The popular music and technology event organizer SXSW has confirmed the U.S. Army will no longer be allowed to sponsor its 2025 event.
“After careful consideration, we are revising our sponsorship model. As a result, the U.S. Army and companies who engage in weapons manufacturing will not be sponsors of SXSW 2025,” the organizers said.
The Army was previously a top-level sponsor of the event in Austin, Texas. Its sponsorship page on SXSW now goes to a 404 dead link.
SXSW is, of course, free to invite or exclude whoever it wishes. It’s a private company with rights to free speech. Rights sacrosanct to the American identity. Still, the decision to exclude the Army is a rather pathetic one.
Yes, it’s true that dozens of artists pulled out of this year’s event in protest of the sponsorship involvement of defense contractors. And yes, SXSW obviously has a profit incentive to maximize the number of popular musicians at its events. That’s what attendees want and are willing to pay for. But the Army is not a defense contractor.
It is the nation’s land combat force. It exists not to develop and sell weapons systems to generate a profit for investors but rather to deter and defeat the nation’s enemies in armed conflict. The Army’s officers and enlisted personnel swear oaths to uphold the Constitution and follow lawful orders. They volunteer and then train to fight in close combat, risking serious wounds or even death for their fellow citizens. They are public servants of the highest order, and with Austin being home to Army Futures Command, the Army is also SXSW’s neighbor.
In a far more courageous statement earlier this year, SXSW defended the Army’s participation in its events. It noted in part that “Across the globe, we are witnessing unspeakable tragedies, the rise of repressive regimes, and the increasing spread of violent conflict.” The natural conclusion of that statement is the Army is again critically relevant to the security of the American people. If Russia wages war on NATO, it is unlikely to be Ella O’Connor Williams (an American musician who withdrew from the 2024 event in protest at the Army’s sponsorship) who defends Alaska from Russian special forces activity.
In turn, SXSW could easily have played to its musicians by banning defense contractors from its 2025 event while also retaining the Army’s involvement. It could have pointed out to musicians and attendees that there is a fundamental difference between those sworn to defend the American people, including attendees and musicians at SXSW 2025, and those who are employed to lawfully build and sell weapons systems. Yes, some of the more intellectually deficient musicians might have still complained about this. But it would have allowed SXSW to save face while retaining a modicum of patriotic honor. And the broader debate over the Israel-Hamas war notwithstanding, the Army is not involved in combat operations in that conflict.
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER
In turn, the fact that the Penske Media Corporation, which owns 51% of SXSW, allowed this decision to be made is an embarrassment to that organization. Owning prestigious media brands such as Variety and Rolling Stone, one might think the company would have found an interest in supporting a national institution committed to the defense of democracy.
After all, while free speech is crucial to media activity, it is a concern which America’s adversaries seek to extinguish. And again, it is not Ella O’Connor Williams standing between America and those enemies.