The Value of Small Live Music Venues: Alternative Forms of Capital and Niche Spaces of Cultural Production

Abstract

Small live music venues rely on complex systems of cultural and social capital to bring revenue into each venue space. Although these intangible forms of value are quickly exchanged for economic capital over the bar or through the ticket vendor, their initial state conveys the intrinsic value of small venues as spaces of sociality and cultural production. Throughout this article I demonstrate the intrinsic value of small venues through an analysis of how alternative forms of capital – social, cultural, and symbolic (Bourdieu, 1984, 1986, 1997, 2002) – are generated and mobilised by individuals working in small venues, and the venue spaces themselves. This utilisation of Bourdieu and his theoretical apparatus forms the conceptual framework of this article, as I assert that much of the ‘work’ that small venues ‘do’ is intangible, and thus difficult to measure in quantitative terms. However, Bourdieu’s alternative forms of capital allow us to qualitatively assess the intrinsic value of small live music venues, demonstrating the significance of this value whilst also prompting a discussion of the nature of intrinsic and instrumental value. This article is both a review of the literature connecting Bourdieu to the study of small live music venues and an analysis of how theories of value and Bourdieusian capital(s) play out in niche spaces of cultural production such as small live music venues.

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

“…Oft überlagern sie diese räumlich, wenn z. B. Live-Musikorte auch wichtige soziale Treffpunkte für musikalische Szenen sind (Whiting 2021 ). Als Teil der materiellen Produktionsinfrastruktur der Musikwirtschaft werden Proberäume in der geografischen Auseinandersetzung mit Räumen musikalischer Produktion und Wertschöpfung jedoch bislang vernachlässigt.…”

“…Als Teil der materiellen Produktionsinfrastruktur der Musikwirtschaft werden Proberäume in der geografischen Auseinandersetzung mit Räumen musikalischer Produktion und Wertschöpfung jedoch bislang vernachlässigt. Hier stehen Studios (Gibson 2005 ; Watson und Ward 2013 ), Clubs (Lange und Bürkner 2013 ) oder Live-Musikorte (Whiting 2021 ) im Zentrum wirtschaftsgeografischer Untersuchungen.…”

Engaging With Objects and Feelings: The Making of Live Music Space in Shanghai’s Livehouses

“…These are alternative strategies shared by frequent livehouse goers. Unlike other live music venues, livehouse is a niche with its own social norms (Whiting, 2021). The audiences’ subcultural strategies thus form part of the social norms and connect audiences physically and mentally, confirming their identity in that particular social group.…”