The Live Music Forum

Hamish Birchall Bulletin

Thursday 22nd February 2007 - Licensing petition at no.6

More than 18,600 people have now signed the live music/licensing petition, placing it at no.6 in the list of over 3,600 petitions on the Number 10 website:

http://petitions.pm.gov.uk/list/open?sort=signers

People have signed at the rate of about 1000 a day since The Stage reported 10,000 signatures last Wednesday, 14 February:

http://www.thestage.co.uk/news/newsstory.php/15938/live-music-licensing-petition-reaches-list-of

There are exactly 15 weeks to go before the petition closes for signatures on 7 June.  Please consider signing if you haven't already done so. If you have signed, encourage friends to sign.  Points to remember about the new law:

• 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.
• The rationale is to prevent noise, crime and disorder, to ensure public safety, and the protection of children from harm.
• But broadcast entertainment, including sport and music, is exempt no matter where, and no matter how powerfully amplified.
• In the transition to the new regime in 2005, bars with jukeboxes, CD players etc were automatically granted a licence to play recorded music; but their automatic entitlement to one or two live musicians was abolished.
• For the first time, private performances raising money for charity are licensable.
• School performances open to friends and family are licensable - they count as public performances.
• 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').
• Last 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: http://www.culture.gov.uk/Reference_library/Research/research_by_dcms/live_music_exec_summary.htm

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