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A new task force to analyse the state of live music in Britain has been established by the Department for Culture Media and Sport in response to opposition from the music industry to the 2003 Licensing Act. The Live Music Forum will carry out a survey over the next six months to create a benchmark of live music activity.
The survey, the first of its kind, will ask promoters about the music they currently present and the audiences they generate. It will identify the barriers to presenting live music and explain why certain areas have a thriving, or struggling, live music scene. The findings of the survey will be used to analyse the impact of the Licensing Act and to suggest potential measures for increasing the scale of live music activity. John Smith, General Secretary of the Musicians Union commented. “The result of the research will enable us to measure the success, or otherwise, of the new Licensing Act”. He acknowledged that the forum represented an unprecedented commitment to live music on the part of the government, adding “I believe that the Live Music Forum will play a vital role in the development of the live performance of music in the next couple of years.” The Forum, which has a two year brief, will include representatives of Arts Council England and the government as well as music promoters and local authorities, and will be chaired by former Undertones frontman, Feargal Sharkey.