Matthew Odam Interviews Austinist’s Tom Thornton & DoneWaiting’s Robert Duffy on SXSW

Austinist music writer Tom Thornton has busted his butt for the last month aggregating information about the SXSW lineup for readers, fans and musicians alike, and Austin 360 columnist (and former Austinist editor) Matt Odam recently sat down with him and Robert to ask some questions about the coverage, the festival itself, and the relationship between music fans and industry goons.

I think that there is more of a consumer side to the festival than the SXSW position might indicate. Every year, many people fly from around the world to attend the festival who have little or nothing to do with the music industry. Of course, SXSW is right that some of those people made their plans months ago when hotels were available and badges were cheaper. So it seems that the ‘delayed’ list hurts bands and managers the most, especially from a logistics point of view, assuming some of them don’t yet know if they’re playing.

Finally, let me just say that I love SXSW, and I’ve bought a badge for the last three years. It is one of if not the coolest week of the year to live in Austin. So, we don’t want to cause trouble - we’re just trying to help SXSW attendees make decisions and stay informed.

Read the whole interview if this chitter chatter interests you at all — Tom and Robert both are really thoughtful guys and have a lot of interesting things to say about the event and its impact on the music industry.