South by Southwest, abbreviated as SXSW and colloquially referred to as South By, is an annual conglomeration of parallel film, interactive media, and music festivals and conferences organized jointly that take place in mid-March in Austin, Texas, United States. It began in 1987 and has continued to grow in both scope and size every year. In 2017, the conference lasted for 10 days with the interactive track lasting for five days, music for seven days, and film for nine days.
SXSW is run by the company SXSW, LLC, which organizes conferences, trade shows, festivals, and other events. In addition to SXSW, the company runs the conference SXSW Edu and the upcoming SXSW Sydney festival and co-runs North by Northeast in Toronto.
It has previously run or co-run the events North by Northwest (1995-2001), West by Southwest (2006-2010), SXSW Eco (2011-2016), SXSW V2V (2013-2015), and the me Convention (2017-2019). In addition, a large number of other events, past and present, sometimes collectively referred to as “four-letter festivals”, have been inspired by SXSW.
The conference grew over the years, and it quickly began to attract international attention. Organizers estimated that more than 12,000 attendees had seen some 2,000 musical acts on more than 80 stages in 2010. Private events and parties, sponsored by record labels, music bloggers, and radio stations, are held throughout Austin as showcases for specific artists.
Conference-goers also attend workshops and discussions, with topics ranging from band promotion to legal issues to artist talks. A trade show is held concurrently in the Austin Convention Center, and people use the opportunity to network and view new products and technology.
According to britannica.com; en.wikipedia.org. Source of photos: internet
