Shortly before the end of 2023, an incident occurred typical for the Hamburg cultural scene: At least 1,000 people – including many celebrities from Hamburg’s music scene – took to the streets, demonstrating in favour of keeping the Molotow open. Shortly before Christmas, the landlord informed the management that the club would have to be closed by the middle of the following year because he wanted to build a hotel at its location, Nobistor 1.
Founded in the early 1990s, the Molotow has become a favourite for many fans of live music and alternative music culture, within the city and far beyond it. It is one of the central venues for independent rock music in the Hanseatic city’s diverse music scene. The shoebox-sized club on the Spielbudenplatz first opened its doors in 1990. Over the years, big names of the international rock scene such as The White Stripes, The Killers, Bright Eyes, The Jon Spencer Blues Explosion and The Hives played there in front of a small, knowledgeable audience who were able to experience them before they became popular with a larger audience.
In 2013, the old Esso building on the harbour-facing side of the ‛Kiez’ had become too derelict for further use. The Molotow’s managing director, Andi Schmidt, found temporary refuge at the Holstenstraße in Altona before he was able to build his three-level music venue at the Nobistor a decade ago. The promise to move back to its old location on the Spielbudenplatz after constructing a new venue has not yet been fulfilled, as construction work has not yet begun. However, Hamburg’s Senator for Culture, Carsten Brosda (SPD), immediately promised to find a solution to ward off the impending end. In July 2024, he and the club announced that it could move into the premises of the former Top Ten Club a few blocks away at Reeperbahn 136 by the end of the year
The fact that so many people took to the streets in the cold shortly after Christmas 2023 (the organisers estimated an even higher figure than the official 1,000) and the immediate reaction of the city’s cultural policy demonstrate a concern spreading in many large cities. Music venues, as places where experimentally new and non-mainstream facets of the ephemeral and easily intersubjectively experienced expression of popular music can be tried out, are at risk of losing space, due to the capitalist property market.
Since the beginning of the millennium, major cities have become more attractive places for families to live. Living space is scarce and conflicts of use are inevitable. In rural areas, however, there are vacancies in many places: but displacement can also become a problem in individual cases. Residents’ complaints or official requirements of various kinds, which are sometimes more and sometimes less compatible with the realities of a venue, pose problems in the city and countryside alike. As well, there is the major challenge of the sharp rise in costs following the pandemic. The fight for venues and the commitment to them shows an appreciation for a diverse range of musical cultures, the importance of live music and curated DJ nights.
Music clubs and other live music venues: a definition
In 2019, cultural scientists Steffen Damm and Lukas Drevenstedt surveyed local club culture for the Clubcommission Berlin. [1] In their report, they provide a definition of music clubs that is also valid here, as those places in which electronically created artistic music is played or live music performed. The key factors are the existence of a scene or milieu, a programme and a protected setting: a club is a place where a musical programme is played in the context of a scene and where people meet to dance, listen to music and exchange ideas in a secure setting. They describe club culture as a sub-sector of the cultural economy in which people meet to dance, produce, present and listen to music and socialise. Robin Kuchar, on the other hand, calls club rooms the ‛public living rooms’ of local music scenes. Their main function is the appropriation and creation of a place where alternative forms of life and music styles, separated from mainstream society and culture, are experimentally and culturally developed, reproduced and scenically created. [2]
The LiveMusikKommission (LiveKomm), the lobby for live music clubs in Germany with pop music programmes, defines a music venue as a ‛place of musical character that charges for at least 24 events per year’ based on the tariff for live concerts. They can hold a maximum of 2,000 people, which (according to this definition) distinguishes them considerably from large multifunctional halls. [3]
The term ‛music club’ is often used as a synonym for ‛music venue’. However, in addition to music clubs in the sense of club culture, there are numerous other live music venues for popular music in Germany, such as music bars, cafés, or socio-cultural centres with a focus on music. Professionally run live music venues for jazz and improvised music, which are clearly distinct from music clubs, play a special role. Venues such as the domicil (Dortmund), the Stadtgarten Köln, the Loft (Cologne), Die Tonne (Dresden) and the Unterfahrt (Munich) promote themselves as new concert spaces in opposition to the basement pub or club. Music clubs are therefore only one, albeit large, sub-segment of the venue scene.
In their definition of a live music venue, the authors of the Club Study (published May 2021) describe the existence of a curated music programme as a prerequisite. They also emphasise promoting cultural participation and newcomers, taking precedence over purely commercial interests. Although the boundaries are of course not clear-cut, the authors have identified six different types of smaller venues: Music clubs, music bars or cafés, event or concert halls, jazz clubs, socio-cultural centres/youth centres and off spaces/art spaces. [4]
These types differ first and foremost in terms of their capacity. While music clubs have an average capacity of 250 people and jazz clubs 140, music bars/cafés only have 75 and event/concert halls have an average capacity of 750 people. Further differences – for example regarding economic figures – are discussed below.
The total number of live music venues in Germany varies depending on the definition. The Initiative Musik’s Club Study puts the figure at over 2,000. [5] The German Music Information Centre has a more restrictive definition and puts the figure at around 1,200 venues. [6] Taken into account here are music clubs and music stages considered meeting places with a fixed venue, professional equipment, and a year-round curated programme (commercial discotheques are therefore excluded), characterised by live music performances or curated, artistic DJ sets. Music bars and cafés as well as socio-cultural centres are included if they have a significant music programme. In cities, an average of two performances per month must take place, in rural areas at least one – or twelve per year. Musically, all styles from jazz to (indie) rock, punk, singer-songwriter, folk, hip-hop and R’n’B, electronica and heavy metal are included. However, the overall picture of the diverse German venue scene generally includes a certain amount of fluctuation due to new start-ups, closures, and temporary projects.
miz knowledge
Further information
Institution database of the miz
The German Music Information Centre (miz) lists live music venues in Germany in its database, including music clubs, music cafés and music bars as well as socio-cultural centres with a fixed location and offering a curated music programme.
From jazz via rock’nroll to electronica: a brief historical overview
Wolfgang Knauer dates the beginning of jazz in Europe to 1918, when the 369th Infantry Regiment, an American army band (the later ‛Hellfighters’), began its work in France. [7] This represents the birth of live jazz clubs in Germany, which flourished in the culturally open 1920s, especially in large cities. Much of the tradition of music reception having been interrupted during the twelve years of National Socialist rule and, particularly, during the six years of the Second World War, a rich new tradition of jazz clubs developed from 1945 in – for example – Berlin, Bremen and Frankfurt. This gave rise to prolific scenes that eventually produced the first jazz recordings.
