Live Music Forum Report 2007 published today

Honestly, you wait ages for a meaty bit of licensing-related news and then everything happens at once. Today the Live Music Forum, chaired by Feargal Sharkey, published it's report into the live music scene in England & Wales and how it has been affected by the Licensing Act 2003.

PDF copies of the report can be found on the DCMS website here and a statement from licensing minister Gerry Sutcliffe (I must have missed the press release about his appointment) is here.

There are 28 recommendations in all, 13 of which concern the operation of the Licensing Act itself and some very good points and suggestions are made. Although the emphasis is on live music rather than the provision of regulated entertainment generally, many of the Licensing Act-related recommendations highlight areas where the legislation is downright unhelpful, even for those doing their best to comply with it.

Having read through the review theses are the recommendations I'd like to highlight, either because I found them especially thought-provoking or because I agreed with them most:

Recommendation 4 - "A mechanism is created to allow a representation in favour of an application for live music to be framed in a way that it can be justified by a member of the general public". This is an interesting one. The report mentions the difficulties for making representations in favour of a licence application, the system allows them in theory but is skewed greatly in favour of objections. It's also true though that members of the general public who wouldn't meet the criteria of an 'interested party' could be negatively affected by loss of amenity if a music venue were to close. The report doesn't suggest how such a 'mechanism' would work which is fair enough - I'm at a loss to how it could work too.

Recommendation 5 - "As a matter of some urgency a definition of ‘Incidental Music’ should be placed on the face of the Act". I'm not sure I quite agree with the LMF's recommedation for the wording to be inserted into the Act but it's a step in the right direction. The report is pretty on the money as far as highlighting the apallingly drafted area of incidental music is concerned. It's a subject I intend to come back to in more detail.

Recommendation 7 - "Ministers should review the current variation system with the express goal of providing a simplified, fast-track licensing process....especially for smaller premises". I think this is a must. The current system places a disproportionate burden on smaller businesses.

Recommendation 8 - "Ministers should take whatever action necessary to ensure that both the letter of the law and the spirit of the Section 182 Guidance is adhered to". This is a reference to practices by certain Local Authorities aimed at proactively restricting applications for live music and three further recommendations continue the theme. The case studies provided in some cases are startling. However, it is stressed that it is a small minority of councils that "have developed repeated patterns of heavy handed, negative decision-making."

Please read the report itself for the whole text of each recommendation and the other matters raised. This blog isn't here to cover the items on the better promotion of live music and the planning issues that have been uncovered but they make for interesting reading (well, if you're into that sort of thing).

I'm always interested to see how this sort of issue is handled in the media. The headline-seeking press release shouts that:

"some very small scale live music events have had to be cancelled or had unnecessary restrictions placed on them"

but of a more generalist conclusion can be found on page 32:

"The Licensing Act 2003 has therefore not brought about the devastation which some had feared and it would be irresponsible to suggest otherwise."

It doesn't take a genius to guess which quote the press will jump on but both are equally true. I'm a great fan of live music and it was clear from the outset that the Licensing Act, in all it's badly drafted glory, would lead to absolutely unnecessary disruption of some live music events. This is a shame and was perhaps (being generous) unforseen. However, if steps are not taken to rectify the errors made then it would be quite unforgivable.

Share This Post