The Parks and Recreation Board has signaled it will ask City Council to require fair pay standards to be included in all future contracts with South by Southwest, including its use of Auditorium Shores for free concerts for the public.
At its Monday meeting, the board was set to consider a resolution concerning compensation for SXSW artists, but opted to delay the action until its June 26 meeting that will come after festival managers complete their annual review of the event.
The resolution included four points: requiring fair pay for domestic and international artists playing city facilities during SXSW; that fair pay be addressed as a general matter in all SXSW contracts; that SXSW change its compensation policies before receiving fee waivers from the city; and having the Music Commission, Tourism Commission and the Commission on Immigrant Affairs consider the issue as well.
SXSW, which has run for nearly 40 years in Austin, has a longtime practice of paying showcasing artists a stipend – $250 total for bands and $100 for duos and solo artists – or offering them wristbands to access festival events. International artists are only compensated with festival wristbands. That policy first came under fire in February, when the Union of Musicians and Allied Workers launched a campaign calling for compensation to be increased to $750 along with receiving wristbands so artists have more opportunities to meet music industry professionals and advance their careers.
Michael Whellan, an attorney representing SXSW, said during the public comment period of the meeting that feedback forms have just been sent out to participants of this year’s event and that festival leaders have acknowledged the need to review how artists are paid.
“Policies are looked at along with things that went on at the event, and this is going to be one of those items,” Whellan said. “There’s been feedback obviously through the press and other places, and the review that’s done in May allows vendors, the city, the community and participants to provide feedback.”
While the language of the resolution referred to estimates that SXSW brings in more than $140 million in revenue each year, Whellan said the structure and focus of the event on music industry professionals make it substantially different from consumer-focused music festivals such as Coachella and Lollapalooza, which are similar in nature to the annual Austin City Limits Festival.
Board members opted to draft a letter to SXSW leaders, along with the resolution language, to inform them of the expectations of city leaders.
“This resolution is guided by my philosophy of supporting the parks, parks facilities, the parks department and the nonprofits we partner with,” Board Member Pedro Villalobos said. “More importantly, we need to be using our power on the board to recommend to City Council and the legal department to effectuate change that is in alignment with the vision and values of the city, and I believe that this is one of them.”
Board Member Kathryn Flowers said the city should stay consistent regarding its fair pay expectations required for contracts in other industries.
“We should hold our contractors to the high standards that we as a city want to uphold, which we do not in many areas. It’s only fair from this perspective that we do the same with South by Southwest, and frankly any other vendor,” Flowers said.
“It’s really important that people are paid a living wage in all aspects of work … I want to make sure the city is enforcing the values that we’re trying to uphold while making sure our partners understand that to work with us we expect them to meet those values.”
Photo made available through a Creative Commons license.
The Austin Monitor’s work is made possible by donations from the community. Though our reporting covers donors from time to time, we are careful to keep business and editorial efforts separate while maintaining transparency. A complete list of donors is available here, and our code of ethics is explained here.
And we’re honored you look to us for serious, in-depth news. You know a strong community needs local and dedicated watchdog reporting. We’re here for you and that won’t change. Now will you take the powerful next step and support our nonprofit news organization?
Parks and Recreation Board: The city’s Parks and Recreation Board members deal with the acquisition, development, improvement, and maintenance of Austin’s parks and playgrounds.
SXSW: Organizers of the massive annual festival that takes over the City of Austin each March. SXSW has donated to the Capital of Texas Media Foundation.