After the dark years of National Socialism, young musicians played in jazz clubs to free themselves from the confines of dictatorship. Those parts of West Germany occupied by US troops initially became swing strongholds, as Stephan Wuthe describes in Swingtime in Deutschland. Jazz and swing became everyday music but soon flattened into pop music as the jazz scene grew more intellectual with younger styles such as bebop and later free jazz. As a result, the jazz club scene became specialised [8], today presenting a differentiated programme ranging from Dixieland to contemporary improvised music.
The beginning of modern pop music coincides with the rise of rock’n’roll stars like Elvis Presley, Chuck Berry, Little Richard and Jerry Lee Lewis in the early 1950s. Together with beat music spilling over later on from England, it created the structures of live music in Germany. Major cities like Berlin, Hamburg, Cologne, Düsseldorf and Munich established themselves as important music centres, whose protagonists had various advantages. After separation, Berlin – as the former capital – was still the republic’s cultural centre, with many creative and professional musicians. In addition, it had two universities attracting young people and profited from its special status as a divided city.
Damm and Drevenstedt draw attention to important historic turning points in Berlin that can also be generalised. Initially, the city experienced the transition from a Prussian-Puritan residence and business centre to an industrial metropolis, in which impoverishment and hedonism went hand in hand. This development climaxed during the ‟golden” twenties followed by the economic depression and twelve years of culturally aligned National Socialism. While the post-war period was a direct continuation of the previous phase, the sixties saw the transformation of nightlife culture into the form that is still familiar nowadays: people no longer just danced to bands, but also to recorded music. Interior design, fashion, furniture, lighting, music, and performance interacted in a way still typical of music clubs today. [9]
Hamburg benefited from the harbour and, like London, Glasgow and Antwerp, often recognised trends earlier than other cities, as vouched for by the guest appearances of Little Richard, Ray Charles and Fats Domino at the Star Club in the 1960s. The tertiary-level schools of music and fine arts in Cologne and Düsseldorf were highly attractive due to influential figures such as Stockhausen and Beuys. Music scenes formed around them, giving rise to their own music venues. Munich was the centre of the film industry, which also cooperated closely with the music scene and offered interesting connections for musicians.
Immediately after the war, the clubs where the occupying forces’ young soldiers enjoyed themselves at weekends, dancing to live or recorded music, proved to be very significant places for developing music club culture in Germany. The GIs had their own culture just as the British soldiers had, with their influential broadcasting stations. This became particularly important for the growth of popular music in Germany when German bands imitated Anglo-American models with the beat wave in the early 1960s.
In the nightclubs, some in remote neighbourhoods, a great openness developed, especially for modern African-American varieties of pop music. This development accounts for the later successes of internationally renowned producers such as Giorgio Moroder from Munich or Frank Farian in St. Ingbert, Saarland, in the seventies, as well as for Frankfurt’s commercially successful Eurodance in the 90s.
It was often the working-class neighbourhoods in major cities that initially attracted creative people. This is where a critical mass of people formed, interested in making live music and eager to get started. The US economist Richard Florida has often described how, in such neighbourhoods of urban creativity, a large number of high-tech information workers, artists and musicians – often associated with homosexual scenes – initiate projects that then lead to urban regions having new economic strength. [10]
Over time, this becomes visible and attracts people with more money, including former students who are now starting families and are employed in well-paid jobs. This upsets the social structure necessary for creativity. Partying and loud music are frowned upon. It becomes cleaner, rents rise, poorer households are forced out and space for creative experiments decreases. Most cities are experiencing this dynamic of gentrification to varying degrees.
The music venues that establish themselves in these locations reflect this development. Depending on the robustness of the scenes and their links with the commercial exploiters of musical trends, they either have a stable structure or are subject to frequent changes. Their success is often based on the commitment of individuals. From the hippie to punk/new wave to the techno era: a key problem for the music scenes was finding suitable venues where loud music could be played without too many complaints from the neighbourhood. Following the turn of the millennium, new clubs have emerged thanks to available conversion spaces and new demands from the music scene. On the other hand, existing clubs have disappeared due to a lack of audience or changing conditions.
On progressive rural discos and urban venues
Music venues can be found in both urban and rural areas. The distribution differs: Germany’s large cities are particularly spoilt for choice, having 25.8 percent of all venues surveyed in the 2021 Club Study. If one looks at the number of venues per 100,000 inhabitants, it becomes obvious that generally, there is a particularly large number of venues in larger cities. In Munich, for example, there are 7.2 venues per 100,000 inhabitants, in Berlin, there are 6.1, in Hamburg 6.6 and 6.2 in Cologne. The larger the cities or municipalities, the higher the annual median turnover of the venues. [11]
Venues play an important part in the perception of cities as attractive places to live and travel. This is where young people can experience their idols live and, in the smaller clubs, perhaps even talk to them. In the book Sound of the Cities, Hamburg rock musician Achim Reichel vividly describes how, as a teenager from St Pauli, he was able to watch the slightly older Beatles write pop history and learn simple tricks from them. [12]
This is of course also possible in venues far removed from large cities such as Hamburg – even if no longer involving the Beatles. While they may additionally be special attractions for visitors from other regions, venues in rural areas fulfil completely different, more fundamental functions than their counterparts in large cities: they are one of the few places where live music is played and thus act as meeting points for anyone interested in music culture. It is also their task to provide a programme for young and old. They often offer a broad stylistic range, whereas in cities the critical mass of people is sufficient to create clearly differentiated scenes and a correspondingly more focused programme.
Far removed from major cities, the density of music venues is rather low; furthermore, the big city venues are more often in the (media) spotlight. Olaf Kretschmer criticises that the importance of music clubs for ‛small and medium-sized towns’ has not only been comparatively scantily researched but is also ‛underestimated.’ Due to the lack of alternatives, they are often particularly important in smaller towns or rural regions, and can also be of considerable help in keeping young people in the area. [13]
This is precisely where the ‛Happy Locals’ project comes in, initiated by Dimitri Hegemann – founder and operator of the Berlin club Tresor – and the architect and cultural manager Annette Katharina Ochs. In workshops, young people are supported in developing and realising projects on their own initiative – together with local administrators and authorities. [14]
The interdisciplinary research project ‛Time has come today. Die Eigenzeiten popmusikalischer Chronotope und ihr Beitrag zur temporalen Differenzierung von Lebenswelten seit den 1960er Jahren’ by Dominik Schrage, Holger Schwetter and Anne-Kathrin Hoklas also focussed on the progressive rural disco. [15] These places for the reception of pop culture were important for operators and visitors as they were given the feeling of being part of something meaningful.
