Last year it was cancelled (hooray!). This year they found a way to rip people off by making them pay probably outrageous amounts to “attend” via streaming and/or disappointing Zoom conferences. There’s a sucker born every minute, especially into believing these are more egalitarian systems.
I for one approve of this since it prevents my adopted home from being despoiled by the annual invasion of assholes from “the Industry.” Evil MoPac said it best, “Airlines are reporting a 98.7% drop from 2019 in bearded people trying to stuff guitars into overhead bins on Austin flights.” The only downside, the Sparks documentary directed by Edgar Wright was being shown. Then again, I remember how SXSW isn’t for local taxpayers, only the visiting assholes so I wouldn’t get to see it anyway. I know this because they pulled the same crap when debuting Jordan Peele’s Us.
Honestly, if SXSW just rolled over and died, I wouldn’t be very sad. Much like San Diego Comic Con, Lolapalooza and other well-intended fan gatherings, Corporations took over, transformed this into a tradeshow for their caste to have vacations at. Yes, yes, there’s the argument about the Austin economy but 2020 showed the vulnerability of depending on tourism too much. Given how much the local and state government pissed away for Tesla to “create” shit jobs, whatever SXSW brought in doesn’t matter anymore. The long-term and wisest decision is to make the general population has consistent employment, not fickle, prone to disaster service work.
Next year, the annual asshole invasion will return. All I can hope for is Waterloo Records having some acts I want to see.