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SXSW increases fees for American artists amid pressure from music-maker groups
By Chris Cooke | Published on Thursday 29 June 2023
South By Southwest has increased the fees it offers American artists playing at the Austin, Texas-based showcase festival. It follows recent campaigning led by the US Union Of Musicians And Allied Workers calling for better compensation for artists who play at the event.
In a recent open letter to the Austin Parks And Recreation Board, UMAW wrote: “Since SXSW launched in 1987, musicians have been SXSW’s backbone and main draw. Yet despite SXSW’s consistently growing profits and ever-expanding programming over the past 30+ years, the musicians performing at the festival continue to be exploited with low pay and high application fees”.
“For at least a decade, SXSW has offered its showcasing artists the same unjust compensation options: either take a wristband to attend the festival, or receive a one-time payment of $250 (or $100 for solo artists). International artists do not even have this choice and are only offered a wristband with no possibility for compensation”.
Texas Public Radio has noted that, as applications to play SXSW 2024 opened earlier this week, new higher rates are now being offered for those artists who choose to take a cash fee rather than a wristband. Solo artists are now offered $150 and bands $350.
The Austin Parks And Recreation Board discussed the UMAW campaign earlier this week, agreeing that the city’s council should put pressure on SXSW organisers to pay better fees to artists during its various dealings with the festival.
At that meeting, Pat Buchta of Austin Texas Musicians noted the fee increases that have been confirmed this week, acknowledging that they are a step in the right direction. However, he reportedly added: “Respectfully, is that enough? Our musicians do not think so, and musician input is the one thing that everybody seems to be missing in this conversation”.
The fees earned by new and lower billing artists when they play festivals are increasingly in the spotlight at the moment.
Obviously, with events like SXSW, most artists play to build profile and connections within the industry rather than to make money. Indeed, most artists will lose money unless they can find subsidies from somewhere.
But there remains a debate regarding the extent to which those benefits can justify artists receiving low or no fees for their performances.
Speaking to Texas public radio station KUT, SXSW’s VP Of Music, James Minor, stressed that the showcase festival gives artists the opportunity to network, unlike “consumer-focused festivals”.
He added: “It is essential for us to continue to provide opportunities that make the most impact in supporting the thousands of artists who come to Austin every March. We are grateful to the music community – from industry executives and production workers to the artists themselves – for creating such a unique atmosphere in Austin [each year]”.