For a brief phase of their biography, places were created in the provinces that were significant for the identity and sense of purpose of the people involved. These first emerged in the mid-sixties. The project also revealed how younger people distanced themselves from those places described as progressive in the late seventies and early eighties and adopted other cultural codes. Formerly progressive discotheques were receptive to new pop-cultural styles such as punk, new wave and industrial. In addition, the representatives of these scenes created new, off-the-beaten-track spaces in cities and the countryside. The next major cultural trends, such as techno and the alternative culture of the late 1980s and early 1990s, later recaptured some of these spaces for themselves.
Beyond their main function of providing a diverse cultural programme, smaller venues sometimes also serve as popular meeting places for subcultural milieus. The Club Study explicitly points out that they can be particularly relevant as a ‛social space for groups that are underrepresented in society’, a safe space where people can meet and exchange ideas. While individual venues in cities are often characterised by one or a few scenes in particular, socio-cultural centres in rural regions often serve as meeting places for a wide variety of milieus due to the lack of alternatives. [16]
It is a dynamic that can work both ways: If scenes often form around venues, venues can also emerge from a scene. [17] They function as cultural melting pots in which new ideas are brokered and presented. While ‛scene’ in the 1990s was still an expression for the ‛rigorous demarcation from the mainstream’, as Olaf Kretschmar puts it, today the ‛differentiated club market’ needs ‛a club-tourist mass audience to survive’. ‛Scene’ has tended to become a ‛synonym for party culture’, but ‛real subversive scenes’ continue to emerge time and again. [18]
However, the strength of a music location depends on several other factors besides the number and quality of music venues. These are obviously an infrastructure of talent scouting and distribution opportunities through music marketing companies, as well as production studios and the expertise of those who can operate them. The availability of professional musicians (often trained at tertiary-level schools of music) who can realise musical visions quickly and satisfactorily is a decisive factor. But funding is also important; for many venues – as described in the chapter on the economic situation – subsidies are indispensable.
Many venues also make their premises available for events other than music. This is partly due to financial necessity, but in any case, they offer even more diverse opportunities to meet and network, and spaces for social discourse. [19]
In a current campaign for the European elections and the state elections in Brandenburg, Saxony and Thuringia, the event industry emphasises the significance of these events as ‛meeting opportunities in which people come together, exchange knowledge, negotiate, discuss, have fun and promote togetherness and an understanding of democracy’ [20]
Songwriter and indie, few women: what is performed in live music venues
Live music culture is transported in three ways: through guest appearances by national and international mainstream artists and pioneers who kick things off elsewhere, by cover bands performing the well-known material of their idols, and by local artists trying out their own material.
While the programmes of the venues are often very different in detail, a fairly uniform picture emerges regarding the type of events. As the surveys for the Club Study show, the venues primarily host concerts (93.2 per cent) and/or parties with ‛artistically active DJs’. Readings (44.8 per cent) are also a popular format. Discussions/lectures, comedy/cabaret, theatre, poetry slams and corporate events were also mentioned with shares of between a quarter and a third. [21]

Only a small proportion of around ten per cent of the venues surveyed stage more than 200 music events a year; around 40 per cent stage up to 50 and 51 up to 150 respectively. In music clubs, 124 events take place on average, more than in other venues. This means that very few venues perform music every day. They generate further income with readings and theatre performances, political panel discussions or private rentals. There are also days when no events take place.
Generally common to many small venues is that they offer young and older artists from a wide range of genres a stage, from jazz and folk to experimental electronic music by artistic DJs. They provide a space to experiment, to fail badly and try again, or to be discovered as a talent at an early stage. Naturally, they have to keep an eye on costs, but earning as much money as possible is usually not the operators’ intent. They view their venue primarily as a ‛cultural enterprise’. [22]
Responsibility for the musical programme usually lies with the venue operators or those responsible for booking, although both can complement each other. They see themselves as the central programme creators, on whom the selection of acts largely depends. External promoters or agencies organising tours around the country and working with local partners are only involved in one in five cases.
In addition to musical quality, the promotion of up-and-coming talent is a key consideration when booking (more on this in the chapter ‛Artists don’t live from busking alone: support via artist promotion’). Local artists are also often a particular focus – as are a venue's own ‛artistic concept’ and the reputation of an act in its scene.
According to their own statements, most music venues prefer the genre singer-songwriter/folk (65.5 per cent) to indie/alternative (56.2 per cent). Half of those surveyed also named jazz and rock/heavy metal. The boundaries between musical styles are often blurred and understood differently. Genres such as punk/hardcore (35.8 per cent), hip-hop/R'n'B (40.4 per cent), techno/house (37.3 per cent) and others (such as pop, reggae or ska) also make up a large part of the programme. [23]

Women are generally still underrepresented on stage, with female performers making up an average of 29.4 per cent – at the time of the Club Study's data collection, at least. The authors of the study note that this, in turn, corresponds to the predominantly male-dominated club scene. According to the data, 13.9 per cent of those answerable for programming consider a ‛balanced gender ratio’ to be ‛very important’ and 30.3 per cent ‛somewhat important’. [24]
Of course, genres and their gender ratio also have an impact on booking, as do artist availability and tour schedules. Even very active programme schedulers can only exert a limited influence. However, the music industry is increasingly being driven by the topic of diversity and demands a new mindset from everyone involved, including, of course, venue managers.
The economic situation after the pandemic: traditionally small margins and sharply increased costs
Following the difficult period of the coronavirus pandemic, during which venues were forced to close for weeks at a time or open under certain conditions and with capacity restrictions, the industry currently faces the challenge of dealing with increased costs in all areas. Naturally, this also affects artists who have to pay their crews and hire tour buses or vans and equipment.
