We campaign against the Licensing Act 2003, which came into effect on 24 November
2005. This legislation regulates not only the sale of alcohol in England
and Wales but also the provision of entertainment, including live music.
It claims to regulate live music on the grounds of public safety, prevention
of crime, disorder and public nuisance, and the protection of children from
harm.
But this legislation is a sledgehammer to crack a nut. It effectively
criminalises most live performances without state authorisation. In
doing so it devalues music-making, encourages petty and harmful enforcement
by local authorities which in turn discourages local participation in this overwhelmingly
beneficial activity.
Under the Act the mere provision of live music, even by one unamplified
musician, may be a criminal offence for which the maximum penalty is a £20,000
fine and six months in prison. Even providing a piano in a bar for
the public to play is a potential criminal offence - no-one need play a note.
The Act favoured canned entertainment over live music: in 2005 all bars were
granted automatic permission to have recorded music, which allows DJs, but the
long-standing exemption for one or two live musicians was abolished. The
Act kept an exemption for broadcast entertainment. This means
anyone can provide MTV or Sky football broadcasts anywhere on giant screens
without an authorisation under this legislation. But even putting on
a small, private concert without a licence under the Act would be a criminal
offence if money was being raised for good causes. Obtaining the 'necessary
authorisation' may be an expensive and time-consuming process.
The Act applies to 'any place', which includes your home, garden, public
streets and parks, although there are exemptions including places of
public religious worship, military bases, royal palaces, and - bizarrely - moving
vehicles.
The government used to defend this absurd and unjust regime on the grounds that
it was necessary to control public safety, noise, crime and disorder at live
music events. But separate legislation addresses all these risks, and
for most small-scale performances is perfectly adequate.
The government now appears to accept this argument in principle, and has promised
a public consultation this spring on further exemptions for what they call 'low
risk' events. But campaigning must continue if the government is to
honour this promise, and amend the Act so that small, low risk gigs are exempt,
and live music is accorded the respect it deserves.
Hamish Birchall
February 2009
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