Electronic music scenes: A comparison of the diverging spatial contexts of the electronic dance music scenes of Berlin and Amsterdam

Abstract

Abstract Music scenes are inseparable from their spatial environment, and thrive under certain spatial conditions. Urban regulations and planning play a defining role in the development of local scenes. This article examines two epicentres of the EDM scene, Berlin and Amsterdam, in order to show how factors such as availability of distinctive and affordable spaces for music production, and the regulation and planning of such spaces, impact the ways in which the EDM scene unfolds. In Berlin, the abundance of vacant spaces and lack of (enforcement of) regulations following the fall of the Berlin Wall at the end of the 1980s are key factors in the city’s consolidation as a world-renowned club scene. Stricter enforcement of regulations and a shortage of inner-city space for creative activity in Amsterdam favour a music scene of festivals and foot-loose actors, mostly promoters.