In April 2024, LiveKomm declared that pay demands had risen ‛just as sharply as operating costs and rents’. People in the industry speak of cost increases in the double-digit percentage range. Price increases are a logical consequence, but making tickets and drinks as expensive as the rising costs demand is hardly feasible for smaller venues. While larger, more lucrative concerts once compensated for unprofitable performances by newcomers, this ‛compensatory pricing’ no longer works. [25]
A vicious circle thus looms: more expensive ticket prices for superstars tend to be accepted – as the Taylor Swift concerts in particular show – but attendees tend to be more price-sensitive for concerts by newcomers, for example, or budgets are simply exhausted by a few big shows. This difficult situation is exemplified in a survey conducted by the Clubcomission Berlin. 73 per cent of venues stated that less revenue was generated in 2023 than before the pandemic. On average, 20 per cent fewer guests were counted, while 89 per cent mentioned struggling with higher costs. [26]
Excepting halls and arenas, excessively high turnover for venues is a rarity anyway. The Club Study reports that around 2,000 venues with 45,000 employees generated a total turnover of 1.1 billion euros in 2019. [27] It is the most comprehensive analysis of the local music venue sector to date, but of course, it does not provide any information on how the economic parameters have changed during the pandemic. No comparable data on the post-pandemic situation exists yet.
With the current problems and challenges described above in mind, the Club Study nevertheless provides a good overview of the working conditions in music venues and the impact of significant cost increases that are not compensated for by equally increasing revenue. The median turnover in 2019 was 240,000 euros. In contrast to the average, this figure is less susceptible to anomalies, thus more suitable for the analysis: because a look at different venue types reveals some major financial differences, not least due to their capacity.
The music clubs have a median turnover of 300,000 euros, while the larger event/concert halls have a median turnover of 680,000 euros. The median turnover of the typically smaller jazz club, for example, is ‛only’ 60,000 euros. Profitability also depends heavily on how large the teams are and how the properties are managed. There are owner-managed music venues that do not have any rental expenses and are therefore to some extent independent of the economic success of their events. Others have to pay rent.
Overall, only 6.6 per cent of the venues surveyed have an annual turnover of more than two million euros. These are exclusively larger event/concert halls with a capacity of 1,001 to 2,000 people. More than half of all venues generate revenues of less than 250,000 euros. With a manageably-sized staff and fixed costs for technical equipment, rent and purchasing that are not too steep, this may be enough for a small profit, but no game-changer for the operators. In 2019, the median profit across all venues was 8,000 euros. [28]
A look at the margins (return on sales) reveals that profits are generally very modest – and demonstrates why the rapid rise in costs is a major problem for many: For music clubs, the median margin is 4.1 per cent, for event/concert halls 2.5 per cent, all other venue types lying below this. Although music bars/music cafés have a median margin of 11.6 per cent, the authors of the Club Study point to small case numbers and thus possible statistical errors. [29]
Attractive nightlife for twentysomethings: who visits music clubs?
With all their programmes, the venues together attract a considerable number of visitors. This is again best illustrated by the Club Study survey. Around 50 million guests visit every year. Their diversity is a key factor. Only very few attract more than 100,000 visitors a year (6.3 per cent). The majority (54.2 per cent) have 10,000 visitors or less.
The importance of subsidies and public grants in general, which are ‛of great relevance for almost all types of music venues’, is particularly significant for smaller venues. A cutback or discontinuation would ‛massively threaten the existence of many’, write the authors – even though they only account for an average of 9.8 per cent of total income. For jazz clubs and socio-cultural centres/youth centres, however, the figure is significantly higher, at 17.1 per cent and 25.1 per cent of revenue respectively. [30]
In many cases, major investments can hardly be financed from the regular income of the business, although they are typically required at irregular intervals concerning soundproofing, ventilation systems or energy-efficient refurbishment. In some cases, operators also rely on crowdfunding.
The income structure of the venues reveals that gastronomy is particularly important. Taking all venues together, this item accounts for almost half of total income (48.9 per cent), while admission fees are the second most significant item at 25.2 per cent.
This aspect became an additional problem during the subsiding coronavirus pandemic and the months that followed. In many cases, the no-show rate was comparatively high, meaning that ticket buyers did not turn up to the concerts and therefore did not consume anything. Obviously, weak ticket sales are also noticeable at the bar, and even when the venue is sold out, visitors are more budget-conscious: weaker drinks consumption is another factor within already generally complicated circumstances.
In terms of costs, the picture is more fragmented: payments to artists (23.9 per cent, including show production costs) are the largest item overall. Staff costs account for 21.7 per cent, food and beverage purchases for 16.9 per cent and rental and ancillary costs for 16.5 per cent. [31] It should also be noted that the data describes the status quo before the pandemic. Nevertheless, it provides an overview, as described above, and when this is broken down into the individual types of venues, significant differences become clear in some cases.
Payments to artists and production costs for jazz clubs account for 47.1 per cent of costs - a clear upward anomaly in this area. Event/concert halls, typically larger than other venues, generate 18 per cent of their income from renting, but in percentage terms also have to pay significantly higher rental and ancillary costs (19.3 per cent of costs). [32]

These attractions are primarily used by people from the immediate vicinity: 64.5 per cent of them live in the venue’s city or municipal area, while 24.3 per cent are drawn to events from the surrounding area, less than 100 kilometres away. Only 4.1 per cent visit the venues from abroad. It is striking that the proportion of visitors from the surrounding area (up to 100 kilometres) tends to be higher in smaller cities or municipalities (less than 100,000 inhabitants) than in larger ones. The generally greater distances that have to be travelled in rural areas to visit a music venue make themselves felt. [33]
According to managers from 2019, 61 per cent of Berlin club guests are residents. In turn, they estimate the number of people from abroad to be higher than the number of visitors from Brandenburg and the rest of Germany. The observation that wholly 24 per cent are characterised as ‛one-off visitors’– such as tourists who are obviously attracted to the city's famous club scene – is consistent with these estimates. Most visitors are between 21 and 49 years old, with an average age of 30.2. [34]
The venue scene in Berlin is not similar to that in the Rhine-Neckar metropolitan region, for example. But there are parallels. In 2018, a study analysed this region, including the major cities of Mannheim, Ludwigshafen and Heidelberg and a large number of small and medium-sized towns. And here, again, it became evident that the choice of venues for an ‛attractive nightlife’ is particularly important for the 20 to 29 age group. In addition, many respondents expressed their wish to have more music clubs in their neighbourhood. [35] In Cologne, managers and organisers also cite ‛young adults aged between 24 and 30’ as a key target group. In the 2016 study, those responsible also cast somewhat envious glances towards Berlin – on the one hand, considering the wide range on offer there, and on the other, the city’s own promotion of the local scene. [36]
The annual Market and Advertising Media Analysis (AWA) by the Allensbach Institute for Public Opinion Research does not only emphasise the finding that the tendency to go to concerts tends to be strongest in the 20 to 29 age group. It also provides further data on the demographics of concert-goers. For example, the data indicates a correlation between education level and music event attendance: the higher the level, the greater the interest in concerts or the greater the opportunity to attend them. The differences in terms of income are not as pronounced. [37]
However, the event’s audience and its age structure depend to a large extent on factors such as the performing artists, the genre/scene affiliation or the recognition level. In the AWA, the groups of 30 to 59-year-olds show values differing only slightly from those of the top group, the 20 to 29-year-olds. Aspects such as tour planning also play a part, i.e. how often someone plays in the local area and what possibly longer-distance fans are willing to travel for a show. Older artists, on the other hand, tend to have an older target group.
