SXSW Interactive 2012 Price Increases; PanelPicker Opens Aug 15

SXSW updates abound here in Austin. First the bad news - prices are going up, most notably for the Interactive portion of the festival. SXSWi registration, which opened on Monday, now costs $595 through mid-September, which is an increase of about 32% over last year's early rate of $450. According to the Statesman, the SXSW Interactive director cited the extreme growth in popularity of the conference as the main reason for this rate hike, as well as the fact that the pricing remains competitive with other tech conferences, such as TED and Web 2.0.

Music badges stayed the same as last year at $595, while Film badges increased only $20 to $395, if purchased by September. These overall increased prices are also reflected in the Gold and Platinum badges. Complete registration rates and deadlines are available here.

In other Sx news, the Panel Picker opens on August 15th for community feedback. Prepare yourself for a long decision-making day though, as there are 4500 proposed entries to sift through, compared to about 2800 last year!

Films for screening and bands for showcases can also currently apply for inclusion in the appropriate sections of the 2012 conference, to be held March 9 -18.