This article is about the annual festival. For other uses, see South by Southwest (disambiguation)

South by Southwest, abbreviated as SXSW 💲 and colloquially referred to as South By, is an annual conglomeration of parallel film, interactive media, and music festivals and 💲 conferences organized jointly that take place in mid-March in Austin, Texas, United States. It began in 1987 and has continued 💲 growing in both scope and size every year. In 2024, the conference lasted for 10 days with the interactive track 💲 lasting for five days, music for seven days, and film for nine days. There was no in-person event in 2024 💲 and 2024 as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic in Austin, Texas;[1][2] in both years there was a smaller online 💲 event instead.[3]

SXSW is run by the company SXSW, LLC, which organizes conferences, trade shows, festivals, and other events.[4] In addition 💲 to SXSW, the company runs the conference SXSW EDU and the SXSW Sydney festival (from 2024, in Sydney, Australia) and 💲 co-runs North by Northeast in Toronto. It has previously run or co-run the events North by Northwest (1995–2001), West by 💲 Southwest (2006–2010), SXSW Eco (2011–2024), SXSW V2V (2013–2024), and the me Convention (2024–2024). In addition, a large number of other 💲 events, past and present, sometimes collectively referred to as "four-letter festivals", have been inspired by SXSW.[5]

The Austin Convention Center in 💲 Downtown Austin functions as the "hub" of the festival; most events associated with the festival take place at venues in 💲 and around Downtown Austin.[6]

In April 2024, Penske Media Corporation purchased a 50% stake in SXSW.[7]