Focus Scientific Research

Formation and Persistence Process of Music Scenes

Roman Horak

Department of Cultural Studies, Institute of Art Sciences and Art Education

Subject of enquiry are contemporary popular music scenes. The research team will examine which factors are necessary for the formation and persistence of music scenes on the basis of a continuous case study of selected popular music scenes in Vienna. Based on these analyses a theoretical model of the formation and persistence of music scenes will be developed.

Definitions
Ronald Hitzler defines a scene as a "network of actors who share certain material and mental forms of collective self representation and stylization, who are aware of this collective self representation and who stabilize, modify or transform these collective styles and tastes via communication". The concept "music scene" is used to designate the contexts in which clusters of producers, musicians, and fans collectively share their common musical tastes.

Scientific objectives
1. Exploration of the empirical factors for the formation and persistence of selected
contemporary popular music scenes in Vienna

2. Based on our empirical and theoretical research: Development and modification of a
theoretical model of the formation and persistence of music scenes

Hypothesis
Our hypothesis is that that the following factors are important for the formation and persistence of popular music scenes in Vienna:

A. Economic factors
B. Local urban factors
C. Local political factors
D. Technological factors
E. Communication, media and networking factors
F. Gender factors
G. Ethnicity factors
H. Historical factors