The Live Music Forum

Consultation Submissions

 

This is our own Live Music Forum submission to the consultation sent on 5th February 2010:-

Dear Sir/Madam

We would like to respond to the public consultation on a licensing exemption for small scale live music events.

Having spent my entire musical life playing in such venues as the small pub and club, I expected the Licensing Act to have a damaging impact on the small venues where most musicians cut their teeth and some survive throughout a professional life. The Act certainly affected me that way and last year a venue I was using regularly closed, after having a Premises License application for live music turned down on the basis of a single complaint. This is a story common throughout England and Wales. Also, the opportunity to set up casual gigs on my own in virtually thousands of pubs and restaurants just evaporated, when the Licensing Act 2003 came into power.

The Licensing Act 2003 has adversely affected many areas of the music industry, from a well known retailer not being able to have a guest star entertain the public for free in a shopping centre, to 'Rock' and 'Pop' genres being outlawed in one venue by a London Borough. Not to mention, the hundreds of pubs which have been refused live music permission or had it withdrawn following 'single complaints' or objections from Councils.

Part of the problem is that the attitude of Councils varies dramatically throughout the land and some take the law into their own hands, as can be seen in the, probably illegal, conditions which have been added to licenses. Quite a few councils have a negative attitude to live music and this has been confirmed by the outrageous statements from LGA spokespersons associating live music with public disorder.

Recently, I have written to the Local Government Association, the Metropolitan Police and the Association of Chief Police Officers requesting evidence to support their statements that live music attracts public disorder. Nobody has been able to put forward any evidence whatsoever.

In fact, Commander Paul Minton of the ACPO said, in his reply to us,

"I am happy to provide you with the reassurance that you seek.  The vast majority of live music events serve to provide considerable pleasure and social benefit without implication for policing or public safety.  In a very small number of cases there is clear evidence of association of criminality with events or acts and that obviously needs to be dealt with as the intelligence and circumstances indicate, however, this is clearly the exception  and not the norm.".

Therefore, we believe it is essential to make some provision within the law to regulate Councils who misapply the Licensing Act and any new exemptions in the future. Clear indication should be given to Councils that they are not to stifle the Creative Arts in communities by over zealous regulation or control of Entertainers. Rather, they have a responsibility to make their facilities more available to local artists and promoters. Similarly, with Colleges who have for decades soaked up more and more funding which has been diverted from the arts.

There should be a Small Gigs Exemption with an attendance limit of 200 or 250. 100 is simply too low to allow many a publican to pay his costs, his staff and pay anything like a reasonable wage to the musicians performing. It is now generally accepted that issues of public safety and noise disturbance are amply catered for in other existing legislation.

There should be no limit on the number of performers and reasonable amplification should be allowed. It is a misconception that an amplified group will automatically be louder than a Jukebox amplified through a pub's sound system. Karaoke and DJs are generally louder than a four-piece band. Besides, most musicians playing live want to perform at a reasonable level where they can hear each other, and without risk of damaging their own hearing. As has been established, there are other options to regulate cases where noise nuisance occurs. Naturally, the provision of "Entertainment Facilities" needs to be included in the exemption in order for events to be truly exempt from licensing.

The live music exemption should apply to all non-licensed Premises including cafes, hairdressers, shops and public spaces. There can be no reason why a hairdresser should not be able to have a musician in playing a violin or a guitar for the comfort and pleasure of their customers. Or, why a shop should be disallowed from announcing a special promotion with a short performance by a small band. Why should a cafe be barred from trying to increase their trade by having an entertainer at lunchtimes. Busking has always been a great feature of London, particularly in places like the Underground. Now a lot of Councils are encouraging buskers in an attempt to draw shoppers back into deserted town centre's. Very good, but the law should permit busking in all public spaces without it being at the whim of one or other Council Officer or Department.

Schools should be exempt without an attendance limit. Schools should be, and generally are, the safest places in our Communities and they certainly should not be restricted in their teaching or fundraising by unnecessary legislation such as the Licensing Act, except, perhaps, in cases where the sale of alcohol is proposed.

The exemption should include Poetry, Art, Comedy and Drama events. Harmless cultural pursuits such as Poetry readings and Amateur Dramatic events, along with Comedy and Mime etc., have been heavily penalised by the Licensing Act and these are the kind of traditional art forms that exist by way of a very fragile economy of their own. Laws which make it difficult to arrange and promote these kind of performances serve only to bring on their extinction. That is why the Licensing Act has done such damage to our society. You can't see or count the difference in Whitehall but we experience it in the very real world of every small town and village. Now, after five years you can hear the calls for licensing relief from Choirs, Brass Bands, Schools, Theatre groups and Community Centres up and down the country. Virtually every cultural pursuit has been adversely affected and in the long term the price will be high.

The Small Scale Live Music Exemption is an important opportunity to mitigate some of the damage done by the Licensing Act 2003 and we hope that all steps will be taken to implement it as soon as possible.

Phil Little
Live Music Forum
Here are some of the other submissions that we have received. Thanks to all those who have given permission for them to be reproduced.

Blue Flash Music

We have put on gigs most often using venues with a capacity of 80 - 100 people. We therefore very much support the exemption.

