AUSTIN, TX (Hypebot) — When SXSW opened applications to showcase at its 2024 edition, its also increased payments to acts that are accepted to showcase.
SXSW has raised payments from $250 to $350 for bands and from $100 to $150 for solo artists this year, as well as offered special artist credentials that allow access to one-on-one mentoring sessions and a lounge area.
According to festival organizers, about 90% of performers chose to be compensated with a free pass to all events. In 2023, a SXSW Music Badge cost as much as $895.
It’s unlikely that this increase will satisfy musicians calling for a boycott of SXSW or the United Musicians and Allied Workers Union, who have demanded $750.
SXSW announced the increase quietly before the Austin Parks and Recreation Board this week voted unanimously to call on the City Council to force a pay raise.
Austin waives all fees for SXSW’s use of city parks and facilities, and the resolution demanded “that any contract negotiation between the City, PARD, and SXSW include a provision requiring fair pay for domestic artists performing at City of Austin parks, park facilities, and city-owned property.” It further calls on the City to “require changes to artist pay and compensation by SXSW before waiving any future fees at Vic Mathias Shores, or at other parks, park facilities, or city-owned facilities.”
Bruce Houghton is the Founder and Editor of Hypebot, a Senior Advisor at Bandsintown, President of the Skyline Artists Agency, and a Berklee College Of Music professor.