Artists do not live from busking alone: support via artist promotion
Concerts have become increasingly important for musicians in a music market dominated by streaming. Although a large and frequently streamed catalogue generates constant income, one must first reach a certain level, which is very rare in genres such as jazz. In any case, larger sums only accumulate over time. This is a key difference to the sale of physical recordings, where a comparatively large amount of money is earned all at once, but only once.
The same applies to live performances. Whether and, if so, how quickly an artist gains notoriety varies from case to case. Playing their first concerts in larger venues, going on a first, longer tour – even if initially only as a support act – or, subsequently, tackling the grander production of a more opulent stage show: all of this entails a difficult balancing act between costs and expected fan interest for both artists and organisers.
But in the beginning, they need a stage on which to take their first steps; every superstar once started out in front of a small audience and with a modest fee (or no fee at all). The smaller music venues play a decisive role here: on average, newcomers play one in three concerts on their stages, making the clubs a ‛foundation of the entire music industry’ [38] . They consciously take on this role: A good 84 per cent of programme managers consider the promotion of newcomers to be important, while 36.4 per cent consider it to be ‛very important’. This is the second-highest value after the main criterion of musical quality, at 63.7 per cent. [39] This is not only reflected in the Club Study survey results but also in such statements: in the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, Hans-Georg Stocker, operator of the Backstage in Munich, characterises smaller shows by barely-known artists as ‛cultural work’. In many cases, there is no money to be made from them. [40]
The pay for newcomers is therefore generally modest. According to the Club Study data, the average fee for a gig is around 160 euros, while tending to be more than 200 euros in the larger event and concert halls. However, the overall income level is also higher here. The Club Study does not indicate whether these sums are paid per band or whether the money has to be split among the members. The latter is more likely, as shows by newcomers often prove to be a financial loss for operators.
A comparatively new and, against this backdrop, controversial topic is the lower fee limits that have been in force since 1 July 2024. This obligation affects all projects or institutions that are funded at over 50 per cent by the Federal Ministry of Culture and Media. [41] The Federal Association of the Concert and Event Industry (BDKV) described the recommendation of the German Cultural Council as ‛unfeasible in practice’. The BDKV and LiveKomm have developed alternative criteria for determining whether the fee threshold should be gradually adjusted or not applied. The key criteria should therefore be the number of tickets sold, their price and/or the type of show, such as showcases organised by labels. [42]
For newcomers in the early stages of a potential career, however, the focus is likely to be less on the highest possible fee and more on the opportunity to prove themselves live on stage. Larger venues in particular often offer the opportunity to open an evening as the support act for a bigger act and showcase themselves to a larger audience.
The funding scene for the live entertainment industry: diverse, but with regional differences
Venues benefit from funding programmes in various ways, but not all run long-term – and there are sometimes considerable differences depending on the region. During the coronavirus pandemic, funding for venues became even more important than it already was. The federal, state and local governments launched various aid programmes for the economy as a whole, from bridging aid to November and December aid to various other, sometimes local, programmes.
Although the aid was sometimes criticised for being insufficient, bureaucratic in its implementation or inadequately coordinated, it ultimately ensured that hardly any venues had to close during the pandemic. The aid was at a very high level compared to the rest of Europe.
In addition to the general economic aid, dedicated programmes such as special funds were set up for the live entertainment industry, one of the sectors of the economy hardest hit by the lockdowns. These were used, for example, to provide economic aid in cases where the actual number of available tickets could not be sold due to pandemic capacity restrictions.
The Neustart Kultur programme, launched in the autumn of 2020 amidst the second coronavirus wave, also provided targeted support for cultural institutions. The programmes dedicated to the music industry supported 2,810 projects by music clubs, event organisers and festivals of various formats with a financial volume of around 221 million euros from the budget of the Federal Government Commissioner for Culture and Media. [43] The funding programme ended in 2023.
The programme was run by the Initiative Musik, one of the most important funding institutions for the industry. It funds two programmes in 2024: Plugin supports small and medium-sized clubs in acquiring performance technology, while Live 500 (in its second phase) subsidises small and medium-sized venues and event organisers in the planning and staging of newcomer concerts and experimental formats.
Music venues can apply for further funding from the federal states and local authorities. These include, for example, the NRW Venue Programme Grant from the state government and the state music council. It is aimed at jazz and upmarket pop/rock programmes. A jury assesses the quality of a season’s programme and may grant between 5,000 and 25,000 euros.
The Dortmund Live Venue Sponsorship Prize is awarded every two years and is open to small and medium-sized venues in the genres of rock and pop, jazz, world music, alternative, avant-garde and hip-hop. The winners can expect a five-figure grant: 10,000 euros for the best-ranking venue. A special prize of 5,000 euros is awarded to venues that particularly focus on promoting young talent. Programmes, venues and concert series are also honoured with the nationwide ‛Applause Award’, the most highly endowed federal cultural prize. Prizes are awarded in the categories ‛Best live music programmes’ with prizes of up to 50,000 euros, ‛Best live music venues’ with prizes of up to 35,000 euros and ‛Best small venues and concert series’, ‛Awareness’, ‛Sustainability’ and ‛Inclusion’ with prizes of up to 10,000 euros each. The aim of the prize, initiated by the Office of the Minister of State for Culture and Media, is to financially strengthen small and medium-sized live music clubs and regional organisers, to honour excellence in venues and concert series and to raise awareness of the structural conditions of music venues.
Training programmes can – although not of direct financial advantage – at least contribute to better business practice. For example, the Verband für Popkultur in Bayern is constructing a network for event organisers. This also includes fee-based training programmes. Stuttgart offers a live music fund, Heidelberg a club subsidy, while in Brandenburg, for example, the Projektfonds Popularmusik provides money at the federal-state level for formats that support local artists.
