What is South by Southwest?
{{Infobox recurring event |name = South by Southwest |image = |caption = |location = [[Austin, Texas]], U.S. |years_active = {{age|1987|03|10}} |first = 1987 |founders = Roland Swenson, Louis Jay Meyers, Louis Black, Nick Barbaro |dates = March (dates vary) |frequency = Annual |next = 2016 |attendance = <small>SXSW Music: 28,119<br>SXSW Interactive: 30,621<br>SXSW Film: 16,297<br>SXSWEdu: 4,260<br>Other Exhibits/Parties: 152,000</small> |genre = |budget = |patron = |organized = SXSW Inc. |website = [http://sxsw.com/ sxsw.com] }} '''South by Southwest''' ('''SXSW''') is a set of festivals and conferences. They are about movies, [[interactive media]], and music. It takes place every year in March in [[Austin, Texas]], United States. It began in 1987. It has continued to grow in both scope and size every year. South by Southwest is run by the company SXSW, Inc.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://sxswedu.com/about/history |title=Sxsw Inc |publisher=Sxswedu.com |access-date=March 25, 2014}}</ref> ==Overview== [[File:Sixth Street SXSW 2013-025426539592444897.jpg|thumb|A view of [[Sixth Street (Austin, Texas)|6th Street]] in downtown Austin, Texas, during SXSW 2013]] === SXSW Music === SXSW Music is the largest [[music festival]] in the world.{{Fact|date=March 2016}} It had more than 2,000 performances in 2014.<ref>{{cite web|title = SXSW 2015: The festival changes, but for the better?|url = http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/music/la-et-ms-sxsw-music-wrap-20150323-story.html|website = latimes.com|access-date = 2015-11-16}}</ref> In 1987, 700 people attended the music event. In 2009, there were over 32,000 registrants.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://sxsw.com/about/history |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110813151035/http://sxsw.com/about/history |archive-date=2011-08-13 |title=About SXSW |access-date=March 8, 2009}}</ref> Bands must pay for their own travel and lodging at the event. All performers get a cash payment ($100 for solo mu