The government backed group charged with assessing the effect of recent licensing law changes on live music has said that the new rules are putting small-scale concerts at risk.
As much previously reported, The Live Music Forum, headed up by Feargal Sharkey, was established in 2004 to advise on new rules governing live music in the UK that stemmed from a 2003 licensing act. A number of recent reports, including one from an LMF sub-committee, have suggested the new rules have had a detrimental effect on grass roots live music, but until this week the LMF itself had not formally reached such a conclusion.
But in the new report, Sharkey says that while the UK live music sector is generally in good health, the new licensing rules are having a negative impact on the grass roots of the sector, because pubs are now less likely to put on unsigned artists because of the bureaucracy now required to get a licence for such a gig. He writes: "The UK's live music scene is a massive success, just look at the growth in summer music festivals and the speed at which events sell out. But we believe that putting on an acoustic folk trio, for example, should not need a license. That small acoustic gig does not impact on crime, disorder or public safety so should not fall under the remit of the licensing laws".
The report makes 28 recommendations for moving forward, including urging local licensing authorities to be more flexible, and suggesting that acoustic-music performances and venues with a capacity under 100 should be exempt from the requirement to get a licence. It adds that some councils are being "unreasonable" when issuing licences, and that that is having a detrimental effect of the music community in their local area.
Commenting on the LMF report, which contradicts the government's own research on the impact of the new live music rules published last year, which had more positive conclusions, Licensing Minister Gerry Sutcliffe told reporters yesterday that he welcomed its "interesting and challenging" findings, adding: "We will now look at each of the recommendations, discuss with stakeholders and will respond fully in due course".
The new LMF report also calls on the government to do more to help establish a better university live music network in the UK, something the commercial bit of the National Union Of Students is currently trying to do anyway, of course. The Forum's report said that the government should "provide whatever assistance, help and financial support necessary" to help build a better college music network through the existing students' union framework. On that Sharkey continued: "Every successful band and artist has to cut their teeth in small venues before making it big. So it makes sense that student unions should be an integral part of the UK's live music circuit. The next unsigned band to play at Reading University could be headlining Reading Festival next year".