Parents often shake their heads at what their kids listen to, proclaiming, "That's not music!" If you're a young person in Germany who loves techno, you can now confidently shoot back: "Oh, yes it is!" That's because the country's financial high court has ruled that the fast, heavy style of electronic music should, indeed, be considered music, with an economic reason underlying the decision. Per AFP, the ruling by the Munich court now means that nightclubs playing techno will not have to pay a steep 19% tax on ticket sales; instead, they will pay just 7%, the same rate for German concert halls.
In the court's eyes, those who frequent techno or house clubs are going mainly for the music, just like those who attend concerts—even if you'll find disc jockeys at such clubs instead of live singers and musicians. "DJs do not simply play sound carriers (composed by others), but they perform their own pieces of music using instruments in the broadest sense, to create sound sequences with their own character," the judges noted, per Euronews. The ruling comes as a win during an otherwise challenging for nightclubs in Germany, which have been shuttered during the coronavirus pandemic. (More Germany stories.)
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