Robert Mayfield - Blue Flash Music Trust reg ch no 1102732

Welwyn Hatfield Live Music Forum have sent off their submission and you can download it here:-

Welwyn Hatfield LMF Submission

 

Consultation Submission from:-

TASC - Traditional Arts Support in the Community


24th March 2010


Dear Sirs,

Consultation on a proposal to exempt small live music events from the requirements of the Licensing Act 2003 (the Act)

We are writing in support of the proposed exemption. TASC has been involved in creating, delivering and promoting traditional music, song and dance in the community since 1994. Almost all our work has been in small community venues, usually in rural locations.

We are convinced that not only are barriers to small-scale music-making harmful and unnecessary, but that they seriously impair the sort of activity that can have a positive and beneficial effect on social cohesion, providing a sense of achievement for the individual that should be at the heart of counteracting anti-social behaviour.

TASC is also closely involved with the Powys Arts Forum and through them with the Powys Regeneration Partnership, encouraging projects throughout the county under the Rural Development Plan for Wales. While I am not writing on behalf of either of these organisations, of which I am trustee of the first and chair of the second, they have brought me into contact with many community initiatives. From my observation and understanding of the mechanisms driving vibrant communities I am convinced of the importance of a light legislative framework for volunteer-supported activity.

As a further aside I was on the panel of the All Wales Convention at its meeting in Powys. This led me to believe that there is a significant groundswell of opinion that sees laws clearly designed for urban conditions, as this one undoubtedly was, as unacceptable to rural Welsh communities, particularly where they have had no chance to vary the provisions to suit local needs.

I am also a trustee of our local village hall.

TASC supports the proposed exemption with the proviso that 100 is too low a limit and that 200 would be more realistic, encompassing most of the significant community activity.

Our support for the exemption is based on the following reasons:

1. Cultural expression should not be regulated unless there are overmastering reasons such as civil disorder of significant proportions. In regard to that:
1.1. there appears to be no evidence that small events of the kind envisaged in the exemption are liable to cause public nuisance
1.2. there is already adequate legislation in place to deal with any potential or actual threat to public disorder.
2. The law is poorly understood by the majority of Village Halls and Community Centre volunteers. We believe the complexity of the system and poor monitoring is responsible. It is probable that the law is being ignored on a fairly regular basis because of this. Poorly understood and improperly enforced legislation brings the law itself into disrepute.
3. A massive amount of public money has been poured into the Regeneration Agenda with the aim of encouraging more active and vibrant communities, and maximising the use of community buildings. The current position for small scale events – the kind this exemption is intended to cover – is:
3.1. People don’t understand the concept of licensable activities (as mentioned above) and if they did they would be more likely to un-volunteer than comply. The Third Sector works completely differently from the private sector, and the effect of overburdensome legislation will create a severe shortage of volunteers when we need them most.
3.2. Under Temporary Event Licenses many premises are restricted in the number of events they can host. This can impact severely on the viability of community venues, reducing the amount of community activity and thereby the concomitant social cohesion.
3.3. There is a need to further develop the Tourism Industry in rural Wales to help compensate for the increased difficulties that farming faces. Small community events are a key building-block in this, and the very real reductions that we have seen in such events since this legislation has a profoundly negative impact on such activity.

In conclusion, we repeat our first point: that restricting cultural expression without very serious reasons seem to be a denial of human rights. Where events are large enough to cope with such restrictions they will probably survive, but at the smaller and more fragile end of the spectrum – where rural, small-scale, community and minority events sit - the effect is more often to suppress them altogether. Where they do survive they may be driven underground and create a reservoir of anti-authority feeling which would be the very antithesis of the crucial need for community cohesion and citizen engagement.

Yours

Philip Freeman
Administrator & Trustee
Traditional Arts Support in the Community (TASC)
Registered Charity 1042144

A response from Hartley Voices

"Those who are writing this legislation have not taken into consideration the full extent of damage that this legislation is having on the livelihood of professional musicians and our cultural musical heritage by discouraging and in many cases prohibiting classical performances."

as a PDF file

Download Here

Response from fellow live music campaigner Roger Gall

doc file

Roger says,

"This legislation may be well-intended but everything has the potential to be anything or indeed to be nothing. Dealing in advance with potential noises concerns, is to continue to risk adversely affecting live music which does not present this actual or potential concern. Where live music does prove to be presenting the actual impact described on the licensing objectives - there is already existing legislation to deal with it and planning legislation already deals with its potential impact. Sadly there are no measures to re-address the situation where live music (especially when non-amplified) that is not presenting any noise concerns is lost, deterred or limited by the current approach. Additional Entertainment Permission, being devolved for local enforcement as in this legislation, is difficult to control, and is now expensive and clumsy duplication of matters already dealt with by planning, environmental and other existing legislation.

This consultation document refers to : “It was proposed that any problems arising from the exempt live music could be dealt with through penalties available under other legislation, such as on the spot fines for noise under environmental health legislation.”

It is unclear if this is being currently proposed or not. If it is no longer being proposed and no longer judged to the case, then details (including firm statistics) would need to be produced to demonstrate the reason for this change and exactly where other legislation is deficient and what exactly is proposed to address the deficiencies in this legislation."