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Government plans to require just about anyone who wants to stand up and sing or play music (p1) to go and find themselves a venue that has gone to the trouble and expense of obtaining a licence might seem reasonable, or even desirable, to mainstream arts organisations.
They have been jumping through licensing hoops since time immemorial. But their view is unlikely to be shared by the many professional musicians trying to scratch a living by entertaining the public at the 110,000 bars, restaurants and pubs across England and Wales, or at the thousands of churches and village halls which present live music as part of a commitment to their local communities. Let?s just suppose, not unreasonably, that some of those venues decide not to go to the trouble and expense of applying for the ?entertainment? element of the new Premises Licence ? or if they do, to pass on the inevitable costs of that to their performers. The resulting diminution in access to live music is surely not what was intended for the flagship licensing legislation currently passing through parliament. It?s difficult to believe that any government in its right mind would have an interest in slashing the income earning potential of musicians eking out a modest living on the pub circuit. So what really lies at the bottom of it all? Surely it can?t be money. The cost of changing the system, and the burden on local authorities that will have to inspect all those currently unlicensed premises are hardly likely to be offset by the as yet unpublished licensing fees. Even if they are, the amount of money raised will be a drop in the ocean of public finances. More likely, as one campaigner so succinctly put it, the new rules are a ?by-product of bureaucratic consistency? ? fine for those who operate in the mainstream and for those with an infrastructure able to contend with the vagaries of existing red tape, but hardly appropriate for small operators, and especially inappropriate for a Government that espouses equal opportunity for all. If this new law concerns you, make yourself heard at the meeting in London on January 6, before it?s too late.