Berlin nightclubs fight for the same status as operas and theatres, now they're the same as brothels

German clubs are fighting to be classified as cultural institutions - last week a bipartisan group argued in front of a national parliament committee to reclassify clubs and live music venues, Guardian reports. Nightclubs are currently classified as entertainment venues, equating them with brothels and casinos, the status change would make them legally equivalent to concert halls, operas and theaters. About 100 clubs have closed in the past 10 years, and a further 25 are under threat. So serious has the problem become that it has its own word: clubsterben, or club death. The Clubcommission collective told the Bundestag’s committee for building, living and urban development that music clubs were “the pulse of the city”, adding that an estimated 3 million tourists come to Berlin annually to visit its clubs, which contributed €1.5bn to the local economy last year.