Sounds Profitable was started with the goal of giving the podcast industry the research, advocacy, and community-focused connective tissue it desperately needed as it rocketed through the boom of the last five years. So when Podcast Movement acquired Sounds Profitable, and Tom and I found ourselves leading the events that have defined podcasting’s professional ecosystem for more than a decade, we understood immediately: this is not just about the opportunity to grow a business. It’s most importantly about the responsibility to do right by an industry that is still fighting for attention. An industry whose support is what made what we do relevant. 

And we don’t take that responsibility lightly.

If you’re wondering what that means in practice, let me be clear: it means our success isn’t measured in ticket sales or sponsorship revenue. It’s measured in whether we’re actually doing right by this industry—by supporting creators of all sizes who are building out their own companies, by the established businesses betting on audio, by the adjacent industries we’re trying to convince that podcasting matters.

And while some of the things in the past have worked, it’s time to shake things up a bit when it comes to the areas that fell short before.

Here’s What’s Happening at SXSW 2026

From March 13-15, 2025, we’re merging the previously stand-alone Podcast Movement Evolutions with the growing three years of events Sounds Profitable has been running at SXSW, making something even bigger. We’ve taken over Skybox, an event space right on 6th St, with capacity for over 400 people providing ample seating to enjoy the content, open spaces to network, lounges for companies looking to entertain, and access to food and drinks all day long.

Across those three days we’re running four official panels each day that align with SXSW’s scheduling. Which will include 10 minute presentations submitted by and voted on by the Podcast Movement community. We’re hosting morning socials, lunch gatherings, and evening happy hours. At night, we’re bringing in live performances.

And here’s the kicker: there are no Podcast Movement ticket requirements to join us. While this is an official SXSW partner event, we’re opening registration to everyone—SXSW badge holders and non-badge holders alike. We’re asking everyone to pre-register so we can manage capacity and keep you updated, but registration is free and there’s no cost to attend.

No Podcast Movement ticket. No SXSW badge requirement. This is an official SXSW partner event, fully listed in their schedule, but we’re opening the doors with capacity as the only limitation (which is why we are asking for pre-registration, as you’ll see below).

Choosing to forgo ticket sales and our own fully hosted event was not an easy decision, but it was absolutely the right decision with our goal of making it possible for podcasting to continue to show up in a way that can’t be ignored.

We Know This Works Because We’ve Already Done It

At Advertising Week New York this past October, we built our own stage and welcomed over 1,600 unique people across just two days. We packed the house for nearly every panel, to the point where we had to ask for more seats, additional speakers, and sectioned off more of the space so people could be part of the conversation. We saw so many new faces. People from advertising, marketing, brands, the exact audiences podcasting needs to reach as well as our peers in advertising technology and most importantly influencer and creative spaces. We’ve done similar activations at SXSW for the past three years which proved out fully that showing up works. Consistency works. Momentum works.

That’s why this year is bigger and stronger. That’s why we’re making this the new home for what Podcast Movement Evolutions can be—not just for the podcasting industry, but for the talent, entertainment, advertising, and influencer communities that SXSW attracts so brilliantly. These are marketing professionals and creators, people stepping into their careers or supporting those they admire. This is where podcasting needs to be. We already do a fantastic job of talking to ourselves. Now it’s time to be in bigger spaces and put further effort into building spaces that attract the people we want to meet.

What We’re Building

A big goal for us in this new era of Podcast Movement is transparency on the panel selection process along with announcing panel selection as early as possible. That provides attendees with the opportunity to block off the sessions they absolutely want to make and guarantees that the panelists can all attend as planned.

SXSW will be a proving ground for that. Each of the four full 1 hour SXSW sessions will kick off with a 10-minute presentation slot. These are open for anyone to submit to. You pitch your ideal solo presentation, your peers vote on the best ones, and the selected speakers get our team’s full support to make sure they’re ready to go.

As our event doesn’t require a ticket, we’re working to establish an honorarium for the selected speaker, as a thank you for buying in to something new. Similarly, we’re working to put together a committee to establish the theme for each day, to help guide the types of content that is being submitted and make it more accessible for you to find the story you want to tell that connects your expertise to what this moment needs.

