Why Dutch media start-ups in the screen-based industry locate in Amsterdam

Currently, there is a movement of media companies that are shifting from Hilversum to Amsterdam. Therefore, this research examines why young media companies(founded in 2010 or later), operating in the screen-based industry, want to be located in Amsterdam. Based on previous theory and research, there already exist some factors that could be of possible influence on why young media companies want to locate in Amsterdam, such as soft location factors and residential quality. However, this research is an addition to literature by diving into these concepts and trying to understand why they are possibly important and how they work. Ten in-depth interviews among a variety of young media companies operating in the screen-based industry in Amsterdam were conducted. Results indicate that young media companies want to be located in Amsterdam because they can be close to each other, experience the competition around them as beneficial, gain knowledge out of the city, have easy access to a social network, are surrounded by a specialized pool of labour, the image of the city reflects on the image of their company in a positive way, the diversity that the city offers, the dynamics of the city, the ‘real life’ face to face interaction that the city offers and finally because Amsterdam is the place to be for (partially) digital media companies. Moreover, the results provide insights on why Amsterdam is chosen over Hilversum and possible explanations for the current movement that is going on.