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. With SX$W
I’ve been wanting to use that headline all week.
My excuse is this Wall Street Journal piece about a squabble between the music festival, and encroaching brand-promoters doing private events. Some are invite-only, meaning that your $650 all-access badge won’t get you into. Others are free and open to all — no pricey badge required. Both scenarios are an annoyance to festival organizers.
The festival now has deep-pocketed sponsors … including Citigroup Inc., Miller Lite and Dell Inc. They pay between $100,000 and $200,000 each in exchange for having their logos plastered around town.
One concern among SXSW organizers is that as more bands play outside events, music lovers could have less reason to pay for the festival itself. The parties also represent competition for sponsorship dollars and venues. For instance, one unaffiliated concert is sponsored by Tecate and Dos Equis beers.
The festival organizers’ responses to this have included calling in the fire marshall, and of course litigation.
Hopefully AdPulp, who I believe is still on the ground in Austin, will weigh in on this matter.
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Kim Fellner's book 
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Reader Comments
This has been pretty big news in Austin for a while. I do think SXSW has a legitimate beef with the unofficial corporate events, but I don’t think they’ll see any audience share erode from the average outdoor show. The music festival wristbands cost $135, which are out of the budget for the average Austin slacker or student and I think about 2000 wristbands are released through a combination of lottery and SMS drops, so relatively few people can get them. On top of that, badgeholders and first-come ticket-buyers have priority over wristbands, so, even if you do get one, it’s unlikely you’ll get into the name-brand shows. The free parties give students and casual fans the ability to check out bands without a big monetary or time investment.
They allow a lot more people to take part in SXSW, which can only be good for the festival as a whole.
Hi Rob,
It’s just like Jazz Fest. The “real” Jazz Fest is contained from 11:00 to 7:00 at the Fairgrounds, with the addition of a few night shows. Yet, there are hundreds of other shows to attend and it’s all known simply as Jazz Fest. And I don’t think the organizers in NOLA are complaining about lost revenue. The SXSW organizers might learn from that. Their whining makes them appear greedy and there’s no need for it.
That’s an interesting comparison, David. The truth is I have almost no experience with SXSW the music festival, though I was living in Austin when it started, it was not a big deal then. It’s certainly true in my New Orleans years I never heard the Fest folks complain about spinoffs, though I guess because as you note the Fest ends at nightfall, and all the unofficial events begin then, there’s no competition issue.
I’m out of N.O. for a few years now, and I must say the vibe about the Fest among friends there has really taken a turn the last two or three years. It’s always fashionable to complain about how it used to be better etc etc, but really the tone lately about the jacked up ticket prices etc. is quite different.
All that said, your overall point sounds right to me, as an outsider: I can’t imagine that there’s any real reason for SXSW organizers to be complaining. Seems like the whole enterprise is going pretty well. …