Beyond the content, we’re creating space for the kind of connections that actually matter. Morning energy with breakfast. Midday conversations over lunch. Evening happy hours where we’ll finally let them serve booze. And at night, live performances that remind us why we fell in love with podcasting in the first place.

The Values We’re Not Compromising On

We’re following SXSW’s diversity guidelines for panel composition, not only at this event but as the starting foundation for all of our productions. We wanted to bring it one step further, so we’re also instituting a panel maximum of four people, including the moderator. And we’re committed to not having the same person speak more than once at our events.

We know this puts pressure on companies that feel they only have one person equipped to represent them publicly. We are working hard to find resources and solutions that we can provide to help train up and support new voices. This is something we’re taking incredibly seriously.

It’s also important to remember that any event happening during SXSW has to clear a higher bar. People can go to dozens of other competing activations, live performances, presentations, you name it. If the content on our stage isn’t entertaining, compelling, informative, and enjoyable, expect that those people will find there way elsewhere. We’re putting in the effort to support speakers in hitting that bar, and we’re being more involved in the content creation process because we know what’s at stake.

Accessibility matters. While we believe that being at our events is the most valuable way to interact with the podcast industry, all of our content will be freely and publicly available. We’re exploring livestream possibilities, working to turn around videos and photography faster than ever, and refining this process with every event. It won’t cost you anything. It’ll just be there.

One last thing: we want to do more for the Podcast Movement community. We’re exploring how we can highlight independent podcasters live at the event, taking advantage of space on walls or screens when they’re not being used to display show art, descriptions, and QR codes to drive more listeners. We’re also really interested in having unique merch at each event. We’d love to talk with digital artists already in the podcasting community to develop a process that is fair and openly defined, relating to submissions, voting, ownership, and profit sharing.

Let’s Be Honest: This Is Different

If you loved the hotel-based format of Podcast Movement, 2026 is going to feel like a departure. Evolutions specifically toggled between being creator-focused and business-development-focused due to the rapid changes in the space from it’s  pre-COVID launch to this year.

But here’s what we’re betting on: if this works, if the panels land, if the networking delivers, if the happy hours grow your network, if the live performances hit, we’ll be able to expand in ways that better serve all of you. More importantly, we’re carrying this mission-driven mindset into New York in September of 2026, where we’ll overemphasize earned panels and keep paid opportunities to a minimum.

This is about proving what we’re capable of. About showing that when you prioritize the industry over the bottom line, you build something that lasts.

Come Find Us

This is as affordable, if not more affordable, than any Podcast Movement event we’ve run. 

To help us plan for the best possible experience, we’re asking everyone to register in advance. This free registration helps us:

– Communicate directly with you about scheduling, speakers, and any last-minute updates

– Manage capacity at our 400+ person venue responsibly

– Understand who’s coming so we can make the event even better

To pre-register, simply fill out this form.

SXSW badge holders will have priority access, but we’re committed to welcoming the broader podcasting community as space allows. If you’re local to Austin or traveling in specifically for this event, registration will help us keep you informed about capacity and timing throughout the weekend.

The lack of ticket requirement, flying into a major airport, and being over a weekend should open up more doors, with the only limitation being the hotel prices can creep up a bit. It’s our chance to prove that podcasting deserves to show up where it thrives, not just where it’s comfortable.

While you don’t need a ticket to attend, we do have sponsorship opportunities that we’d love to explore with you if you’re interested. I have now personally bought sponsorship at dozens of events in the past five years of running Sounds Profitable and each time I do, I identify what I could do better both in value and price. While podcasting is main stage attention-wise right now, our budgets aren’t always the same. So being an industry body with an events arm puts us in a position where we understand your needs, budgets, and success metrics far better than pure event companies.

We’d love to hear your thoughts, feedback, ideas, and of course to talk about any opportunities where we can collaborate.

Proving to all of you that we’re here in service of this space is going to take time, but we’re not backing down.

If you’re interested in sponsorship opportunities, please contact Kristy Scott at kristy@podcastmovement.com