South by Southwest in Austin

In 1987, South by Southwest started as a weekend long music festival run by a handful of people, and today has grown into a 10 day long music, film and interactive festival with a full time, year round staff, and 1500 volunteers. The number of musical acts has increased ten fold, and attendance has gone from 700 people to over 10,000.

Ten years ago, Billboard magazine didn’t even recognize SXSW as an actual industry event. But by catering to the public instead of solely “industry experts” the festival has grown exponentially and industry professionals from around the world clamor to Austin every March.

With such rapid growth, SXSW has changed over time. The creators of the festival say the goal has not changed. The purpose of SXSW is to have local and emerging bands perform in front of record labels and publishers, but today there is just more of it. The real challenge facing SXSW is keeping the fans happy.

Most of the industry pros purchase a pricey SXSW badge to gain entry to the music showcases. Since most fans cannot afford the hefty price of the badge, they opt for the more affordable wristband, though even it is hard to obtain, since they typically sell out in one day. All badges holders are allowed into showcases before those with a wristband, often resulting in fans being denied access to shows, as industry execs saunter in and out of shows with relative ease.

SXSW has been trying to help fans with the growing difficulty they face, since it’s the fans that bring the energy to performances. They have set up free shows with big headliners down at Auditorium Shores, and they will let a limited amount of people into clubs the day of a showcase allowing the lucky few to pay at the door.

For those who feel that SXSW has become more of a hassle than it’s worth, they can rely on the emergence of the SXSW Day Shows which have also flourished recently. Day Shows are held around the clock at clubs, coffee houses, shops, and just about anywhere there’s room for a band to play. These shows are not actually sponsored by SXSW. Last year there were 175 free day shows happening during the festival, which are free to everyone without legitimate SXSW credentials. Fans will likely still be able to see their favorite band at one or more of these day shows, and possibly get a free beer or BBQ sandwich to go with it. Though bands sign agreements with the festival to limit their performances to authorized showcases only during the fest, organizers are lax on these rules, knowing that day shows please locals who feel pushed out of the events in their own town,

Even though South By Southwest has grown and changed rapidly since its inception, and whether the change is considered good or bad, it has become one of the greatest international music festivals, and puts Austin under the world’s microscope for one week out of the year.

Working in the Austin real estate market Ki helps buyers and sellers search for a home. His website has a search of the Austin MLS along with detailed statistics on the real estate market on his Austin real estate blog.

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South by Southwest in Austin
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