With South by Southwest set to kick off over the weekend, advocates for musicians are calling attention to what they say is inadequate progress on the issue of fair pay for official showcase performances during the festival. Those calls come as city leaders have taken no official action on the small policy recommendations supported by […]
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.
Posted inAustin
Downtown Commission hears SXSW safety preparedness report
No one likes to think about worst-case scenarios turning large public events into devastating havoc, but such is the business of planning for major festivals like South by Southwest. Lessons learned from past events – the 2020 pandemic, the 2014 vehicular tragedy and various crowd-control incidents in other years – have helped shape a system […]
Posted inMusic & Entertainment
City, event planners talk planning and street closures during SXSW festival season
The city has started evaluating event permits and scheduling street closures taking place during next month’s South by Southwest festival, the 10-day period referred to in city planning circles as spring festival season. One of those planned closures announced during a stakeholder meeting held last month by Austin Center for Events is a partial shutdown […]
Posted inAustin
SXSW’s $380M economic impact shows return to prepandemic heights
This year’s South by Southwest appears to have had a local economic impact on par with the years prior to the Covid-19 pandemic, which nearly wiped out the popular music, tech and film confab in 2020. An analysis from Greyhill Advisors found this year’s event generated $380.9 million in economic activity, a jump of $100 […]
Posted inMusic & Entertainment
Music Commission hears testimony and then delays vote on SXSW pay
The Music Commission delayed action on the matter of fair pay for South by Southwest performers, holding nearly three hours of discussion on the controversial topic Wednesday night before rescheduling possible action until next month. The delay on the SXSW item and several others came about because the commission only had use of the meeting […]
Posted inPublic Safety
Firearms, unsafe drivers still seen as greatest safety threats for Sixth Street
The presence of firearms and the possibility of a vehicle breaking through barricades and entering crowds are the two greatest threats to Austin’s popular Sixth Street nightlife district, according to police and emergency leaders. The Downtown Commission received updates last week about work being done to improve safety on East Sixth Street, which has seen […]
Posted inMusic & Entertainment
Parks board delays SXSW fair pay action until June
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 […]
Posted inMusic & Entertainment
Rally draws attention to criticism of SXSW artist pay
Union organizers for musicians took their criticism of South by Southwest’s artist payment practices to the street on Thursday, gathering outside the Austin Convention Center to rally and draw attention to their demand for increased compensation for the hundreds of acts that perform during the festival each spring. Organized by Union of Musicians and Allied […]
Posted inPublic Safety
City outlines public safety plans for bustling spring festival season
With downtown Austin set to host five major events in a six-week period beginning with South by Southwest, city leaders have presented their plans for road closures and increased public safety measures that are likely to disrupt normal activities in the city core. Among the most noteworthy changes to the normal flurry of activity: new […]
Posted inCity Hall
Resolutions push city to look toward future use of crypto, blockchain tech
Payments for city services via cryptocurrency could become a reality in the near future, as could storage and processing of paperwork using blockchain ledger technology. Those are two of the possible outcomes from a pair of resolutions set for consideration at next week’s City Council meeting, following a South by Southwest festival heavily focused on […]
Posted inAustin
City, county leaders stress caution to keep Covid numbers down through SXSW
The city and organizers of the South by Southwest festival have asked attendees of credentialed and free events to have proof of vaccination or a recent negative Covid-19 test if they plan on participating in this year’s event. Local leaders and SXSW officials spoke at a press conference Monday, explaining that Travis County’s vaccination rate, […]
Posted inMusic & Entertainment
SXSW will have online events in 2021. A physical festival in Austin is still a possibility.
South by Southwest will host an online event next year, but plans for a physical one are still in the works, the organization announced Tuesday. The annual series of conferences and festivals, which attracts hundreds of thousands to Austin each spring, was canceled in March because of Covid-19, the first of many festivals to be […]