Many are speaking out in Berlin and the state capitals
In the past few years of discussions about gentrification and coronavirus aid, music clubs in Germany have made their voices heard. 755 music venues of all kinds have joined forces to form LiveKomm. It is the central association for smaller venues in the popular music sector with capacities of up to 2,000 attendees and represents the industry’s interests to the public and politicians; it also supports clubs that find themselves in trouble.
Thanks to intensive lobbying, it has been possible to better articulate the needs of the industry and its customers and to become more visible in political debates about conflicts over noise protection, tax regulations or basic funding. Only a few jazz clubs are represented by LiveKomm. The German Jazz Federation and the Federal Jazz Conference are separate organisations representing the interests of jazz clubs.
The coronavirus pandemic has also led to much closer coordination between the diverse music and event industry sectors. The Forum Musikwirtschaft and the Forum Veranstaltungswirtschaft were created as mergers of various associations to better address common positions in politics.
In 2021, LiveKomm and the Berlin-based association Worx also launched the Bundestiftung LiveKultur, which aims to ‛secure important cultural spaces and areas, develop funding concepts for live culture and recognise live culture as worthy of protection and promotion’. [44]
In addition to trans-regional organisations, there are various regional associations and societies – likewise offering funding opportunities – jointly representing the interests of local venues and providing networking and information opportunities: In Berlin the Clubcommission, in Cologne the Klubkomm, in Lower Saxony the KlubNetz association, in southern Germany the Verein Eventkultur Rhein Neckar or the Verband für Popkultur in Bayern, to name just a few examples. On its website, LiveKomm provides an overview of educational programmes, funding opportunities and academic research on the club and live entertainment industry, as well as recommended reading. [45]
Music industry get-togethers such as the c/o pop Festival in Cologne, About Pop in Stuttgart and the Reeperbahn Festival in Hamburg also offer opportunities for networking and discussing a wide range of issues and needs. Shows in numerous venues are also an integral part of the programme.
miz knowledge
Organisations representing the interests of live music venues
The LiveMusikKommission (LiveKomm) is the nationwide umbrella organisation for music venues in Germany and represents over 600 club operators, venue associations and festival organisers.
The Bundesstiftung LiveKultur (Federal Foundation LiveKultur) aims to secure and maintain spaces for music clubs and festivals.
The Federal Jazz Conference and the German Jazz Federation represent the German jazz scene.
Noise protection, fire protection, sustainability: current demands and problems within the scene
The Hamburg music club Molotow has received nationwide attention. It is an instructive example of classic usage conflicts that are often observed in international metropolises. Neighbourhoods that have become attractive to visitors through subcultures also attract tourists, who, in turn, must be accommodated and claim spaces intended to boost this attractiveness.
In his 2018 master’s thesis ‛Kulturraumschutz in Theorie und Praxis am Beispiel von Hamburger Musikspielstätten’, Lucas Paradies highlights several such usage conflicts in nightlife districts: rising rent levels, growing demand for space for flats, offices, restaurants and retail, social changes in neighbourhoods. [46] And there is often a need for additional beds for hotel guests. The result: over-tourism erodes its foundations – or the venues are sidelined by urban development. This is illustrated by the fate of Leipzig’s Distillery. Eastern Germany’s oldest techno club had to bid farewell to its old location in May 2023. The reason: a new city district is in construction right next door.
The two cases are good examples of the challenges facing venues in large cities time and again. On LiveKomm's no longer completely updated ‛Red List’ of endangered music clubs, 20 out of 21 are located in large cities. [47] The Molotow exemplifies the majority of music venues in metropolises. In the ‛Red List’, it is regarded as having been saved due to its successful relocation, but post-2023 developments are not yet taken into account.
Only a few venues, such as Hamburg’s Logo, managed to acquire their own property at a favourable time and thus became less dependent on market fluctuations. Insecure tenancies and new construction projects pose also a problem for venues located in rural areas or outside of trendy urban neighbourhoods. Not to be underestimated is the issue of transport in rural areas. The public transport network is not overly abundant and sparser yet in the evenings and nights. Without owning a car or when planning to drink alcohol, one must rely on carpooling or expensive taxi services.
Noise protection is generally a major problem. Spending money on better insulation is not enough; the audience must also be reminded of the needs of residents when they leave clubs or have a cigarette break. And, of course, the guests’ arrival and departure already cause noise. It is a complicated situation, as some residents highly value cultural events in the vicinity and see them as an important feature of a neighbourhood, while others would prefer fewer comings and goings.
Night-time noise protection regulations are to be reformed in a new version of the ‛Technical Instructions on Noise Protection’ (TA Lärm for short).LiveKomm has made recommendations for a separate ‛Cultural Noise Ordinance’. The main demand is to take into account the special nature of music venues in the noise protection requirements and to no longer treat their sound emissions generally as commercial noise. It also points out that, although visitors can be urged to behave as quietly as possible outside the venue, the operators have no legal recourse. [48]
The noise issue is part of a larger debate central to music venues. In May 2021, the Bundestag voted in favour of considering music venues as ‛cultural facilities’ under building law and no longer as ‛places of entertainment’, which previously put them on a par with amusement arcades or brothels. The motion for a resolution was therefore an important step for the live entertainment industry – on the one hand, in terms of appreciation, and on the other, in a very practical sense in terms of (building) legislation. Club relocation was made simpler, lease agreements could be concluded more easily and protection against displacement improved. At the beginning of September 2024, the Federal Cabinet approved a draft amendment to the German Federal Building Code, which now for the first time includes a separate category for music clubs, meaning that clubs no longer fall under the definition of entertainment venues and are recognised for their cultural significance. However, as with the TA-Lärm, practical changes to the Federal Building Utilisation Ordinance have yet to be made. Unsurprisingly, this issue is at the top of LiveKomm’s list of demands regarding the broad and complex field of ‛urban development’. [49]
On top of this, the venues are faced with the task of retaining qualified and resilient staff. Currently, around one in five hours of work is voluntary and therefore unpaid. [50] Jobs in the industry are exciting for many but also exhausting, due to the working hours and noise. Furthermore, due to the pandemic and the inadequate help for solo self-employed workers, which has been frequently criticised as such, many skilled workers from the broad sector of event technology have not returned to the industry (or at least not fully).
Digitalisation is a completely different matter. Many cultural activities such as watching films or communicating with friends have partially shifted to the Internet. Even though the coronavirus period gave rise to fears that increased awareness of infectious diseases combined with the advantages of digital communication would permanently impact club life, the recent resurgence of interest in live performances shows that direct involvement with artistic expression is highly valued. At the same time, venues need to promote their events increasingly on social media, for example, to reach their audiences and attract potential new guests, particularly younger ones. Investments in new box office or admission control systems are also an issue.
