My Morning Headache

I think SXSW is about to mess with Mess With Texas

I have been reading the fascinating "History of SXSW" entries on the Austin Music Source blog. I've come to the conclusion that the now annual "Mess With Texas" party is the sort of thing that SXSW organizers attack with full force. Louis Black has said many times that SXSW places so many restrictions on their artists and attendees in order to make sure that no other music event use what SXSW has built and create a larger, more relevant festival. That's why the artists sign a contract that says they won't play any other shows in Austin during SXSW. I don't think this has ever been enforced, but it's in the contract. Also, SXSW organizers have revoked badges from organizers of parties in the past if those parties include bands that aren't a part of SXSW.

Mess With Texas is huge this year. Sure, it's still free and it doesn't compete directly with SXSW showcases. However, it's main act is "The Breeders" who aren't an official showcasing band. Mess With Texas only exists because most of the bands are already in Austin for SXSW. So, this party is "stealing" The Breeders from SXSW and profiting from the fact that SXSW drew so many popular bands to one place.

My guess is that the SXSW organizers will somehow find a way to make sure the organizers of Mess With Texas will never again have bands that aren't official SXSW showcasing bands and that the party will remain free and not directly compete with SXSW showcases.

Alright, this is boring, I'm going downtown.

posted by Ruhmann @ 3/13/2008 02:47:00 PM