Sounds like music at South By is in its death throes...
https://www.statesman.com/story/entertainment/2025/03/16/sxsw-2026-schedule-half-price-badges-early-bird-available-now/82470583007/
SXSW transforms in 2026: Music weekend gone, half-price badges available now
The South by Southwest Conference and Festival is undergoing a dramatic transformation. With dwindling band numbers and a surge in Film interest, the event will present a trimmed-down schedule that eliminates a dedicated music weekend in 2026. SXSW is also offering a lifeline to cash-strapped, would-be attendees with unprecedented early bird discounts slashing badge prices in half for a limited time. Is the Music fest, once the headliner, now more like the opening act that nobody quite remembers? They used to pack in 2,000 bands, in a chaotic symphony of sound. In 2025, that number was 1,012. 35% were international acts, representing their countries with pride, and often sponsored in part by government ministries.
The Film and TV Fest, once the awkward sibling shoved into the corner, has suddenly become the cool kid everyone wants to hang out with. Thanks in part to Penske Corp. — 50% owners of SXSW since 2021 and Hollywood heavyweights who own your favorite film industry and music mags — the Film fest now feels like the VIP lounge. Suddenly, everyone's clamoring for screen time, not stage time.
Next year, the festival and conference will run from Thursday March 12 to Wednesday March 18, ditching the second music-centric weekend.
The fest is also offering deep early bird discounts at sxsw.com through March 31. You can snag a Platinum pass for a $1,135. Interactive badges are going for $785, Film and Television for $700. And $475 for a music badge. Walk up prices this year were wallet whopping: Platinum $2,295, Interactive $1,695, Film and Television badges $1,395, Music badges $995).
Worth noting: For the last several years, badges for each track granted secondary access to other festival tracks. Next year, the Platinum pass is the only badge that will grant access to all festival tracks.