A sort of requiem: SXSW

SXSW was truly ahead of its times, then it wasn't. So it goes.

News that SXSW is abandoning ship paring down its music program, saving its energy for film and technology is not, on one hand, surprising news. The rise of independent and corporate festivals throughout the country and more creative touring schedules means high-quality concerts are closer at hand to more people than maybe ever before in history.

It's been awhile since SXSW Music felt buzzy or important. But, like all other institutions, it's still gutting and surprising when they fall lose luster. Witness this video from Saturday.

News that SXSW Music was shutting down for good spread through social media like wildfire, only to prompt a correction from organizations hours later. The show lives on, but for two days instead of five.

A quick primer/reminder: SXSW Music started in 1987 as a sort of local music industry event, but popularity begat more acts and the bolting on of the film and tech conferences in 1991.

Eventually, the tech and film (and now comedy, games and food) started first - making the music festival feel somewhat paradoxically like a breath of fresh air and a bad hangover for anyone who stayed for both weeks (raises hand).

As the startup CEOs and film directors left, the bands would show up - hoping their showcase or stand-alone show would be the one to attract the right person that could change their lives.

Throughout its history, people have been claiming it was passe/over/jumped the shark

Saying “SXSW Is Over” Is Over | TechCrunch

A lot of the talk surrounding SXSW this year has reminded me of one of my favorite skits from IFC’s show Portlandia. It starts off with a guy peering into the window of a bar and telling the locals inside how much he loves the place. The next day, he comes back to the same bar and sees some new guy in a buttoned-up shirt sitting there. “Aw come on — a guy like that is hanging out here? This bar is over,” he declares. Likewise, SXSW is over. Or is it? Depending on what you read or who you talk to, this was definitely the year that SXSW jumped the shark. In fact, I think we even declared it over before it even began. What was once a conference that was hip, now attracts the guy in the buttoned-up shirt — therefore, it’s over.

TechCrunchMG Siegler

Has SXSW Jumped the Shark?

by Andy Langer, a DJ at KGSR Austin and the music columnist for Esquire. He also contributes to Texas Monthly and The New York Times’ Texas edition. For many attendees of South by Southwest 2013, few attractions were as strange and surreal as the Doritos-sponsored showcase in the parking lot of Carmelo’s Italian Restaurant […]

BillboardBillboard Staff

Has SXSW Lost Its Cool?

Many bands are boycotting, more of the brands are square, and attitudes have soured toward big tech. Where is the festival going?

Texas MonthlyDan Solomon

From an attendee perspective, the show was a meatgrinder - especially if you were in the industry and had offers to attendee VIP shows off the grid. As SXSW got bigger and corporatized, bands would just show up and play wherever they could - whether or not it was associated with the actual festival.

There were some pioneering and interesting use of showcases, like countries sending some of their promising new acts, and blogs curating shows with their favorite pet bands. But, inevitably, corporations took notice and oversaturated the party. The open individuals shows where you could discover your favorite new band were now just diversions to the big mega show featuring a guest artists playing in branded pop-up spaces. Overcrowding and tensions with locals increased. What was ostensibly all about emerging acts became a cool thing for established acts to show up at. Then, suddenly, you look up and wonder what the point is.

It's definitely fun to look back at the lineups to see who you were excited to see and who is still an ongoing concern. When I went in 2008, I was so excited to see Times New Viking, The Stills, Robyn, Atlas Sound, and Asobi Seksu - more than half of those bands are no more. But that's less about SXSW than it is about the shifting sands of time.

Anyway, SXSW is downsizing. Can't say it's a surprise, but can definitely say it's a shame. But nothing stays golden forever.