Loophole is a long-standing pillar of the Berlin music scene, providing an accessible stage to over 10 thousand artists in 15 years. On July 4th, the police raided the venue during a show and shut it down, claiming missing permits as the primary reason, locking the staff out of the building and removing the venue’s bar licence. In this episode of Unsigned Berlin, we sit down with Hannah Gonzalez, one of the most senior members from Loophole’s volunteer team to get some clarity on the events leading up to this police raid, the current situation, and where Loophole might be headed next.

(00:00) Start

(00:37) Introduction

(04:36) Loophole Before the Shut-Down

(07:20) The Police Raid

(12:43) Reorganising Planned Concerts

(15:45) Loophole Moving Forward

(20:24) Soundproofing and Noise Complaints

(27:27) What to do with Crowdfunding?

(33:54) Response from the Government

(37:34) Curating and Team Management at Loophole

(41:46) How to Support

Further chapters will be updated on 23.07. Due to technical issues this was not possible today

If you want to support Loophole, you can join their fundraising campaign here: https://www.gofundme.com/f/new-loophole

Or find up to date information on their website: https://loophole.berlin/ 

And follow their Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/loophole_brln/ 

To support the podcast, share this episode with a friend that would be interested. Otherwise, you can follow us on your podcast platform or social media of choice here: https://linktr.ee/UnsignedBerlin 

Credits:

Produced by Unsigned Berlin

Hosted by Sebastian Sheath

Editing by Anton Heeckt