General challenges include, for example, energy-efficient modernisation or safety standards and constant innovations in this field. However, regarding the economic situation described above, it is not easy for many venues to raise the necessary finances.
Like all businesses and households, music venues must also consider how to make their services more sustainable and resource-efficient. Live music often being associated with travel, the ecological footprint can be kept under control with climate-friendly travel options. The food and, above all, drinks on offer are in many cases already healthier, more sustainable and more regional. LiveKomm has identified sustainability as one of its priorities and provides practical guidance for music venues. [51]
The generational change is likely to become a further challenge. On average, operators were 48 years old in 2019 when the Club Study data was collected. Among jazz club operators, the average age was as high as 60. Only 5.7 per cent of respondents were born after 1990. Particularly in rural areas with low venue density, a lack of successors would result in the loss of important live music venues.
This risk has become widespread due to rising costs everywhere. Funding from various programmes was ‛not nearly enough to compensate for cost explosion’, according to LiveKomm at the beginning of June 2024. [52]
This obviously acute financial problem can lead to shrinking cultural diversity and the loss of spaces for young musicians: because small music venues (of which there are more and of a wider range in Germany than in almost any other country) are particularly important for both
Club culture in the media and cultural transformation: an outlook
The live music scene in Germany has changed time and again. While jazz and later rock’n’roll took centre stage in the early years following the Second World War, new scenes have sought out different venues. In Düsseldorf, for example, the Krautrock scene of the 1970s was based in the Creamcheese, while the punk/new wave scene settled in the Ratinger Hof, where it often met protagonists from the earlier scene around Kraftwerk, Neu! and LA Düsseldorf. Later, the Salon des Amateurs became a central meeting point for the second generation of electronic bands such as Kreidler. In cooperation with the art academy and international music festivals, the scene has constantly renewed itself.
The importance of venues and scenes as a locational advantage should not be underestimated. However, this is by no means limited to trendy neighbourhoods in large cities. Steffen Damm and Lukas Drevenstedt emphasise that club culture can also contribute to the (re)vitalisation of areas in rural regions. [53] In any case, the cultural significance of venues is undisputed. Olaf Kretschmar describes them as ‛opera houses of pop’. [54] The Berlin techno scene has even been on UNESCO's list of ‛intangible cultural assets’ since March 2024. Nevertheless, the planned expansion of the A100 motorway threatens numerous venues, according to the Berlin Clubcommission.
Motorways are seldom the cause, but the impending displacement of venues and the creation of favourable conditions for their location in cities and municipalities will remain a major issue. The amendment of the Technical Instructions on Noise Abatement (TA Lärm) and building regulations are key factors. Feasible legal regulations are of elementary importance, especially for potential start-ups.
For Hamburg’s Molotow, such problems took a back seat when it was repeatedly being threatened with closure. As its location lies within the entertainment district around the Reeperbahn, noise and new traffic routes were not the main reasons for these threats. In any case, the city reacted with determination to the news of imminent closure and supported the operator in his search for a new property. This is also the result of more professional lobbying, which has pushed the interests of music clubs more strongly into the public consciousness, and of a city administration realising the importance of its lively stage culture for Hamburg’s diversity. The fact that a property was found only a few blocks away – itself having already contributed to the tradition of local music history – is fitting for a city whose identity has much to do with the Beatles, the Rattles, Udo Lindenberg and Inga Rumpf and all the later protagonists who initially gained experience on the very small stages in St. Pauli, before becoming national and international stars whose impact can still be felt today.
Footnotes
Steffen Damm/Lukas Drevenstedt, Clubkultur. Dimensionen eines urbanen Phänomens (Frankfurt/M, 2020).
Robin Kuchar, Musikclubs zwischen Szene, Stadt und Music Industries. Autonomie, Vereinnahmung, Abhängigkeit (Wiesbaden, 2020).
LiveMusikKommission. Verband der Musikspielstätten in Deutschland: Definition und Schwerpunkt. Online at https://www.livemusikkommission.de/livekomm/schwerpunkte (accessed on 12. August 2024).
See Initiative Musik, Clubstudie (see note 1), p. 30f.
Initiative Musik, ed., Clubstudie. Studie zur Situation der Musikspielstätten in Deutschland 2020/2021 (2021). Online at https://www.initiative-musik.de/wp-content/uploads/sites/4/2023/05/2021_Clubstudie_Initiative_Musik-1.pdf (accessed on 29. April 2024).
See the German Music Information Centre's institutional database on music clubs, music cafés / music bars and socio-cultural centres , which is currently being developed (accessed on 5. August 2024).
See Wolfram Knauer, „Play yourself, man!“ Die Geschichte des Jazz in Deutschland (Pößneck, 2019).
See Stephan Wuthe, Swingtime in Deutschland (Bielefeld, 2012).
See Damm/Drevenstedt, Clubkultur (see note 1), pp. 38-48.
See Richard Florida, The rise of the creative class: and how it‘s transforming work, leisure, community and everyday life (2004); ibid., Cities and the creative class (New York/London, 2005).
See Initiative Musik, Clubstudie (see note 1), pp. 40-42.
See. Philipp Krohn/Ole Löding, Sound of the Cities. Eine popmusikalische Entdeckungsreise (2nd edn., Zürich/Berlin, 2016).
Olaf Kretschmar, 'Musikclubs', in Rolf Moser et. al., eds., Handbuch der Musikwirtschaft (7th completely rev. edn., München, 2018) pp. 173-186, esp. p. 183.
Happy Locals. Jugend und Kultur. Investitionen in die Zukunft. Online at https://happylocals.org (accessed on 22. July 2024).
Technische Universität Dresden, Professur für soziologische Theorien und Kultursoziologie DFG-Projekt, ed., 'Time has come today'. Online at https://tu-dresden.de/gsw/phil/iso/tuk/forschung/time?set_language=en (accessed on 12. August 2024).
See Initiative Musik, Clubstudie (see note 5), pp. 92-94.
See Damm/Drevenstedt, Clubkultur (see note 1) p. 34.
See Kretschmar, Musikclubs (see note13), p. 178.
See Initiative Musik, Clubstudie (see note 5), p. 85.
Bundesstiftung LiveKultur, ed., Stimmt für Vielfalt, Demokratie, Toleranz! online at https://stimmt-fuer.de (accessed on 22. July 2024).
See Initiative Musik, Clubstudie (see note 5) p. 85.
