affect acoustic performance. Although the exemption
of Morris Dancing (from
almost total disregard for these opinions when
forceful representations were
Bill through Parliament. The present situation in
which wide screen
testifies to the extent to which the present
Govenrnment is the patsy of big
business, particularly in the entertainment
industries.
hopefully to add your name to the petition.
Changing this law is about the
require any form of regulation from Government (at
any level) at all.
The live music/licensing e-petition now has
nearly 2,800 signatures. It
currently stands at no.19 in the list of 1,702
petitions on the Number 10
This is good, especially in just under a month -
and there are five more
months in which people can sign. But the petition
needs to do much better
to make an impression on ministers, and to
encourage DCMS to implement
music-friendly amendments.
The petition is for everyone, not just musicians.
Please consider signing
if you haven't already done so. If you have
signed, encourage friends to sign.
Points to remember about the new
legislation:
a.. The unlicensed provision of even one musician
is a potential criminal
offence (although some places are exempt,
including places of public
religious worship, royal palaces and moving
vehicles). Max penalty: £20,000
fine and six months in prison.
b.. The rationale is to prevent noise, crime and
disorder, to ensure public
safety, and the protection of children from
harm.
c.. But broadcast entertainment, including sport
and music, is exempt - no
matter where, and no matter how powerfully
amplified.
d.. In the transition to the new regime, bars
with jukeboxes, CD players
etc
were automatically granted a licence to play
recorded music; but their
automatic entitlement to one or two musicians was
abolished.
e.. For the first time, private performances
raising money for charity are
licensable.
f.. School performances open to friends and
family are licensable - they
count as public performances.
g.. Under the old regime all premises licensed to
sell alcohol for
consumption on the premises were automatically
allowed up to two live
musicians (the 'two in a bar rule').
h.. In December, DCMS published research
confirming that about 40% of these
have lost any automatic entitlement to live music
as a result of the new
Act:
'Very few establishments that wanted a new
licence were denied it, and many
who were previously limited to 2-in-a-bar now
have the ability to stage
music with 2 or more musicians... This contrasts,
of course, with the fact
that 40% of establishments now have no automatic
means of putting on live
music (i.e. they would have to give a
TEN).'
['Licensing Act 2003, The experience of smaller
establishments in applying
for live music authorisation', December 2006',
paragraphs 6.1.1 and 6.1.2
'Conclusions', p54; Caroline Callahan, Andy
Martin, Anna Pierce,
Ipsos-MORI]
'TEN' stands for Temporary Event Notice - in
effect a temporary
entertainment licence. Only 12 are allowed per
premises per year. They cost
£21 each. See the full MORI reports on this
site: