Taking into account broader processes of urban regeneration, the appearance of a more and more commercialized live music culture and changing spatial strategies of DIY scenes, the paper examines how originally DIY based music venues as spaces of alternative cultural practices handle ongoing transformations within their surrounding environment.
Therefore, the paper presents some results gathered from three case studies undertaken in Hamburg St. Pauli in 2017. As the fieldwork around Golden Pudel, Molotow and Mojo Club shows, each actor applies different strategies in order to preserve their basing – and individual - idea(l)s of self-governed cultural work.
Over time, there can be observed considerable changes regarding self-conceptions, practices and socio-political positioning – from strictly adhering DIY values to take over rather established roles in local policy. Developments lead to new forms and levels of (in-)dependence, (il)legitimate professionalization and a kind of ‘subcultural institutionalization’, what in matters of DIY spaces seems to be quite paradoxical.