YSK: The SXSW 2020 Schedule Changes a lot from Tradition

ALERT: Due to the concerns of the spread of the Covid-19 coronavirus, the City of Austin has canceled SXSW by declaring a local disaster. (Official City Press Release & SXSW Statement).

Many local events are still on; we are working diligently with partners, sponsors, and the Austin community to continue our support of business and investment. Funded House is proceeding so stay tuned to that link for updates as things are changing so quickly. WE ARE hosting Investors, entrepreneurs, and as much as possible since Austin is still open for business.

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Several Austin leaders are working together to salvage local events for the people who will be in town regardless of the SXSW news. A coalition called Rally Austin is collecting information and promoting events that will continue as planned.  RallyAustin.com is up but as you can imagine, changing constantly given changes; we also have rallyaustin.logictry.com  in progress to help you plan for the events that you may want to attend.

I’m not sure it’s possible for us to be more excited about SXSW than we’ve been before, but with focuses on XR, MusicTech, Health, Gaming, and Space, this coming festival and conference is shaping up to reflect precisely where the arts, technology, and our economy are going.

Seeing a schedule of 2020 events recently though gave me pause. “Interactive” (historically Friday through Monday before Film and Music – essentially), will run throughout the entirety; and Technology, most notably, kicks off on Monday, running concurrently with Music.

We wanted to break it down for you as promptly and simply as possible since we have such a bit SXSW in store. Since you’re coming to our backyard, and MediaTech startups, companies, and investors are so woven throughout all of what makes SXSW what it is, note the changes! We want to make the most of it with you and we’re here to serve.

SXSW 2020 Schedule

Historically, particularly for those of us in Austin and Texas, much of “SXSW” (in quotes because I’m really referring to how Austin starts celebrating what’s to come) starts with some local events, as early as Wednesday, preceding the official start of festivities.

Friday still, the 13th of March this year, formally starts programming, and the festivals but be sure to notice that many tracks have been pulled up EARLIER while, as noted, many are running later or longer.

Starting Friday the 13th

• Climate & Social Action – through Wednesday the 18th
• Connection & Culture – through Wednesday the 18th
• Experiential Storytelling – through Sunday the 15th
• Government & Politics – through Monday the 16th
• Media & Journalism – through Tuesday the 17th
• Advertising & Brand Experience – through Wednesday the 18th
• Health & Medtech – through Tuesday the 17th
• Startups – through Tuesday the 17th
• Workplace – through Tuesday the 17th
• Film & TV Industry – through Tuesday the 17th
• Making Film & Episodics – through Tuesday the 17th
• SXSW Art Program – through Saturday the 21st
• SXSW Film – through Saturday the 21st
• SXSW Comedy – through Saturday the 21st

Starting Saturday the 14th

• Wellness Expo – through Sunday the 15th

Starting Sunday the 15th

• TRADE SHOW – through Wednesday the 18th

Starting Monday the 16th

• Gaming Industry – through Wednesday the 18th
• Professional Development – through Saturday the 21st
• XR – through Thursday the 19th
• Design – through Friday the 20th
• Fantastic Future – through Saturday the 21st
• Tech Industry & Enterprise – through Saturday the 21st
• Future of Music – through Saturday the 21st
• Virtual Cinema – through Wednesday the 18th
• SXSW Music – through Sunday the 22nd

Starting Wednesday the 18th

• Cannabusiness – through Saturday the 21st
• Space – through Friday the 20th
• Creating & Monetizing Music – through Saturday the 21st

Starting Thursday the 19th

• Flatstock – through Saturday the 21st
• SXSW Marketplace – through Saturday the 21st
• Gaming Expo – through Saturday the 21st

Note, I’ve subtly italicized where our work overlaps with SXSW and why you should be here, everything from Advertising & Branding to Virtual Cinema; we’ll be focused on our Venture Capital work again this year, and yes, if you picked it up, we’re taking a personal in interest in Health because of the challenges that tend to burden entrepreneurs and artists.

If you have plans to be in town, let us know here.

I had a chance this morning to catch up with Dhinuka Perera, Senior Conference Programmer, who shared the focus on Innovation and Creativity.

“As technology continues to integrate further into every industry and create new cross-disciplinary opportunities, my goal at SXSW is to create a more cohesive experience for our attendees. By intentionally working to schedule content that overlaps into other fields, we want to create an environment that promotes knowledge sharing and connections across different industries.”

For the first time ever, he further clarified, SXSW has several Interactive tracks continuing through or starting within the second half of the SXSW week:

• Design (March 16 – 20) 
• Tech Industry & Enterprise (March 16 – 21)
• New for 2020: Fantastic Future (March 16 – 21) 
• New for 2020: Space (March 18 – 20)

Two new Music tracks for 2020 will remain in the second half of the week but have been fully revamped to focus on the rapidly-evolving music industry:

• Future of Music (March 16 – 21)
• Creating & Monetizing Music (March 18 – 20)

Do share this, please – you can easily retweet it here. These are notable changes from years past and companies, investors, artists, and others may have in mind timing much the same as it has usually been.

Grab us where and how you prefer so that we can sync up. Chat with Emma, online here, join us on Facebook, connect with one of us on LinkedIn.