BEGIN:VCALENDAR VERSION:2.0 PRODID:-//173.254.29.95//NONSGML kigkonsult.se iCalcreator 2.26.9// CALSCALE:GREGORIAN METHOD:PUBLISH X-FROM-URL:http://doobeedoobeedoo.info X-WR-TIMEZONE:America/New_York BEGIN:VTIMEZONE TZID:America/New_York X-LIC-LOCATION:America/New_York BEGIN:STANDARD DTSTART:20231105T020000 TZOFFSETFROM:-0400 TZOFFSETTO:-0500 RDATE:20241103T020000 TZNAME:EST END:STANDARD BEGIN:DAYLIGHT DTSTART:20240310T020000 TZOFFSETFROM:-0500 TZOFFSETTO:-0400 RDATE:20250309T020000 TZNAME:EDT END:DAYLIGHT END:VTIMEZONE BEGIN:VEVENT UID:ai1ec-30573@doobeedoobeedoo.info DTSTAMP:20240319T031901Z CATEGORIES;LANGUAGE=en-US:Music &\; Event Listings CONTACT:Sohrab Saadat Ladjevardi\; 3479631448\; sohrab@MusiciansForMusician s.org\; https://www.MusiciansForMusicians.org DESCRIPTION:
\nRates for performing artists at SxSW haven’t changed in at l east a decade\, with the festival paying either an entry wristband to the festival OR a paltry $100 for solo and duo acts\, and $250 for bands to pe rform.
\nThe lowest cost badge to attend the music portion in 2023 c osts $795\, while the highest cost pass is $1\,395. Music festival wrist b ands\, which grant lower levels of access\, still cost a minimum of $149. The music festival regularly draws roughly 30\,000 attendees\, and the con ference as a whole draws hundreds of thousands of people.
\nThe appl ication fee for performers has increased by 37.5% since 2012\, from $40 to $55. In 2022\, 1504 musical acts performed\, out of 5001 bands and perfor mers who applied. That means SXSW made $275\,055 in 2022 from musician app lication fees alone.
\nOnly 1099 of those 1504 musical acts were US artists and so eligible for compensation. SxSW reports that only 2 0% of artists choose to be paid over receiving a wristband. That means that at most\, SxSW paid out $54\,950 to artists\, while stealing $2 75\,055 from artists in application fees. Yes: SxSW takes more money from artists than it pays out.
\nSxSW boast that the 2022 economi c impact of the festival on Austin was $280.7 million. The econom ic impact of attendance alone totaled $164.8 million\, including ticket sa les and goods and services that attendees bought while during the conferen ce. The 2019 economic impact was $355.9 million.
\nIn 2019\, the fes tival was sold to Penske Media\, a massive media corporation that also owns Rolling Stone\, Billboard\, Varie ty\, The Hollywood Reporter\, Women’s Wear Daily\, and numerous o ther publications.
\nPenske Media is owned by Jay Penske\, a member of the billionaire Penske family. His father\, Roger Penske\, is the found er of Penske Corporation. The Penskes and the Penske Corporation are major donors to former President Trump and other Republican po liticians and causes. The Penske Corporation gave $676\,000 in donations t o Republican candidates in the 2020 election cycle\, according to Opensecr ets.org.
\nIn 2018\, Penske Media accepted a $200 million lo an from a Saudi Arabian public fund. That same year\, the Saudi g overnment assassinated US journalist Jamal Khashoggi.
\nJay Penske has refused to answer questions about the loan\, despite t he assassination of Khashoggi and the Saudi’s ongoing war on Yemen. In fac t\, in 2019\, Jay Penske doubled down and co-hosted a yachting event in Sa udi Arabia.
\n*The US visa system for cultural workers is broken and requires a larger overhaul to truly treat non-US artists fairly. However\ , SxSW can do far more to work toward compensating non-US artists on equal terms as US artists. Most obviously\, SxSW must compensate non-US artists who hold eligible visas on equal terms with US artists. Further\, the fes tival must compensate the touring costs of non-US artists whose visas only allow for cost reimbursement\, and aid all non-US artists in obtaining vi sas that will allow them to be compensated for their SXSW performance.