A government commissioned report on grass roots live music in the UK has found that the number of small venues staging music performances is down 5% since the introduction of previously reported new licensing rules that stemmed from the 2003 Licensing Act.
The catchily titled 'Survey Of Live Music In England And Wales In 2007' found that 42% of so called 'secondary music venues' (where live performance is an add on rather than a core part of the business, eg pubs and cafes) had staged music events in the last year, compared to 47% in a similar survey in 2004, before the new rules came into effect. 15% of those venues regularly staged music events this year, compared to 19% in 2004.
This confirms conclusions already held by many in the grass roots music community regarding the impact of the new rules, but contradicts earlier government reports which suggested that the 2003 Licensing Act had had no effect, or a positive effect, on grass roots live music. That said, the report argues that the decline in gigs at secondary venues is actually down to commercial factors - possibly the growth of competition from the primary music venues - rather than venue owners rejecting live music because of the extra bureaucracy introduced by the new licensing rules. The report's authors say anecdotal evidence from venues who staged less music this year suggests that is so.
Nevertheless, Don Foster of the Liberal Democrats, a regular critic of the new licensing arrangement, told CMU: "This survey provides the clearest indication yet that the explosion in live music promised by the Government clearly has not happened. The Liberal Democrats repeatedly warned that the Licensing Act was a missed opportunity for live music. While a range of factors have contributed to this decrease, there is no doubt that the Licensing Act has dealt a serious blow to the growth of live music in this country".
Despite the official line re the decline of music at secondary venues, Culture Minister James Purnell admitted he was disappointed the grass roots music sector seemed to be declining rather than growing, telling reporters: "The live music industry is clearly booming but there hasn't yet been the increase in live music in small venues such as restaurants that we had hoped for. I want to do everything we can to support live music. To help ensure that, we will explore exemptions for some venues. Clearly we'd only be looking at exemptions for events that don't cause public nuisance or compromise public safety, [bit] nurturing young bands and artists and making sure they have a place to play is absolutely essential".