Cancellation of SXSW

I just read that SXSW canceled their event this year. A massive decision that involves a lot of money. 355.9 million dollars to be exact. It’s hard to predict how this will affect the whole festival. At the same time how it will affect other events. Here in Sweden, they are thinking of closing concerts that are above a certain capacity. I don’t know the capacity, but rumors say over 5000 people.

These things can disrupt a lot of things also the consuming pattern. People will change their plans and make others and do other discoveries. I guess I have written it before that every ten years it is a big change. And all the time I couldn’t guess what it would be. This time its globalization. The environment question and that we are so globalized going everywhere is creating a new pattern.

How it will look like is also impossible to tell. The effects usually go in very strange ways.

Like now all the people that would have been on SXSW, might need a new meeting point. Or will the virus keep hanging in so long that everything will be pushed to next year?

A professional guess is that the money will talk. Right now, they can do this but canceling big events the whole spring and summer would kill so many businesses that it would create a global financial depression. They come up with some crappy fast produced vaccine and suddenly it’s business as usual. The question is if the recession happens can we stop it.

For music usually, financial depressions are good for business. Yes, I look onto this very cynical. Music is thriving in a bad political climate and during hardship. That brings out good songs with meaning and passion. You just hope it doesn’t kill anyone just to get good music.

Maybe also this could run to smaller events. I skipped SXSW this year to go to a smaller conference. Much because I would do more business at a small conference. It’s part of the new plan I have for my festival touring. In this case, it was a good decision, but I feel for my friends at SXSW. This is not a good situation for them. The thing is that smaller seems to be better in this new global economy.