Amid mounting criticism over how the South by Southwest Music Festival compensates artists, locals in Austin have begun shifting towards civic intervention with a brand new advice to Austin Metropolis Council. The Austin Parks and Recreation Board unanimously handed a decision on Monday evening (June 25) asking town council to rethink its commitments to the pageant till SXSW makes its personal adjustments.
The decision, which was shared with Pitchfork, outlines among the metropolis’s prices related to the pageant. It asks “that any contract negotiation between the Metropolis, PARD, and SXSW embody provision requiring honest pay for home artists acting at Metropolis of Austin parks, park services, and metropolis owned property.” The second a part of the decision asks town council to “require adjustments to artist pay and compensation by SXSW earlier than waiving any future charges at Vic Mathias Shores, or at different parks, park services, or metropolis owned services.”
The Union of Musicians and Allied Workers launched its Truthful Pay at SXSW marketing campaign in February with an open letter that attracted quite a few artist signees. The group introduced one other letter to the Parks and Recreation Board asking for the decision earlier this month. UMAW’s Joey La Neve DeFrancesco spoke over video name in the course of the assembly’s public remark portion, pointing to SXSW’s billionaire possession and expanded programming in Syndey, Australia as proof that the pageant might afford pay musicians extra pretty. Different group members, some from the Austin Federation of Musicians, appeared on the assembly in individual, in individual, talking passionately about their dedication to music and honest wages.
Michael Whellen, an actual property legal professional talking on behalf of SXSW, additionally weighed in in the course of the public remark interval. He burdened the concept that the pageant was not a “business” occasion however one meant to facilitate private connections. “As an trade occasion, the main focus is on profession growth,” he mentioned, including that the pageant’s showcases provide mentoring and networking unavailable at so-called business festivals like Lollapalooza.
Explaining the pageant’s compensation construction, Whellan claimed that 90 p.c of performers who utilized and had been chosen to play the pageant selected to be compensated with a basic admission wristband as a substitute of money. He claimed that, for 2024, SXSW would provide particular artist credentials that allowed them entry to one-on-one mentoring classes and a lounge space. Whellan additionally indicated that the pageant had raised its charges barely for future performers, from $100 to $150 for solo acts, and from $250 to $350 for bands, irrespective of the scale.
Parks and Recreation Board chair Pedro Villalobos, who co-wrote and sponsored the decision with board member Kathryn Flowers, shared an announcement with Pitchfork:
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