Does SXSW pay their employees well?

According to anonymously submitted Glassdoor reviews, SXSW employees rate their compensation and benefits as 3.4 out of 5. Find out more about salaries and benefits at SXSW. This rating has decreased by 9% over the last 12 months.

How satisfied are employees working at SXSW?

63% of SXSW employees would recommend working there to a friend based on Glassdoor reviews . Employees also rated SXSW 3.5 out of 5 for work life balance, 3.9 for culture and values and 3.3 for career opportunities.

What are the top reviewed jobs at SXSW?

Intern (13) , Internship (4) , Manager (3) , Production Intern (3) , Commercial Content Coordinator (2) , Conference Programmer (2) , Coordinator (2) , ES&R (2) , Marketing (2) , Marketing Intern (2) , Project Manager (2) , Promotional Materials Crew Volunteer (2) , Stage Manager (2) , Volunteer (2)

What are the pros of working at SXSW according to real employee reviews?

"Great people to work with" ((in 21 reviews)); "Good pay, great benefits!" ((in 5 reviews)); "Great work culture and awesome coworkers" ((in 4 reviews)); "Very supportive in all matters, great work/life balance" ((in 4 reviews)); "Great opportunity to expand your portfolio and network across the Austin entertainment industry." ((in 3 reviews))

What are the cons of working at SXSW according to real employee reviews?

"Long hours closer to the conference" ((in 10 reviews)); "Pay can be low." ((in 8 reviews)); "Unpaid internship and no parking reimbursement" ((in 6 reviews)); "department work can be difficult at first but people are willing to work together." ((in 3 reviews)); "Bad leadership and staff who have job security due to their tenure, and get away with treating employees incredibly poorly and getting away with it." ((in 3 reviews))

What are employees saying about SXSW redundancies in 2026?

Explore Glassdoor’s employee reviews to understand what current and former employees are saying about SXSW redundancy and their outlook for job security at SXSW in 2026.

SXSW Reviews

Compare reviews

3.8

63% would recommend to a friend

(77 total reviews)

Hugh Forrest

100% approve of CEO

45% positive business outlook

Ratings by category

3.9

Culture and values

3.7

Diversity and inclusion

3.5

Work/Life balance

3.4

Senior management

3.4

Compensation and benefits

3.3

Career opportunities

SXSW has an employee rating of 3.8 out of 5 stars, based on 77 company reviews on Glassdoor which indicates that most employees have a good working experience there. The SXSW employee rating is in line with the average (within 1 standard deviation) for employers within the Arts, entertainment and recreation industry (3.9 stars).

Reviews by job title

77 reviews

4.0

20 May 2026

Fun festival with great people, but leadership lacks stability

Seasonal associate

Recommend

CEO approval

Business outlook

Pros

The festival is fun and the people are great

Cons

Stability and leadership is lacking. Not many opportunities for growth. Hard to balance work/life leading up to the festival.

1.0

30 Apr 2026

Great colleagues, but toxic environment lead by poor leadership

Manager

Recommend

CEO approval

Business outlook

Pros

get to work with some wonderful people

Cons

High turnover due to poor leadership with no direction lead by unknowledgeable and ungrateful management Inappropriate workload, expectations and boundaries Poor benefits and compensation Stressful office environment Don't be fooled by the brand or its potential as it has a poor local reputation for many reasons other than it's subpar operation and lackluster production. Those who work here are unhappy and are often disrespectful to their peers, contractors and the local community. I recommend avoiding wasting your time and dignity.

5.0

25 Mar 2026

New Year New Rules

Planner

Recommend

CEO approval

Business outlook

Pros

There were a lot of changes happening for the 2026 season of SXSW and everyone worked extremely hard to kick what felt like a brand new festival.

Cons

The seasonal months are too short, starting in January and ending at the end of March required too quick of on boarding and navigation.

Viewing 1 - 3 of 77 Reviews

Top companies for "Compensation and Benefits" near you

Pornhub

4.5★Compensation and benefits

Jobs at SXSW

Project Manager - Digital Product

Sr. Director of Product

Austin, TX

·

US$134K - US$194K /yr

(Glassdoor Est.)

View job

Associate Comedy Festival Programmer

SXSW

SXSW Reviews

Ratings by category

Reviews by job title

Fun festival with great people, but leadership lacks stability

Great colleagues, but toxic environment lead by poor leadership

New Year New Rules

Top companies for "Compensation and Benefits" near you

Jobs at SXSW

SXSW reviews FAQs

Followed companies

Job searches

Top companies for "Compensation and Benefits" near you

SXSW reviews FAQs

Bowls

Want the inside scoop on your own company?

Jobs at SXSW