Publisher Of Rolling Stone Buys Share Of Austin's SXSW

Austin TX

21 April, 2021

2:00 PM

Description

AUSTIN, TX — Penske Media Corp., which publishes magazines like Rolling Stone and Variety, will own a 50% stake in Austin's South by Southwest festival, according to The Wall Street Journal. The festival has been owned locally since 1987 by a group consisting mostly of its founders. For years, SXSW has pumped hundreds of millions of dollars into the Austin economy. But that changed when Austin and Travis County officials forced the 2020 festival to call off the 2020 festival a week ahead of its event because of the coronavirus pandemic. Organizers said at that time that their insurance policies didn't cover cancellation because of a pandemic. They believed the cancellation would cost them millions, raising questions about the future of the festival. More on that story: Coronavirus Forces SXSW Cancellation: Here's Why Without a conference, SXSW was forced to cut a third of its full-time staff last year, the business magazine reports. The festival returned this year in a shortened, virtual form but was looking for a financial lift to get back to a full-sized festival in 2022. Terms of the deal were not disclosed and SXSW officials were unavailable for comment. SXSW says the festival will still be run by the founders' group. The news agency reports Penske Media has been the subject of recent controversy. In 2018, it received a $200 million investment from Saudi Arabia and was pressured to sever those ties after the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi in a Saudi embassy later that year. To date, Penske Media has not. In 2020, the Saudi government also bought a $500 million stake in Live Nation. This means two of Austin's touchstone festivals — SXSW and Austin City Limits — will be partially financed by the Saudi government.