Personal profile
Curriculum
Robin completed his MA studies in Applied Cultural Science in early 2009 by finishing his thesis about Popular Music and Globalization.
In 2017, he completed his phd thesis about the development and transformation of DIY based music venues. Carrying out three case studies of DIY based music clubs in Hamburg-St. Pauli, the analysis focuses changing spatial strategies, identities and self-conceptions of the clubs within the spheres of local scenes, the city and the Music Industries. The related book 'Musikclubs zwischen Szene Stadt und Music Industries. Autonomie, Vereinnahmung, Abhängigkeit' was published in 2020.
Currently, Robin works as Post-Doc Researcher and Lecturer at Institute of Sociology and Cultural Organization. His main research interests are Culture and the City, DIY & Underground Scenes, Production of Culture, Music Industries, Livemusic & Music Venues and Cultural Participation.
He is co-series editor of 'Urban Music Studies', member of IASPM, KISMIF and co-initiator of the Urban Music Studies Scholars Network (www.urbanmusicstudies.org).
Apart from Academia, Robin worked as project manager for the ‚Hamburg Day of Music 2012‘ (NGO) and for the mission orientated research project ‘Who is Musicking in Hamburg?’ (2009), initiated by the municipality of Hamburg. For years, he was/ is organizing concerts, running a DIY Music Label and doing live-sound engineering.
Research interests
Kultur und Stadt, DIY & Underground Scenes Musikproduktion, Music Industries, Livekultur und Music Venues, Musik und Globalisierung, Besucherforschung im Kulturbereich, Urban Studies, Music Business Research, Qualitaive Research
Teaching
Soziologie der Musikproduktion, Kultur und Stadt, Struktur und Organisation kultureller Felder, Music Industries, Szenen, Livemusikkultur, Music Venues, Musik und Globalisierung, Museumsstudien, Methoden der Kulturwissenschaften, Besucherforschung im Kulturbereich, Theorien der Kulturnutzung,
Keywords
- Cultural studies
- Cultural Distribution/Cultural Organization
Expertise related to UN Sustainable Development Goals
In 2015, UN member states agreed to 17 global Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to end poverty, protect the planet and ensure prosperity for all. This person’s work contributes towards the following SDG(s):
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SDG 11 Sustainable Cities and Communities
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Research collaborations from the last five years
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TrICo Subprojekt - Community Art and Culture
Beyes, T. (Project manager, academic), Cnossen, B. (Project manager, academic), Kuchar, R. (Project staff), Bartusch, L. (Project manager, academic), Schellmann, M. (Project staff) & Börner, S. (Project staff)
01.04.23 → 31.12.27
Project: Transfer (R&D project)
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UMS: Urban Music Studies Scholars´Network
Kuchar, R. (Project manager, academic), Barber-Kersovan, A. (Project manager, academic), Kirchberg, V. (Project manager, academic) & Gaupp, L. (Project manager, academic)
01.01.18 → …
Project: Research
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Until Covid-19 do us apart. Music Scenes in Lockdown
Kuchar, R. (Project staff), Barber-Kersovan, A. (Project staff) & Kirchberg, V. (Project staff)
01.03.21 → 01.03.22
Project: Research
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Groove the City 2020
Kirchberg, V. (Project manager, academic), Kuchar, R. (Project staff), Barber-Kersovan, A. (Project staff) & Gaupp, L. (Project staff)
Ministry of Science and Culture of the state of Lower Saxony in Germany
24.01.20 → 30.06.20
Project: Scientific event
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Groove the City 2018
Kirchberg, V. (Project manager, academic), Kuchar, R. (Project staff), Barber-Kersovan, A. (Project staff) & Gaupp, L. (Project staff)
30.08.18 → 31.03.19
Project: Scientific event
Research output
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Musikclubs und Stadt: Zwischen Underground, urbaner Infrastruktur und ‚subkultureller Institutionalisierung‘
Kuchar, R., 2026, (Accepted/In press) Clubsterben. Rommelspacher, L., Lücke, M. & Fischer, M. (eds.). Münster: Waxmann Verlag, (Populäre Kultur und Musik).Research output: Contributions to collected editions/works › Chapter › peer-review
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Music Scenes and Cultural Ecosystems: Alternative Practices between 'Official Policy Recognition' and 'Post-Pandemic Austerity'
Kuchar, R., 09.09.2025, In: DIY, Alternative Cultures & Society. 3, 2, p. 139 152 p.Research output: Journal contributions › Journal articles › Research › peer-review
Open Access -
From DIY avantgardism to icons of German New Wave: Einstürzende Neubauten and the legacy of ‘Ingenious Dilletants’
Kuchar, R., 2024, In: Rock Music Studies. 11, 1, p. 71-88 18 p.Research output: Journal contributions › Journal articles › Research › peer-review
Open Access1 Citation (Scopus) -
Building Scene and Cultural Memory in the Weser Hills. The Case of Glitterhouse Records and Orange Blossom Special Festival
Kuchar, R., 22.03.2023, Popular Music Scenes : Regional and Rural Perspectives . Bennett, A., Cashman, D., Green, B. & Lewandowski, N. (eds.). Cham: Palgrave Macmillan, p. 163-178 16 p. (Pop Music, Culture, and Identity; vol. Part F1535).Research output: Contributions to collected editions/works › Contributions to collected editions/anthologies › Research › peer-review
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Independent Music and Independent Music Scenes. From DIY led Collectives to Individualized Professionals?
Kuchar, R., 26.01.2023, The Bloomsbury Handbook of Popular Music and Youth Cultures. Bennett, A. (ed.). London: Bloomsbury Academic, p. 567-592 25 p.Research output: Contributions to collected editions/works › Chapter › peer-review
1 Citation (Scopus)
Activities
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Theorizing ‘Music Ecosystem’ for Urban Music Studies – from underground to infrastructure
Kuchar, R. (Speaker)
08.04.2026 → 10.04.2026Activity: Talk or presentation › Conference Presentations › Research
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We want more: Music/Sociology!
Kuchar, R. (Speaker)
08.04.2026 → 10.04.2026Activity: Participating in or organising an academic or articstic event › Conferences › Research
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Club, Szene und Stadt. Eine Langzeitbetrachtung von Selbstverständnissen und sozialen Umfeldern von Musikclubs
Kuchar, R. (Speaker)
13.11.2025Activity: Talk or presentation › talk or presentation in privat or public events › Education
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Scene – Infrastructure – Ecosystem? Challenges of researching cultural production within increasing social complexity
Kuchar, R. (Speaker)
12.11.2025Activity: Talk or presentation › talk or presentation in privat or public events › Research
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The 13th Midterm Conference of the European Sociological Association (ESA) Research Network Sociology of the Arts - EsArts 2025
Kuchar, R. (Speaker)
08.09.2025 → 09.09.2025Activity: Participating in or organising an academic or articstic event › Conferences › Research
Press/Media
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Sex und wummernde Bässe: Was im exklusivsten Club Deutschlands wirklich abgeht
15.01.25
1 item of Media coverage
Press/Media
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Kongress „Groove the City – Urban Music Policies“ Musik als Imagefaktor für Städte
26.11.18
1 item of Media coverage
Press/Media