Focus Scientific Research

Formation and Persistence of Popular Music Scene in Vienna

Wolfgang Fichna, Rosa Reitsamer, Roman Horak

Sociology of Art and Culture

This project, which is led by Wolfgang Fichna and Rosa Reitsamer, is dedicated to researching the formation and status quo of Vienna’s contemporary popular music scene, since the 1980s.

The term ‘music scene’, which has until now been only vaguely defined, is being operationalised, and on the basis of selected music scenes in the fields of rock, hip hop and electronic music, a theoretical model for the term is being developed. As a part of this process, different factors that influence a music scene are being investigated, e.g. economic factors, technological factors (the role of digital technologies in music production and distribution), local political factors (legislation) or historical factors (‘Musical City Vienna’ or ‘Austropop’), as well as the relevance of gender and ethnicity in music scenes.

Methodologically, the research team is oriented toward the Grounded Theory (Glaser / Strauss), with which empirical data are reflexive with theoretical approaches.