable past performers include Lil Wayne, Nas, J.Cole, Rick Ross, Wiz Khalifa, G-Eazy, 2 Chainz and Wu-Tang Clan, along with speakers Anthony Saleh, Ethiopia Habtemariam, Kevin “Coach K” Lee, Master P, Ryan Leslie, Steve Stoute, Troy Carter and Tuma Basa.
With the strategic investment, A3C looks to expand its offerings to integrate film, TV and gaming. The team will also expand the festival's Startup Spotlight, introduced in 2017, to further drive collaboration between Atlanta's tech and creative ecosystems.
“This partnership was developed based on our collective desire to create the most influential and anticipated annual conference and festival in Atlanta,” Wilson said in a statement. “We each have a unique approach to building community and have amassed incredibly powerful resources while individually building bridges to opportunity. Together, as strategic partners and producers of the event, we’ll leverage the power of those resources and our unique experiences to bring a fresh, exciting and culturally appealing offering to our great city and its visitors.”
"Atlanta’s influence is felt everywhere. We have an authentic, powerful convergence of culture, music, technology & entrepreneurship,” Judge said in a statement. “A3C is the event that will bring these diverse communities together for inspiration and innovation."
The festival will shortly announce additional details about the 15th Anniversary event, including speaker submission dates, sponsorship/partnership opportunities, scheduled artists and speakers and opening ticket sales.
“For more than a decade we’ve worked to create meaningful experiences that connect people and change lives,” Walbert said. “While we’re proud of what we’ve built, this anniversary is the perfect time to bring on partners who can help take A3C to the next level.”
