Now that the buzz from Austin’s “South By Southwest ” has calmed down a bit, lets reflect on the event in the context of population.

First of all, just what is South By Southwest? Well, sxsw.com explains that South By is “13 days of industry conferences, a 4-day trade show, a 6-night music festival featuring more than 2,100 bands, and a 9-day film festival with more than 400 screenings.” With those features, who wouldn’t want to attend, really? But, we’ll get to that later. Let’s focus on who does. In 2014, SXSW was said to bring in registrants from 87 countries and bands from 57 countries. This is an international event, all happening right here, in Austin, Texas.

With all of those people coming into our little, aforementioned “anti-growth” city, where does everyone stay? Well, 60,458 room nights were booked in over 70 official hotels, with a whopping 13,990 individual reservations booked!  And if you’re late on booking your room, or just want another feel for the city, you can always rent out some space at someones apartment! Thankfully, we have that kind-hearted southern charm to accommodate y’all! Well, some of us anyway.

Take a look at what  Number 9, Jacob, has to say about South By Southwest. His telephoto lens and sad puppy eyes tell a story that anyone who’s resided in Austin for more than a year knows too well. “When do I get my city back?” Well Jacob, you’ll get your “it’s-only-around-the-corner” line at Hopdoddy back soon enough, we promise. But is it really all bad, Jacob? We get it, I-35 is rough, you already can’t handle the traffic. We understand that the only reason someone would attempt 6th street is for the adrenaline rush of drowning among other humans. We know, really, we do.

 

Hear us out though, lets take a look at some numbers, again. The total impact of South By Southwest in 2014 created  315.3 million dollars for the Austin economy in revenue in just those few, albeit, chaotic days. What does that mean? Do we really have to explain that money = good?  Just for a little modest comparison, the entire Longhorns Football season (almost half a year), only brought in a total revenue of 109 million (and we know how Texans just love football).

Lastly, don’t you as an Austinite want a tight grip on the title of “Live Music Capital of the World?” If so, and if you want what’s best for your city, you’ll grin and bear the beautiful chaos that is South By Southwest.

All data is from SXSW 2014, 2015 stats have not yet been published