
A SXSW Guide to Earning Your Access Instead of Paying For It
Hillary Lewis April 2, 2024
0 Comments
Do you ever feel like entertainment industry conferences, festivals, or networking events are out of reach? Why are these conference price tags so unrealistic for the average joe to pay for? Why do these events feel so unattainable especially now, in these unprecedented times of layoffs, twin strikes, and a slow trickle of content being greenlit?
Unfortunately so many professionals in the industry are still faced with unemployment. And for those struggling to stay afloat, attending events like these can mean the difference between making a valuable networking connection or not.
Even with a job, your chances of getting your ticket paid for is very slim. There's few too many employers in the industry that offer to pay their employees' way to conferences. My previous employers were never one of those, and for years I assumed those conferences were out of my reach until I discovered volunteering.
Every year in mid-March, a convergence of music, film, comedy and tech happens in the heart of Austin, TX. South by Southwest (SXSW) is a mountain of opportunities for those attending. And having a badge can get you access to nine jam-packed days of premieres, screenings, mentor sessions, panels, workshops, happy hours, meetups, screenings, activations, award shows, and so much more. It's a career playground for professionals and a hot spot for networking.
If you want to attend SXSW, you can get a badge in one of three ways:
Pay the steep fee for a Music, Interactive, or Film & TV badge next year's pricing starts at $945 and increases heavily over time. If you want full access to all three tracks, you'll need to pay even more for a Platinum badge which starts at the low, low price of $1365.
If you're employed, you could muster up the courage to ask your employer for a badge cross your fingers and hope for the best.
OR do what I did and sign up as a volunteer! This can be a huge opportunity for those with flexible schedules or anyone unemployed looking for a chance to learn and network with other like-minded industry professionals.
Like most of my colleagues in Unscripted TV, I've been unemployed since May of 2023. Since January of 2024, there was zero indication that the industry's momentum was going to change anytime soon, so I signed up as a SXSW volunteer at the end of January.
Volunteering: How Does It Work? To sign up for volunteering at SXSW, you can visit their volunteer website and fill out an application form. The application process is straightforward and allows you to choose your availability and preferences for volunteer shifts.
Volunteering at SXSW requires a minimum commitment of 40 56 hours in exchange for the same badges and access to the festival that other attendees are paying for. You'll need to volunteer 40 for either a Film & TV, Music, or Interactive badge, and 56 hours for a Platinum badge. This can feel like a big commitment of time but you can usually knock out your hours in 4 shifts or less.
Volunteer sign-ups start two or three months ahead of the festival, so be sure to get on the mailing list and sign up with enough time to select a crew and schedule that works for you.
Select Your Crew The festival itself is spread out all over the downtown area of Austin and needs all kinds of volunteers doing different jobs. You could opt for the Sessions crew and be responsible for scanning badge holders in and out of scheduled panels, sessions, or workshops. Or the Transportation crew, driving VIPs to and from the airport, theaters, events, shows, etc. Each crew offers a unique experience and opportunities to get involved with like-minded individuals. Check out all the Crew options and descriptions here.
Select Your Shifts When volunteering, SXSW requires a total of 40 volunteer hours to earn a Music, Film & TV, or Interactive badge. If you want the full access Platinum badge, you'll need to volunteer 56 hours. Depending on the crew you picked, you can choose four 10-hr days to fulfill your required hours. There are other shift lengths available as well as weekdays and weekend shifts. Make sure to schedule and show up for your full required hours or you could have your badge access revoked. Note: Don't worry about feeding yourself while volunteering. Shifts longer than 8 hours will get you a meal ticket to several food trucks just for volunteers.
Hot Tip: Sign up to work your volunteer shifts at SXSW EDU, which happens the week before the full conference begins. This allows you to get most or all of your volunteer hours completed ahead of time so you can fully enjoy your badge access during the conference!
Select Your Badge With four different badges to choose from, Music, Film & TV, Interactive, and Platinum, it can be overwhelming to choose the right one for you. Since I chose the Film & TV track, I'll be focusing on my experience with the Film & TV badge access. Check out more details on badge access here.