See Kretschmar, Musikclubs (see note 13) pp. 181-182.
See Initiative Musik, Clubstudie (see note 5) p. 90.
See Initiative Musik, Clubstudie (see note 5) p. 91.
LiveMusikKommission, ed., ‘Katerstimmung statt Freudenjubel: Kostendruck droht, die Livemusik-Szene zu ersticken.‘ Press release from 15. April 2024. Online at https://www.livemusikkommission.de/pressemeldung-katerstimmung-statt-freudenjubel-kostendruck-droht-die-livemusik-szene-zu-ersticken (accessed on 29. April, 2024).
Clubcommission – Netzwerk der Berliner Clubkultur, ed., Nachtökonomie Strategie Berlin (Berlin, 2024). Online at https://www.clubcommission.de/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/06/BNS_ES_v5-web.pdf (accessed on 18. July 2024).
See Initiative Musik, Clubstudie (see note 5), p. 5.
See Initiative Musik, Clubstudie (see note 5), p. 5.
See Initiative Musik, Clubstudie (see note 5), p. 55.
See Initiative Musik, Clubstudie (see note 5), p. 61.
See Initiative Musik, Clubstudie (see note 5), p. 58.
See Initiative Musik, Clubstudie (see note 5), p. 60 and 62.
See Initiative Musik, Clubstudie (see note 5), p. 99.
See Clubcommission – Netzwerk der Berliner Clubkultur, ed., Clubkultur Berlin (Berlin, 2019). Online at https://www.clubcommission.de/clubkultur-studie (accessed on 22. July 2024), p. 42.
See EventKultur Rhein-Neckar – Verband der Clubbetreiber, Veranstalter & Kulturereignisschaffenden der Metropolregion Rhein-Neckar, ed., Konkurrenz belebt das Geschäft. Warum die Metropolregion Rhein-Neckar mehr Musikclubs braucht. Studie zur Musikwirtschaft in der Metropolregion Rhein-Neckar mit Inhalten der „Freizeitstudie MRN 2018“ der DHBW Mannheim und Arbeiten der Popakademie Baden-Württemberg, (2018), p. 18 und 22.
See Klubkomm – Verband Kölner Clubs und Veranstalter, ed., Studie zur Kölner Club- und Veranstalterszene (Köln, 2016), p. 20.
See the statistics by the German Music Information centre at Besuche von Musikveranstaltungen und Konzerten, year of reference 2023 (accessed on 31. July 2024).
Kretschmar, Musikclubs (see note 13), p. 173.
See Initiative Musik, Clubstudie (see note 5), p. 89.
Benjamin Fischer, ‚Das Ende der Stille‘, in Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, 29. März 2022. Online at https://www.faz.net/aktuell/wirtschaft/unternehmen/neustart-fuer-konzert-branche-personalnot-und-schlechte-verkaeufe-17919148.html (accessed on 23. May 2024).
Presse- und Informationsamt der Bundesregierung, ed., 'Bund führt Honoraruntergrenzen für Kulturförderung ein.' Press release 42, 13. Februar 2024. Online at https://www.bundesregierung.de/breg-de/aktuelles/pressemitteilungen/bund-fuehrt-honoraruntergrenzen-fuer-kulturfoerderung-ein-roth-kreative-arbeit-adaequat-vergueten--2259572 (accessed on 23. May 2024).
Bundesverband der Konzert- und Veranstaltungswirtschaft, ed., 'BDKV veröffentlicht Empfehlungen zu Honorar-Untergrenzen für öffentlich geförderte Kultur ab 1. Juli 2024', 17. Juli 2024. Online at https://bdkv.de/bdkv-veroeffentlicht-empfehlungen-zu-honorar-untergrenzen-fuer-oeffentlich-gefoerderte-kultur-ab-1-juli-2024/ (accessed on 22. July 2024).
See Initiative Musik, ed., Neustart Kultur. Online at https://neustart-kultur.initiative-musik.de (accessed on 23. September 2024).
LiveMusikKommission – Verband der Musikspielstätten in Deutschland, ed., 'LiveKomm errichtet Bundesstiftung LiveKultur', 29. März 2021. Online at https://www.livemusikkommission.de/livekomm-errichtet-bundestiftung-livekultur/ (accessed on 15. July 2024).
LiveMusikKommission – Verband der Musikspielstätten in Deutschland, AK Freie Akademie der Clubkultur. Online at https://www.livemusikkommission.de/arbeitskreise/freie-akademie-der-clubkultur (accessed on 13. August 2024).
Lucas Paradies, Kulturraumschutz in Theorie und Praxis am Beispiel von Hamburger Musikspielstätten (Hamburg, 2018).
See LiveMusikKommission – Verband der Musikspielstätten in Deutschland, ed., 'Rote Liste'. Online at https://www.livemusikkommission.de/arbeitskreise/kulturraumschutz/rote-liste-der-bedrohten-clubs-in-deutschland (accessed on 13. August 2024). Due to fire safety requirements the Bogaloo in Pfarrkirchen is included.
See LiveMusikKommission – Verband der Musikspielstätten in Deutschland, ed., 'LiveKomm-Empfehlungen für eine Kulturschallverordnung', März 2023. Online at https://www.livemusikkommission.de/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/LiveKomm_Kulturschallverordnung.pdf (accessed on 27. May 2024).
LiveMusikKommission, ed., 'Sind Clubs künftig Kulturorte zweiter Klasse?' Press release from 4. September 2024. Online at https://www.livemusikkommission.de/pressemitteilung-sind-clubs-kuenftig-kulturorte-zweiter-klasse (accessed on 23. September 2024).
See Initiative Musik, Clubstudie (see note 5), p. 5.
LiveMusikKommission – Verband der Musikspielstätten in Deutschland, ed., 'Green Live Culture'. Online at https://www.livemusikkommission.de/green-live-culture (accessed on 13. August 2024).
See LiveMusikKommission – Verband der Musikspielstätten in Deutschland, ed., 'Tropfen auf dem heißen Stein: Aktuelle Förderprogramme decken kaum die Bedarfe der gebeutelten Clubs und Festivals' Press release from 6. June 2024. Online at https://www.livemusikkommission.de/pressemitteilung-tropfen-auf-dem-heissen-stein-aktuelle-foerderprogramme-decken-kaum-die-bedarfe-der-gebeutelten-clubs-und-festivals (accessed on 13. August 2024).
See Damm/Drevenstedt, Clubkultur (see note 1), p. 22.
Kretschmar, Musikclubs (see note 13), p. 173.