Ausgepreist: Zur Bedeutung von Proberäumen in der musikalischen Produktion und deren strukturellen Verknappung in Städten

As spaces of the music economy, rehearsal spaces have received little attention in economic-geographical research or in infrastructural support for the production of culture in cities. However, many cities are experiencing a structural shortage of appropriate artistic work and rehearsal spaces owing to competition with intensified housing and office construction in current urban development processes. In particular, the low-cost noise emission-intensive niches in former industrial and commercial buildings are increasingly disappearing. The article discusses rehearsal spaces as critical infrastructures of musical production and identifies various aspects of infrastructural support in cities. The basis of the article is a literature review and secondary analysis of recent surveys and inquiries on rehearsal space needs among Berlin’s musicians from 2014 and 2021 by the Senate Department for Culture and Europe and the Musicboard, as well as various planning initiatives and participation processes for artistic workspaces in Berlin. It becomes clear that the availability, affordability, and appropriateness of rehearsal spaces for musicians are among the central challenges and that cities have hardly developed any answers to the growing space crisis for artistic work and rehearsal spaces.