--- description: Austin's South by Southwest (SXSW) has declared the music festival "drone-free," following concerns about safety and airwave congestion. title: Going to SXSW? Don't Bring Your Drone image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt1606d69b8c5e9236/69878378a988ca04116aceb3/rtr3gt3w.jpg?branch=production&width=1920&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Entertainment](/section/entertainment/) ## Entertainment Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Going to SXSW? Please Don't Bring Your Drone by [Sabrina Toppa](/author/sabrina-toppa/) ## Sabrina Toppa Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Mar 13, 2015 3:55 AM CUT  A camera drone flies in New York City, March 12, 2014 A camera drone flies in New York City, March 12, 2014Mike Segar—Reuters by [Sabrina Toppa](/author/sabrina-toppa/) ## Sabrina Toppa Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Mar 13, 2015 3:55 AM CUT Austin’s South by Southwest (SXSW) has [declared](http://sxsw.com/news/2015/use-drones-sxsw "undefined") the music festival a “drone-free zone,” following concerns about public safety and airwave congestion. “SXSW has a strict no drones policy due to the safety risks drones present to the public, and pursuant to City of Austin Ordinance, Chapter 13-1,” read a [press statement](http://sxsw.com/news/2015/use-drones-sxsw "undefined") issued by the festival, which runs until Mar. 22. The primary concern for SXSW seems to be airwave interference from the remote control’s frequency spectrums, which may interrupt musical performances. However, organizers say they may allow some drones in trade areas, provided proper safety protocols are followed. Texas maintains comprehensive legislation governing drone surveillance, under the [Texas Privacy Act](http://time.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/hb00912f.pdf#navpanes=0 "undefined"). ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3743672/sxsw-drones/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3743672/sxsw-drones/"},"headline":"Going to SXSW? Please Don't Bring Your Drone","datePublished":"2015-03-13T03:55:54.000Z","dateModified":"2026-03-31T08:16:29.863Z","description":"Organizers are worried they will disrupt performances","url":"https://time.com/3743672/sxsw-drones/","keywords":["Music","Aviation","Music Festivals","Drones","Austin","SXSW"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt1606d69b8c5e9236/69878378a988ca04116aceb3/rtr3gt3w.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Sabrina Toppa","jobTitle":"","url":"https://time.com/author/sabrina-toppa/"}],"articleSection":"Entertainment","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt1606d69b8c5e9236/69878378a988ca04116aceb3/rtr3gt3w.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"A camera drone flies in New York City, March 12, 2014","caption":"A camera drone flies in New York City, March 12, 2014","creditText":"Mike Segar—Reuters","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/entertainment/","name":"Entertainment"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3743672/sxsw-drones/","name":"Going to SXSW? Please Don't Bring Your Drone"}}]}] ```