Band aid: ministers to call time on pub live music restrictions.

[blaggard]

Band aid: ministers to call time on pub live music restrictions

Government aims to stimulate grassroots music by allowing bars to host gigs without a licence

• Dan Sabbagh
• guardian.co.uk, Wednesday 7 September 2011 19.17 BST
• Article history

Play time ... live music at the Cavern pub in Liverpool. Photograph: Yadid Levy / Alamy/Alamy

Pubs and clubs wanting to offer live music would no longer be forced to apply to the local council for an entertainment licence under a planned deregulation aimed at supporting grassroots music.
The proposal is part of a government consultation to be unveiled by John Penrose, the tourism and heritage minister, amid warnings that small venues have been abandoning live music because of the bureaucracy introduced by the 2003 Licensing Act.
While there has been an explosion in music festivals over the last decade – mirrored in sell-out audiences at large, modern venues such as the O2 in east London – research conducted in 2007 suggested there had been a 5% decrease in the amount of music played in pubs, clubs and other so-called "secondary music" venues, venues whose core business is not staging live music.
Feargal Sharkey, chief executive of UK Music, which represents the UK's commercial music industry, said: "We're optimistic that this will be positive news for the industry, and especially for emerging talent."
He added: "I'd wager that all of yesterday's Mercury music prize nominees started their careers playing in pubs or clubs. In the meantime, we'll have to wait for the actual detail of the consultation, and under what specific circumstances the requirement for a music licence would be removed."
Schools are also likely to benefit from the rules, as the requirement for an entertainment licence covers any public performance where tickets are sold. Ministers hope that "school PTA fundraisers" will also benefit from the changes.
Parliamentarians have been calling for several years for the restriction to be removed. Prior to the 2003 Act, a "two-in-a-bar" exemption existed, allowing venues of any size to put on a performance of acoustic music by one or two musicians without the need for a licence.
In 2009, MPs on the culture, media and sport select committee recommended that "the government should exempt venues with a capacity of 200 persons or fewer from the need to obtain a licence for the performance of live music" and called for the reintroduction of the old "two-in-a-bar" exemption.
However, the ministerial proposals are understood to go further than that. Large venues with a capacity of more than 5,000 would continue to be subject to premises licensing as before, but small venues would save on average £1,600 a year and be freed of the requirement to register with the council.
The Department for Culture, Media and Sport declined to comment ahead of the announcement of the consultation. Ministers are expected to legislate for the changes at the earliest opportunity, but it is unclear when the deregulation would come into effect.\


http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/2011...-licence-bands

[blaggard]

While they're at it they can shoot Tessa Jowell for fucking it up in the first place! Too little , too late I'm afraid. Linking building Regulations to a Music Licence when it should be part of the original Liqour Licence was a huge mistake the clueless bint then threatening every solo act with prison and a fine while her beloved leader got his guitar out at every opportunity just stank. They had to be the most inept Government ever and that's compared to a very long line of ineptitude!

[{{909}}]

It's a step in the right direction, I fucking despise going out 'round town' now since all the pubs play the same wank pop music and virtually nowhere has live music on. Having said that, it probably wouldn't make a jot of difference to me as the majority of my mates enjoy the wank pop.

[DJ OD]

"Feargal Sharkey, chief executive of UK Music, which represents the UK's commercial music industry,"

That answers a lot of questions...


DJ OD

[blaggard]

They are all useless cunts, the MU has been useless for years and when it was a closed shop was useless AND corrupt. Pubs are dying on their arses since the changing of the Licensing laws later augmented by the blanket smoking ban and the tacit approval of cheap booze in supermarkets. I doubt we'll save much now but without SENSIBLE smoking legislation we'll achieve very little with this.

[super mike]

I agree wholeheartedly, but I do think this is a small step in the right direction. It will hopefully help save a couple by enabling less hoop jumping to have a few band nights a month.

[lloydi]

Good in a way but I live a stones throw from a pub and live music in there would make my life hell. They have already had a licence refused due to its proximity to residents

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[Zippeyrude]

so how would this impact on residents that dont want a band playing when people need to sleep etc..

[super mike]

Good in a way but I live a stones throw from a pub and live music in there would make my life hell. They have already had a licence refused due to its proximity to residents

What was there first, a pub or you? If the former then IMO you have no right to moan, in the same way that someone who moves into an existing flightpath near Heathrow has no right to moan.

[lloydi]

The rules are in place for such a situation, we have small children and the one time they had live music on a temp licence on a hot august evening we could not even open their bedroom windows for the noise. Its a quiet pub in a small narrow residential street, the noise has never consistently been there for the 8 years we have lived here so your comparison with a heathrow flight path is not a like for like comparison imho.

At least the environmental health regulations will still apply who can enforce an appropriate noise level, their out of hours dept can be most helpful when required. As they were on that hot august evening. I would have no hesitation making use of their services should I need to. They had 6 calls that evening from residents in our street regarding the live music and sound level and wholeheartedly agreed that it was detrimental to the health of residents close to the pub. Hence why they were not granted a licence forthwith. Different situations in different towns, one deregulation would not be suitable for all

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[blaggard]

As you say, Environmental Health will still hold them to reasonable sound levels at reasonable times. super mike makes a good point though, unless your environment has been changed radically since you moved in by a new building you have no cause for complaint per se. If the problem occurs start by approaching the Publican personally and just point out the problem, they have to try to lessen the noise by not opening windows and doors, adequate sound levels and sound proofing. They will STILL prosecute if they need to and don't forget they can revoke their liquor license.

[lloydi]

Some good advice as always on DF, time will tell how this pans out

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