You may have heard recently about a bill cleared by the House Of Commons relating to live music performances in small venues, and you might be wondering what this actually means and how it affects you, or your local community. In a nutshell, it’s a good thing. Here’s why.

In 2003 the Licencing Act was passed meaning that all venues regardless of size or purpose, who wanted to put on live music, needed permission from the local authority to do so. The application process was slow, troublesome and costly. The primary purpose of the Act was to counteract the relaxation in drinking laws which brought about an expectation that there would be an explosion in the amount of live music taking place. The Licensing Act 2003 also placed a greater responsibility on those who are licensed to sell alcohol to show how they intend to promote the four licensing objectives: public safety, the protection of children from harm, the prevention of public nuisance and the prevention of crime and disorder.

The reality of course was that a huge number of venues ceased all live music and the painful licence application process merely served as an additional nail in an already closing coffin in the British pub and small club industry. The actual end result was less music venues, less work for musicians, less value for venues to offer and less access to local talent and live music by the general public. Having seen a boom in the last decade with Summer Festival and large scale concert attendances, this Act seemed to directly hamper the ability for the general public to enjoy a pastime they are clearly quite fond of. In addition with the closure of up to 40 pubs per month in the UK,  the Act made life even more difficult for the trade and was never going to produce positive results or perception.

The Fix

On January 20th 2012 a motion was passed to scrap the Act allowing the live music scene to re-establish its creative and often spontaneous nature in the UK. Don Foster MP, responsible for lobbying the change, said

“Private members’ bills are rarely passed, and it’s even rarer that they do so with the unanimous support of every MP as happened today. The current system has had a deadening effect on the performance of live music in small venues. At the moment, the landlord of a small pub could face a big fine and imprisonment for letting a customer play a piano without a licence. The support received this afternoon from all MPs from all political parties just goes to show how important live music is in our country and the overwhelming support for changing our obstructive licensing laws. We’re now only one step away from the Bill becoming law and creating an even more vibrant and successful live music culture. This will benefit hundreds of small pubs, restaurants, schools, churches and community halls, and strengthen the British music scene immensely.”

This change in the law is undoubtedly a great thing for live music overall and we are grateful to Don Foster and those who voted in favour of removing the red tape around simple musical performances.

You can help by letting your favourite venues know that they can also now host live music, licence free. They can look upon live music once more as not only entertainment but as a significant value-add to their business.

You can let bands know of somewhere you recommend and lastly, make sure that you take the time to go and enjoy some of the highly talented local musicians and bands in their natural habitats. Get along to a gig! You can find our gig diary here if you would like to join us!

Check out www.lemonrock.com for live music listings in your area.