The Shape of Clubs to Come: Exploring the Pandemic’s Impact on Live Music Venues in Germany

Abstract

AbstractContemporary live music venues are an increasingly important component of the live music business and of cultural and social life in cities. This is particularly true for small and medium-sized venues which, despite their popularity, often operate under precarious economic conditions. With the rise of COVID-19 and the subsequent physical distancing measures, including a ban on live music events, the shaky foundations of most live music venues were eroded even further. Against this background, our contribution addresses the following questions: How did COVID-19 and related measures to reduce contact impact live music venues in Germany? Which values of live music are particularly affected and how? What are the likely long-term consequences for the live music sector? To answer these questions, we conducted exploratory research in the northern summer of 2020 including 14 semi-structured interviews with key actors in the live music sector (e.g. club owners, politicians, live music associations). Our findings indicate that music venues are confronted with an existential crisis that exceeds their economic pressures, including facing the loss of informal support networks within the sector and decreasing ties between artists, venues and audiences. They also highlight the importance of live music events as social spaces and the importance of venues to the live music ecology.