SXSW 2020 will go ahead, Miami’s Ultra Music Festival scrapped due to Coronavirus
SXSW 2020 will go ahead later this month as planned, despite a spate of cancellations and the dramatic scratching of Miami Ultra Music Festival due to the Coronavirus outbreak.
Texas’ annual gathering of music-makers and media industry professionals will be missing several important players this year, with TikTok, Vevo, Amazon, Facebook, Twitter and others bowing out.
The show will go on, Austin public health officials say.
“It’s important for us to remember at this stage that we’re actively evaluating mass gatherings on a daily basis,” said Mark Escott, the interim medical director for Austin Public Health during a press conference.
“Right now, there’s no evidence that closing South by Southwest or other activities is going to make this community safer,” Escott added, according to Hypebot. “We’re constantly monitoring that situation.”
“If we make the recommendation to shut down SXSW, people will still come here, without that organizational structure that SXSW provides,” he continued. “All along SXSW has been extremely responsive.”
Escott and his colleagues will have noted the cancellation overnight of Miami’s Ultra Music Festival, with its line-up featuring Australia’s Flume and others. The decision marks the first time the Florida fest has been scrapped in its 21-year history.
Ultra
Earlier this week, SXSW organisers confirmed a “handful of cancellations” because of the ongoing health situation, though numbers weren’t said to be down. Not included this year is China Gathering, a platform that connected Chinese entrepreneurs and artists, and TikTok, the popular China-owned streaming video platform.
“TikTok has decided not to participate in SXSW this year. While we think the risk is relatively low, we are erring on the side of caution as we prioritize safety for our team, creators, partners, artists, and brands,” the company explained in a statement to Rolling Stone. “We are looking at a variety of alternative ways to bring parts of the previously scheduled experience to audiences in creative new forms.”
The COVID-19 disease isn’t going away, and businesses are backing out. Social giants Facebook and Twitter are out, and reps from Amazon, Vevo, Intel and others will stay at home.
As Digital Music News points out, SXSW organisers team has bought Google ads to drive home the message that their 2020 event is happening.
As previously reported, the music majors have separately issued internal statements warning staff against travel that’s not seen as “critical” to getting business done.
With global stock markets taking a beating in recent weeks, Warner Music Group made the decision to postpone its planned IPO.
So far, Australia’s touring landscape has relatively insulated from the dramas abroad, though Italian goth-metal band Lacuna Coil did recently scrap planned slots at the two-city Download Festival due to the spreading disease.
Ultra Australia will go ahead as planned, a spokesperson for the event tells TIO. The likes of Eric Prydz, Zedd, DJ Snake, Tigerlily and Afrojack are booked to play the event in Sydney and Melbourne on March 7 and 8.
This article originally appeared on The Industry Observer, which is now part of The Music Network.