Use Your Badge After confirming your shifts, pick up your badge at Registration on the first day of the conference, or as soon as you're able. Even if you haven't worked your first shift yet, you now have full access to all Film & TV premieres, screenings, panels, sessions, events, activations, happy hours, opening parties, awards shows, and more!
If you're unsure or have any questions, reach out to vol@sxsw.com. The staff is so friendly and genuinely wants volunteers to get the most out of their volunteer experience.
My Personal Volunteering Experience
My overall review: I genuinely had a great time volunteering. I picked the Sessions crew and my shifts consisted of scanning badges, monitoring room capacity, radioing in room status for the SXSW app, greeting speake
Most recent headlines
09/11/2025
Dalet today announced a transformative leap forward for media operations: Agentic Artificial Intelligence (AI) that unifies the Dalet ecosystem under one natura...
06/10/2025
France T l visions, France's leading broadcaster, has received the 2025 EBU ...
18/09/2025
DirecTV continues to expand its women's sports offerings by adding Sports Fanatics' and Whoopi Goldberg's Free Ad-Supported Television (FAST) All Wo...
18/09/2025
WASHINGTON NextGen TV viewers are beginning to see what high dynamic range (HDR) brings to their football enjoyment with the launch of the sport's fall seas...
18/09/2025
WASHINGTON After issuing audit letters seeking Equal Employment Opportunity data from a randomly selected group of TV and radio stations in August, the Federal ...
18/09/2025
NEW YORK Warner Bros. Discovery and Nielsen have signed a new, long-term, multi-year deal that covers measurement for all Warner Bros. Discovery platforms acros...
18/09/2025
NEW YORK As part of its ongoing efforts to develop better measurement solutions, the Coalition for Innovative Media Measurement (CIMM) announced the launch of t...
18/09/2025
IRVING, Texas Following threats from the Federal Communications Commission and the announcement that the nations largest station group, Nexstar Media Group, wou...
17/09/2025
Tech Focus: Audio Training, Part 2 - Manufacturers Offer Extensive Online Learni...
17/09/2025
Tech Focus: Audio Training, Part 1 - A1 Shortage Remains a Major-League Challeng...
17/09/2025
It was the ultimate convergence of pop culture and literary prestige: Last night, Dua Lipa brought her Service95 Book Club podcast to the stage for a special li...
17/09/2025
During August, streaming's share of TV viewing in Mexico showed an increase of 0.4% compared to the previous month, accounting for 25% of TV viewing.
Discl...
17/09/2025
CYPRESS, Calif. FOR-A America has named Jo Aun as senior manager of product engineering, a new role responsible for guiding the planning, development and rollou...
17/09/2025
PlayBox Neo, in partnership with CIS Group, a leading provider of media and broadcast technology solutions, has successfully deployed PlayBox Neo's Dual Cha...
17/09/2025
In a relationship that mirrors societal advances in sustainability, Brightline Lighting and the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) Headquarters have en...
17/09/2025
Clear-Com is proud to support the world-class productions of Alley Theatre, one of the oldest and largest nonprofit resident theatres in the United States. With...
17/09/2025
Arch Platform Technologies (www.archpt.io), a pioneer in automated, scalable cloud infrastructure for high-performance workflows, today announced a Strategic Co...
17/09/2025
Over 300 selected decision-makers from start-ups, corporates, and VC funds worldwide will gather for the third edition of the event, united by a single goal: to...
17/09/2025
Telestream, a global leader in media workflow technologies, is excited to announce that its flagship Vantage platform and its next-generation AI capabilities re...
17/09/2025
Mediagenix, a global leader in smart content solutions that profitably connect the right content to the right audience, proudly announces its three Best of Show...
17/09/2025
In a move to further establish a firm foothold across South East Asia, PlayBox Neo, the well-respected name in broadcast playout and channel branding, has appoi...
17/09/2025
Wisycom, a global leader in advanced wireless audio solutions, announced two major wireless solutions at IBC 2025 (Stand 8.D30). This includes the Portable RF-o...
17/09/2025
Six Berklee Alumni Win Emmy Awards The recipients were recognized for their contributions to acclaimed programs Severance, The Studio, The Penguin, SNL50: The...
