City Approves Fee Waivers for SXSW

For the first time in its two-decades-plus history, SXSW is getting an official break from the City of Austin, after the city council last Thursday approved over $90,000 in fee waivers for this year's festival. According to the Statesman, most of this covers the cops and barricades needed for street closures (much of 6th Street and Red River Street will be shut down to car traffic).

SXSW co-founder and Austin Chronicle editor Louis Black alluded to the city's lack of past support in his Page Two column just two weeks ago, saying, "the city caused many of the most difficult situations and biggest problems SXSW faced each year... Not only did the city not provide any kind of support or aid, but they aggressively created problems. SXSW is very much Austin, but it exists despite, not because of, the city government."

With the Interactive, Film, and Music portions combined, SXSW brings in an estimated $38 million in economic impact to the city.

Photo by emilychang on flickr

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By Allen Y Chen in Arts & Entertainment, News on March 12, 2007 1:16 PM 0 Comments

Comments [rss]

truecraig

This comment thread has been a real eye-opener for me. Perhaps there should be a Bluth-style fundraiser for the organizers SxSW? I had no idea the city had denied them their money for so many years. It's a damned shame, really. I'm personally embarrassed for all of us, every ungrateful one.

Tony VelASSco Jr.

Hey Tony,

You talk the good talk! How about walking the good walk and just leave your phone number and address since you are so fuckin' brave about leaving real names here! Really Tony...be honest with us about why you are a SXSW Butt Buddy!

Tony Velasco

After 21 years of unqualified success as an industry festival (catering to industry folks, NOT the fanboy/fangrll ACL tourists), there are plenty of local creative types who are pissed off that LB/Chron/SXSW folks don't recognize them as the creative genius changing the world with their latest band/film/website/etc. Perhaps the reality is that you're merely a legend in your own mind?

If you're gonna be brave and trash SXSW, at least sign your real name or be honest with us about why you're a SXSW hater.

cojo

Grape Ape...do you just lurk on this blog? You seem to have designated yourself as queen of the comments! You seem to have an overly amount of opinions on just about everything Austinist dishes up! Get yourself a dog or a girlfriend and walk out into the sunlight, son. Come on out into the real world and drop your WOW and Second Life accounts. Really son, your mom and me are worried!

cojo

Grape Ape...do you just lurk on this blog? You seem to have designated yourself as queen of the comments! You seem to have an overly amount of opinions on just about everything Austinist dishes up! Get yourself a dog or a girlfriend and walk out into the sunlight, son. Come on out into the real world and drop your WOW and Second Life accounts. Really son, your mom and me are worried!

Sudo

$90,000 is a fraction of the income that is generated by the hotel tax alone during SXSW. The city is underfunding, not overfunding, this event.

anonymous

mr. fawkes, that chip on your shoulder is huge. seems very heavy. maybe you should focus your energy on something more productive.

Grape Ape

BTW Guy, the "volunteers" are compensated at a rate of $10/hr. in freebies. SOunds like a good gig to me considering the people who "volunteer" know exactly why they are volunteering and what they will get out of it. They get out exactly what they wanted to begin with.

Grape Ape

Here we go again. let me guess, you all think that LB took the $90K and went to Vegas instead of reinvesting it back into the festival or something productive right? I laugh at the comment above because it makes no sense. Why is it ok for the city to give huge breaks to coporations who pay people very little while they make millions and its not okay to give a tiny break to a festival that doesn't bring in millions in profits, but does bring in millions for the local economy?

Guy Fawkes

UNFUCKINGBELIEVABLE!!!!! Comparing this event to the other city sponsored events like Martin Luther King Celebration,et al? The city council should be ASHAMED! SXSW is a "FOR PROFIT" business. How dare the city cave to these fuckers. The city fees were designed FOR THIS PURPOSE!!! Stop funding these rich fuckers lifestyles! Hell, they already get a hell of a deal considering 90% of their workforce is VOLUNTEERS!!!! Make these guys pay for the city services as they should. $90,000 in waived fees? UNFUCKINGBELIEVABLE!!! It's bad enough the police and fire marshalls look the other way during this event not to mention sudden amnesia on the noise ordinance issue!!! Stop this pandering to "for profit companies"!!! When and if I ever start up any "for profit" music related company you can damn be sure that I will demand waived fees on any and all city services that relate to my business!!! Again...this is too UNFUCKINGBELIEVABLE!!!!