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The Union of Musicians and Allied Workers (UMAW) will be escalating its Fair Pay at SXSW campaign with two events in Austin during the week of the festival. Over 2300 artists have signed onto UMAW’s demands to SXSW including Boots Riley, Veruca Salt, The Mountain Goats, Backxwash, Guy Picciotto, Heba Kadry, Algiers, and many more.
The Union of Musicians and Allied Workers (UMAW) has announced it will be escalating its Fair Pay at SXSW campaign with two events in Austin during the week of the SXSW music festival: a showcase on March 14 at Hole in the Wall, and a protest rally on March 16 outside the Austin Convention Center.
The showcase will run from 7:00pm - 1:30am at Hole in the Wall (2538 Guadalupe St, Austin, TX 78705-4520) and will feature performances from Blvck Hippie, Divino Niño, Enumclaw, La Neve, The Ophelias, Pleasure Venom, Ratboys, and Sabrina Song. UMAW will be paying all artists the same $750 it's demanding from the Penske Media-owned music festival. “If our underfunded organization of musicians can pay bands fairly, then why can’t the billionaires at Penske Media?” asked UMAW organizer Joel Jerome. The concert is an “unofficial” showcase, is open to all, and is being co-sponsored by Fight for the Future, Demand Progress, Working Families Party, and Topshelf Records.
According to UMAW, the showcase was difficult to organize because multiple confirmed venues and sponsors pulled out of the show due to fear of retaliation from SXSW and Penske Media.
UMAW’s protest rally will begin at 11am on Thursday, March 16 outside the Austin Convention Center, (500 E Cesar Chavez St, Austin, TX 78701) where SXSW’s operations are centered. The rally will feature speeches from musicians, UMAW members, and other allied organizations.
UMAW launched its Fair Pay at SXSW campaign on February 7, demanding that the festival increase payments to $750, provide artists with festival wristbands in addition to their payment, remove application fees, and fairly compensate international artists. Over 2300 artists have signed onto the demands, including Boots Riley, Veruca Salt, The Mountain Goats, Backxwash, Guy Picciotto, Wednesday, Heba Kadry, Algiers, SAMMUS, Zola Jesus, Eve 6, Charly Bliss, DIIV, and many more.
Feeling the pressure of the artists’ collective efforts, SXSW issued a statement to Billboard stating that they “appreciate the feedback from the UMAW” and will conduct a policy review after the festival. UMAW says the festival’s tepid response is not enough. “SXSW brings in hundreds of millions of dollars,” said UMAW organizer Joey La Neve DeFrancesco. “It’s owned by the billionaire Penske family. They’ve already robbed this year’s artists of nearly $300,000 in application fees. They can afford to immediately increase our pay starting with this year’s festival.”