17/09/2025
Applications Open for Berklee in Santo Domingo The weeklong contemporary music program will run January 5-10, 2026.
By
Colette Greenstein
September 17, 2025
...
17/09/2025
Ukrainian Students Find Creative Consonance' at Berklee Valencia Through ELIA's UAx Platform, six students from Kyiv joined Berklee Valencia for a week...
17/09/2025
Earlier this year Avid announced Kenna Hilburn as its new senior vice president of product. Recently Hilburn was promoted to Avids new Chief Product Officer, su...
17/09/2025
Transatlantic collaboration combines experience and agility to drive innovation in network design and delivery
Luxembourg, September 16, 2025 - SES, a leading ...
17/09/2025
NEW YORK Madhive has announced that the Fox Television Stations have joined its Live Sports Marketplace....
17/09/2025
SYRACUSE, N.Y. Sony Electronics has announced that it is partnering with the Newhouse School at Syracuse University to provide state-of-the-art equipment, hands...
17/09/2025
SAN JOSE, Calif. Roku has announced that the first smart projector using its Roku TV operating system, the Aurzen Roku TV Smart Projector D1R Cube, is now avail...
17/09/2025
Today's creators are equal parts entertainer, producer and gamer, juggling game commentary, scene changes, replay clips, chat moderation and technical troub...
17/09/2025
Wednesday 17 September 2025
UK artists capture icons of stage and screen, inclu...
17/09/2025
Jo Returns to FOR-A as Senior Manager of Product Management and Engineering...
17/09/2025
For the Moon Safari anniversary tour, AIR opened the doors to their backstage. Just a few hours before the Paris concert, DPA met with two key figures of the te...
17/09/2025
Auditions will be held in Dublin, Cork and Galway
The County Parade returns f...
16/09/2025
SVG All-Stars: Leigh Michaud, Manager, Remote Operations, ESPNThe UConn grad rose from ESPN's mailroom to become one of its most valuable ops leadersBy Bran...
16/09/2025
Live From IBC 2025: Friday's Latest From Halls 1-4, Outdoor Exhibits in Amst...
16/09/2025
Live From IBC 2025: Saturday's Latest From Halls 5-7 in Amsterdam By SVG Staff
Friday, September 12, 2025 - 17:00
Print This Story
The SVG Europe and ...
16/09/2025
Live From IBC 2025: Sunday's Latest From Halls 8-10 in Amsterdam By SVG Staff
Saturday, September 13, 2025 - 17:00
Print This Story
The SVG Europe and...
16/09/2025
Live From IBC 2025: Monday's Latest From Halls 11-14 in Amsterdam By SVG Staff
Sunday, September 14, 2025 - 17:00
Print This Story
The SVG Europe and ...
16/09/2025
Amazon Prime Video Picks Up Four Hours of Early-Round Masters Coverage in 2026 By Jason Dachman, Editorial Director, U.S.
Tuesday, September 16, 2025 - 10:15...
16/09/2025
VERSANT Inks Deal for League One Volleyball as Women's Sports Rights Slate G...
16/09/2025
ESPN VP, Corporate Communications, Katina Arnold Named SVP, Disney Advertising C...
16/09/2025
IBC 2025 in Review: SVG Europe's Full Collection of Video Interviews From th...
16/09/2025
Hace una d cada, la m sica latina representaba apenas el 8% de las reproducciones globales en Spotify. Hoy, constituye m s de una cuarta parte (27%) de toda la ...
16/09/2025
A decade ago, Latin music made up just 8% of global Spotify streams. Today, it a...
16/09/2025
Spotify is expanding our video lineup with a new partnership with Zoo 55, part of ITV Studios. For the first time, acclaimed content from ITV Studios is landing...
16/09/2025
At DSEI 2025, James Dunne of L3Harris Maritime UK chaired a panel on aligning the supply chain to the warfighter, where leaders discussed modernising support fo...
16/09/2025
Calrec has strengthened its collaboration with audio metering expert RTW by integrating RTW's new TMxCore metering platform across its full range of Argo IP...
16/09/2025
College Football Scores Top Telecast in August with 16M+ Viewers on FOX, Followe...