The Berlin nightclub Berghain last year officially received a legal status allows it to escape some of the costs and taxes that are imposed upon other such venues in Germany. However it also signals something far more important. Being recognized as a place of “high culture” and a producer of it rather than merely a venue for hedonism in a sense is far more valuable than having the tax rate lowered from 19% to 7%. Especially when it comes to its already recognized name and brand. It adds even more value to the identity the club has established through its history.
The clubs current history begins with the gay only night events called “Snax”. 1998 a the club Ostgut was founded as a place that held the event regularly as well as opened the club to regular audience. The club played in important role in the Berlin techno culture until it eventually closed in 2003. However the opening of Berghain in 2004 soon followed. The name Berghain is a combination of parts of the names of the two districts that it lies between: Friedrichshain and Kreuzberg. It is better described as a clubs within a club due to its sheer size as a former power plant. The club consists of Berghain Club, Panorama Bar, Lab.Oratoray and now Säule, as well as multiple dark rooms and spaces. It goes without saying that its roots in the gay culture of the late 90’s and techno subculture continues to be a focal point of its identity. The club has also an culturally iconic figure, the photographer Sven Marquardt, serving as its bouncer. The attention that the club has received has created a paradox that conflicts with its supposedly underground nature. The image of having to wait as long as up to 4 hours or more in the queue just to be rejected at the door by Sven or another bouncer has spawned online and offline mockery of its door policies. One of example would be this exhibit at a festival. But it also has spawned a stream of articles, guides and even websites that give advice on how to get past the bouncers. Needless to say the exclusivity has contributed to the creation of the myths and rumors around the club as the only thing that can leave are stories. That is since phone cameras must be covered with stickers at all times and taking a photo will get you a lifetime ban. However it does not seem to have impacted the success of the club in the slightest as it recently opened up another part of the club, Säule.
This also lends what Sven says about the image of the club more authority as he discusses his life, the club and other various topics in an interview. In the interview Sven brands Berghain as a lifestyle and confronts the image of decadence the club has accumulated. While he says there is nothing inherently decadent in regards to the club, the idea of partying from sunday till monday morning before leaving home as people go to work can be considered as such. But lets not forget music label Ostgut Ton itself which isn’t the only label based out of Berghain. The exclusivity and image of hedonism are certainly not the only nor the vital attractions of the club. The own in house music label and resident artists such as Marcel Dettmann and Ben Klock that have helped producing the sound of Berghain to define its musical identity. Thus together the time, place and music has produced an attraction that appeals to the Berlin techno subculture in its own unique style.
It is then to less of a surprise that a club such as this would be labeled anything as fancy as “high culture”. However it creates questions that we must ask if we are to try to understand its brand better. Is almost elitist exclusivity a result of Berghains intentional branding or is it merely a combination of growing popularity and lack of ability to accommodate that demand for example? According to Holt (2004) we rely on cultural icons to identify with and draw meaning from (p. 1-2). They are different from other cultural forces in that they possess an identity myth. A story that serves as a reference for people on how to deal with their own feelings and identity. Such icons appear when they are needed by that particular society during which it exists. Brands however are different. Brands are a collection of stories promoted by everyone involved in the production of the meaning of the brand including customers (p. 3). As the meaning accumulate delivered by stories and a common understanding of the brand arises. The meaning of the brand eventually becomes accepted truth. And that is where the power of the brand lies. Iconic brands then looking back at the description of cultural icons is a brand that is heavily invested in its identity myth that people seek. Berghain as a cultural icon contains both the club, music label and other elements of its image like Sven. What appears to be a very minimal investment in its brand outside of managing the club certainly has not prevented stories and myths from forming around it. Perhaps it may very well be that Berghain is an example of a cultural icon that has naturally emerged first as a response to a demand by society and the branding only followed afterwards. Comparing Berghain to a cultural icon still begs some questions as to what social needs does a techno club answer. While some guesses could go to its liberating and fringe nature, other explanations may lie in the exclusivity and gay culture. The vital message from this brief text about Berghain, a story you could say, is to ask what needs and desires are met by our brands and cultural icons. And what could our cultural icons tell us about our needs and desires.
Sources:
http://berghain.de/
https://thump.vice.com/en_us/article/berghain-high-culture-german-court
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Berghain#History
https://thump.vice.com/en_ca/article/berghain-door-berghenk-beyond-festival
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e86QuzybDmg (@ 23:00 minutes)
https://www.residentadvisor.net/news.aspx?id=38155
Holt, D. B. (2004).
How Brands become Icons. The Principles of Cultural Branding. Cambridge Mass.: Harvard Business School Press.