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Friday, February 15, 2008
R.E.M. to tape Austin City Limits
R.E.M. will kick off the 34th season of tapings at “Austin City Limits” on March 13 during South By Southwest. The Georgia band has never played the KLRU-produced TV show before but they’re in full promotion mode for “Accelerate,” due in stores April 1.
Ticket info is forthcoming. The platinum-selling band will also play an official SXSW showcase for the first time.
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Swenson interview, part 4
Our e-mail conversation with SXSW director Roland Swenson continues.
American-Statesman: With 1,750 acts this year, more than double the old plateau of 800 or so, doesn’t it become harder for acts to be noticed?
Roland Swenson: The primary benefit for many SXSW acts will be hometown press and bragging rights for being invited. Make no mistake, that is quite valuable. The acts that see the best results at SXSW are the ones who arrive having done their homework, and having made advance contact with press and industry people to promote their showcase. It only takes one influential person in the audience to make a difference in an artist’s career.
In 1987 we had 200 acts and 700 music registrants. That’s an average of 3.5 industry people for every act. This year we’ll have 1750 acts and close to 12,000 registrants, which averages to 6.8 industry people for every act. So you can argue that acts have a better chance of being seen by someone who can help their career now than when we began.
The number of acts we present is driven by the number of venues needed to make room for the people who are attending SXSW. When you count the 79 SXSW stages, multiply it by 6 slots a night (8 p.m. to 1 a.m.), and multiply by 4 nights, it’s a big number.
American-Statesman: This might be a good time to lay out how much SXSW pays the bands or how they are otherwise compensated.
Swenson: Acts that perform at SXSW are offered a cash payment. Bands get $225 and solo/duo acts get $65 for their 40-minute set. Instead of cash, some acts choose to be paid with a package of passes that includes one badge and wristbands for each musician in the act. Typically, it’s worth over $1,000.
