Update on May 31 Protest at Penske Media Offices to Call for Fair Pay at SXSW

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: press@weareumaw.org / 401-256-8762

COALITION OF MUSICIAN GROUPS TO HOLD NYC RALLY ON WEDNESDAY CALLING ON SXSW’S PRIMARY OWNERS–PENSKE MEDIA CORPORATION–TO INCREASE ARTIST PAYMENTS AT THE AUSTIN FESTIVAL SXSW has refused to give artists a raise for well over a decade

New York, NY — The SXSW music festival in Austin, TX has offered artists the same paltry compensation for over a decade: either accept a one-time payment of $250 for bands and $100 for solo artists, or receive a wristband to the festival. International artists aren’t offered any payment whatsoever. Over the same period, SXSW has increased its application fees by some 37.5%. Meanwhile, the festival brags about bringing hundreds of millions of dollars into Austin each year. 

In response, United Musicians and Allied Workers (UMAW) launched their Fair Pay at SXSW campaign in February, demanding that the festival better compensate artists. UMAW held a series of protests in Austin during SXSW in March, where hundreds of music workers and fans joined the group in demanding fair pay. Now UMAW has joined with an unprecedented coalition of unions, musician groups, and advocacy organizations to take their demands directly to the offices of the festival’s primary owners at Penske Media Corporation. 

WHO: The Fair Pay at SXSW Coalition: United Musicians and Allied Workers, Music Workers Alliance, Bandcamp United OPEIU Local 1010, Secretly Group Union OPEIU Local 174, National Writers Union, NYC-DSA, and New York Working Families Party

WHAT: Unions, musician organizations, and advocacy groups hold rally at the NYC offices of SXSW’s owners to demand better compensation for artists performing at the festival. Following the rally, the coalition will march participants to a nearby WGAE picket at Paramount HQ

WHERE: Penske Media Corporation, 475 5th Ave, New York, NY 10017 

WHEN: Wednesday, May 31 at 12 PM ET 

”After our protests in Austin this March, SXSW promised to reconsider artist compensation. But the festival still hasn’t offered a single dollar more to artists, has ignored our requests for meetings, and is working to delay efforts in the Austin city government to require fair pay to artists. These insults to musicians cannot continue, and that’s why we’re taking the fight directly to SXSW’s owners at Penske Media.” said United Musicians and Allied Workers.

“SXSW’s $250 per band is less than the cost of festival food, transportation, and housing. Such ‘pay-to-play’ constitutes structural racism, effectively blocking young, gifted, and working class artists from participation. Penske Media and Austin businesses reap hundreds of millions each year while aggregate pay to festival musicians is under $60,000? MWA says: No Way!,” said Music Workers Alliance. 

“An average cost of a double-bed hotel room in Austin is $233/night, yet bands that play SXSW get paid only $250 while Penske Media lines their pockets. Music is what makes our lives beautiful, and we have to honor the workers that make it. As Socialists, we’re proud to stand with musicians fighting for a basic rate at SXSW — and we won’t stop fighting until we all get the beautiful lives we deserve, which includes homes, food, and music,” said Democratic Socialists of America organizer Kaarthika Thakker

“National Writers Union stands in full solidarity with the music and culture workers fighting for SXSW to increase artist compensation. Simply put, SXSW would not be possible without musicians and artists, and the festival’s practices and pay must reflect that reality. We call on Penske Media to recognize their valuable contributions to both SXSW and society at large,” said National Writers Union

”Secretly Group Union hopes that this coalition sets an example for other labels and peers across the industry looking to join the union movement and the fight for the seat at the table and the dignity we all deserve.  As label workers who work with artists every day, we’re not being honest with ourselves or anyone here by pretending like SXSW is a good deal for anyone but Penske Media. But we also recognize the nuance in how our own livelihoods are in a way dependent on the labor and exploitation of artists in the context of the financial brutality that we all see in this industry. To change this trajectory, it’s essential that we join forces like we have today to call exploitation where we see it and demand better for all of our fellow workers,” said Sanjeev Rau of Secretly Group Union

“What brings us together is bigger than what’s happening at SXSW—it’s what’s happening in the music industry as a whole. We are very excited to be part of a greater movement of musicians, journalists, label owners, and streaming platform employees fighting for better pay, conditions, and quality of life,” said Atoosa and Devy of Bandcamp United