BY JOSEPH DEBELL, STAFF WRITER
Photo Courtesy of Wikimedia Commons
SXSW needs to do a better job of paying artists what they deserve, especially considering that some artists that play in the festival come from all over the United States.
South by Southwest (SXSW) first appeared in 1987 after the city of Austin, Texas, wanted to create more entertainment opportunities. After debating about what it should add, it settled on SXSW. Unfortunately, while SXSW started hot with popular support, It’s become apparent over the years that artists and fans of the festival are being ripped off.
According to UMAW (Union of Musicians and Allied Workers), the payment for artists for this year’s festival is $250 for groups and just $100 for solo artists This has not solely offended the artists, but critics in the music industry are also disappointed at the lack of reasonable payment for the artists at SXSW.
“TheNeedleDrop” (Anthony Fantano) made a YouTube video recently titled “The Greediest Music Festival” explaining his perspective on this controversy. In it, he reacts to the pay for these artists.
“Is this a non-profit?” Fantano replied when reading that international artists don’t have different choices in payment. The UNAW says they are “offered a wristband with no possibility for compensation.”
The most disrespectful part is that SXSW has kept paying artists less and less while increasing their application fees for artists each year.
UMAW has been doing everything it can to counter and give artists a decent cut. Its petition mentions increasing pay for all performers from $250 to $750, as well as discontinuing the application fee. UMAW’s petition has around 1,800 signatures from artists worldwide as of February 15th, 2023.
To add salt to the wound, SXSW has had a $280 million economic effect on the economy in Austin, according to Lori Hawkins from “Austin American-Statesman.” This puts into perspective the greed SXSW displays and their lack of empathy towards the artists that create the entertainment in the first place.
That’s ultimately what’s frustrating about this entire situation. SXSW was created to increase entertainment in Austin. Knowing this, it is common sense to ensure that one of the priorities in this event should be paying artists fairly.
The only hope is that UMAW can actually make a difference with its petition. Even though they are attempting to help artists, I wish this petition was more vigorous. It should include more about how the SXSW was made to have a positive impact and SXSW is undermining what should be their priorities.
debelljb22@bonaventure.edu
