Austin360 blogs > Digital Savant > Archives > 2010 > August > 04 > Entry
SXSW Interactive registration rates rise $55-$200 for 2011
Planning to wait until the last minute to decide to attend South by Southwest Interactive next March? It’ll cost you.
The cost of showing up at the festival and buying an Interactive badge will be $750, up from $550 for the 2010 festival. In 2009, the walk-up rate was $495.
Early-bird registration also goes up, from $395 in 2010 to $450 for the 2011 festival. The deadline for early-bird registration is September 24, and registration opened on Monday.
So what accounts for the nearly 14 percent increase in early-bird and whopping 36 percent increase in walk-up rates for the festival? It has a little to do with the spike in paid registration at this year’s festival, which hit the same level as the Music part of the festival. A representative of the fest says it’s meant to encourage early registration and to help organizers better plan the festival without last-minute surprises.
Though an early-bird Music badge still costs more than an Interactive badge ($595 versus $450), the $750 walk-up rate is the same for both. Probably due to the increase in Interactive badge costs, the Gold badge now costs $950 for walk-up attendees and a Platinum pass is $1,250 on-site.
When reached for comment, organizers of the fest said it’s still a bargain compared to other tech conferences. Melissa Smolensky, a spokeswoman for SXSW Interactive, said in an e-mail, “SXSW Interactive’s early bird rate is still really low and the walk-up rate is very competitive in comparison to other conferences. Here at SXSW Interactive we are encouraging people to register early as it is easier to get a hotel downtown and easier for us to plan a great festival for attendees.”
Edited to add, 5:28 p.m.: Smolensky elaborated on her earlier comments, saying, “These walk-up rates are designed in part to encourage more people to register early while there is more hotel availability. Also, the more people who register early, the better sense we have of what kinds of numbers to plan for so that we can produce a better experience for everyone.” (End of edit.)
The increase was the subject of a blog post on Austinite Wesley Faulkner’s blog today. One commenter on the blog said they’ll consider skipping the official fest and attending non-badge events instead. Another said increasing rates will keep out start-up businesses and others who would benefit most from attending.
From 2009 to 2010, the rate increases were far more modest. Interactive early-bird registration rose from $375 to $395 and walk-up was $550, versus $495 in 2009.
Music registration went from $550 to $595 for early-bird and $695 to $750 from 2009 to 2010.
Film, meanwhile, went from $300 for early-bird to $325, and from $450 to $475 for walk-up from 2009 to 2010. For 2011, Film badges are $375 and $550, respectively.
As the festival grows, it’s probably to be expected that rates will continue to increase for registration from year to year, but the $200 increase on Interactive/Gold is the largest spike I can find over the last few years of registration. To put that in perspective, that’s what a new iPhone 4 costs (with a dollar left to buy a cheap app). If you were to lay out $200 in one-dollar bills, side-by-side, it would be the length of 200 pieces of dollar-sized paper.
$200 is a lot, is all I’m trying to say, a hefty penalty for not registering earlier.
Are the rates too high? Will the new rates make you rethink attending the festival in 2011? Let us know in the comments.
Here’s the rates from 2009 to 2011 for SXSW, for comparison’s sake:
2009
Interactive: $375 early-bird, $495 walk-up
Film: $300 early-bird, $450 walk-up
Music: $550 early-bird, $695 walk-up
Gold: $550 early-bird, $695 walk-up
Platinum: $850 early-bird, $1,145 walk-up
2010
Interactive: $395 early-bird, $550 walk-up
Film: $325 early-bird, $475 walk-up
Music: $595 early-bird, $750 walk-up
Gold: $595 early-bird, $750 walk-up
Platinum: $920 early-bird, $1,225 walk-up
2011
Interactive: $450 early-bird, $750 walk-up
Film: $375 early-bird, $550 walk-up
Music: $595 early-bird, $750 walk-up
Gold: $650 early-bird, $950 walk-up
Platinum: $900 early-bird, $1,250 walk-up
Permalink | Comments (3) | Post your comment Categories: Austin, SXSW 2011
Comments
Austinites love to be heard, and we're giving you a bullhorn. We just ask that you keep things civil. Leave out the personal attacks. Do not use profanity, ethnic or racial slurs, or take shots at anyone's sexual orientation or religion. If you can't be nice, we reserve the right to remove your material and ban users who violate our Visitor's agreement. Click here to report comment abuse.
By SmolenskySXSW
August 10, 2010 3:06 AM | Link to this
We hear your complaints about the programming and we are always striving to provide the best possible programming for attendees. The majority of SXSW Interactive panels offer really compelling information and many have standing room only attendance. With over 400 sessions at the event, we stress to attendees that if you are bored in the session you are currently attending, move on to the next one.
By Mike
August 5, 2010 10:40 AM | Link to this
I'm a consultant from Austin and I surfed SXSWi badge-less in 2008, badged in 2009, and couldn't attend in 2010 but still managed to meet up with some people from out-of-town in the evenings. SXSWi is everything from the absurdity of a Junior High dance to "E! for Geeks" to three or four legitimate business ideas that aren't just trend-surfing. I almost view it as a four day Tweetup in downtown Austin, and in a lot of ways, that's ok with me.
The programming is shaky, though. It's "ok" for a $450 ticket, but if it starts pushing $600-$750 for pre-sales (why would we expect no increase for 2012?), then I'll sit it out and plan meetings instead.
By jessica
August 4, 2010 9:44 PM | Link to this
I've been attending SXSWi since 1999 (not continuously, I missed a couple years), but 2010 may have been my last year to attend. It's hard for me to justify the cost.
Interactive has gotten too big. That's not me longing for the good 'ol days when Interactive was the red headed step-child of the festival, it's because the level of crap filler programming has increased exponentially to keep up with the number of attendees.
It's no longer on par with other conferences because the programming sucks. I'd be able to justify even the walk-up rate if attendance was limited and the panels were more carefully curated.