Bands Gather for Texas Music Festival

More than 1,700 music bands are in Austin, Texas, for the annual South by Southwest Music Festival this week.

The New York Times said Saturday the annual festival, which the newspaper called the most important U.S. music convention, has drawn in hundreds of bands and thousands of their supporters in a celebration of music.

The gathering also enjoys something which the current music industry does not: growth. While music sales have declined in recent years and major record labels have decreased in number, the Texas festival is approaching twice its size seven years ago.

In 2001, the festival had 7,000 registered attendees, but when this year’s gathering began Wednesday up to 12,500 were registered.

Lesser-known musicians such as Daniel Lanois told the Times the popularity of South by Southwest among musicians is the sudden popularity the event can bring.

We can record something at night, put it on the site for breakfast and have the money in the PayPal account by five, he said.