eastlondonseagull
Well-known member
The licensing laws are changing, chaps, making it illegal to play live music of any kind in public, without a licence.
Just got this email, and it looks pretty worrying to me...
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http://petitions.pm.gov.uk/licensing
Hi
As you may or may not know the government have contrived in their
'un-wisdom' to stop our wonderful tradition of live music (and dance) in
public places (Please read under).
If you, like me, would like to change this then all you have to do is copy the link below which will allow you to put your name to a petition that is currently on the Downing Street petition site.
Let's keep live music in our ears and hearts!
Music/Licensing Laws - Official Downing Street petition.
The recently introduced changes in licensing law have produced an environment where music and dance, activities which should be valued and promoted in a civilised society, are instead damaged by inappropriate regulation.
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, 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.
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'). 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.
We call on the Prime Minister to recognise this situation and take
steps to correct it. The live music/licensing e-petition questions this, and
now has nearly 2,800 signatures. It currently stands at no.19 in the list of 1,702 petitions on the Number 10 website:
http://petitions.pm.gov.uk/licensing
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, please encourage friends to sign.
See the full MORI reports on this site:
http://www.culture.gov.uk/Reference_library/Research/research_by_dcms/live_music_exec_summary.htm
Thanks for your support!
Just got this email, and it looks pretty worrying to me...
---------------------
http://petitions.pm.gov.uk/licensing
Hi
As you may or may not know the government have contrived in their
'un-wisdom' to stop our wonderful tradition of live music (and dance) in
public places (Please read under).
If you, like me, would like to change this then all you have to do is copy the link below which will allow you to put your name to a petition that is currently on the Downing Street petition site.
Let's keep live music in our ears and hearts!
Music/Licensing Laws - Official Downing Street petition.
The recently introduced changes in licensing law have produced an environment where music and dance, activities which should be valued and promoted in a civilised society, are instead damaged by inappropriate regulation.
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, 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.
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'). 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.
We call on the Prime Minister to recognise this situation and take
steps to correct it. The live music/licensing e-petition questions this, and
now has nearly 2,800 signatures. It currently stands at no.19 in the list of 1,702 petitions on the Number 10 website:
http://petitions.pm.gov.uk/licensing
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, please encourage friends to sign.
See the full MORI reports on this site:
http://www.culture.gov.uk/Reference_library/Research/research_by_dcms/live_music_exec_summary.htm
Thanks for your support!
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