Don't Cry! SXSW Has Long Been Obsolete

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Honestly, I thought the demise of SXSW would either come from a decade of the Texas Governor being hellbent on attacking women, LGBTQ+ individuals, or anything his deranged mind thinks is "woke," leading the left-leaning music world to boycott his state. Not on my bingo card was getting a missile manufacturer as a sponsor or the festival growing to be an non-essential event to put on your calendar. The truth is I think a long-known secret of the festival also had a lot to do with it - as the Internet slowly starts to reveal the secrets only a few insiders knew: the truth that SXSW hasn't been a worthwhile destination for hard-working artists who want to get attention from gatekeepers for over a decade.

The TLDR

For those of you who got sucked up in the initial wave of misinformation, SXSW is not ending music at the festival. Instead, they have canceled the weekend devoted to music for 2026, condensing the timeline to an overlap of the festival's music, film, and tech aspects. They have spun this in some bullshit about the convention center being redesigned, but the hard truth of the situation is in The Hollywood Reporter’s report below:

Last year, when Penske (full disclosure: the company does send me a regular check for freelance work) stupidly partnered with the military-industrial complex, many groups canceled their festival appearances. Beyond the Rogan/Elon-ification of the once liberal oasis of Austin, I remain personally scarred from my final Austin trip (for the political version of SXSW the Texas Tribune Festival). My Uber driver picked me up in a Tesla blasting a techno remix of The White Lotus theme, greeting me with "Whattup bro?" The cultural transformation from pre-pandemic Austin delivered nearly lethal voltage shock. I'd love to attribute the festival's demise to a growing leftist activist musician class, while it was pasrt of it, this isn't the complete story as much as I would like it to be.

Micro Festivals

It is no secret that since COVID, all but the most extroverted industry professionals have developed an aversion to frequent outings. The comforts of home—with partners, pets, prestige TV and comfort food delivery—now outweigh cramming into a United flight where no one over 6' fits comfortably, waiting hours at Franklin BBQ only to have it sell out, and bouncing around town for poorly scheduled sets.

Though this observation may seem anecdotal, I've discussed it with over 20 colleagues who reached identical conclusions. SXSW was once reliably one of two annual opportunities to connect with everyone in the music business. A rarely discussed factor is how streaming has specialized music consumption by targeting unique tastes, causing music festivals to specialize accordingly. Heavy music professionals now prioritize Sick New World festival. Hip-hop industry figures find Rolling Loud more relevant for business than SXSW. While I work across dozens of genres, most industry professionals operate within niches and prefer attending specialized events rather than a genre-spanning festival in an overpriced hotel market populated by drunk assholes openly carrying firearms.

No One Gets Any Attention

The irrelevance of SXSW stems from a poorly-kept secret: only the top 5% of buzziest artists receive attention from major players. Musicians hoping to encounter career-changing gatekeepers have gradually realized this is largely a delusion. After a decade of friends returning disappointed, word has spread. Industry advisors have long told artists not to bother attending, explaining why artist participation has dropped by half. The press, tweets and conversations coming out of the festival center around known quantities like the above mentioned cringe-factory Benson Boone and artists who are already music influencer darlings.

While personal stories exist (mine is seeing Sophie play to 40 people in a life-changing DJ set) the reality differs from expectations. Musicians arrive hoping to perform for influential tastemakers who could open doors, but those tastemakers are typically elsewhere watching artists they've already profiled multiple times. Artists end up playing half-empty rooms, bonding with fellow performers over shared disappointment. These experiences rarely create seismic shifts in career trajectories, even for artists who later achieve success. This diminished importance suggests next year will be no better—if anything much, much worse—which isn't necessarily bad news.

The internet has made everything that required SXSW attendance 15 years ago possible from your bedroom. I can only imagine having musicians, professionals, and their fans have to intermingle with Stitchfix-wearing tech bros talking their next-gen-Theranos startup over 818 shots while trying to watch the latest buzz band; it is only going to make the festival infinitely worse. While the festival occasionally provided valuable in-person connections, descending upon an increasingly problematic destination to accomplish these tasks is no longer necessary—a trend that will only intensify.