Del Gland
27-01-2003, 11:08 AM
:veryangry :veryangry :veryangry
For a person who is really dumbfounded about the way this country is being run, I was astounded to hear about the affect of the new licensing laws on live music. Does this really mean that you won't see more than 2 people on stage in a pub anymore? Is my only escape from the dirge that is Saturday Night TV going to be a kareoke machine ?
Here is some info. I will be very interested to see if anyone can actually say that they back it. For those that don't, there is a petition address at the bottom!!
Billy Bragg and Jools Holland are among hundreds of musicians protesting in London against proposals they say could criminalise carol singers.
They are gathering on the day of Mozart's birth to lobby MPs against the Licensing Bill, which proposes the reform of entertainment licensing.
Among the protesters are members of the Musicians' Union, including Blur drummer Dave Rowntree, who will join the lunchtime protest at Parliament Square.
Musicans' Union spokesman Keith Ames said members feared there could be a "tax on music" as a result of the new bill.
Billy Bragg is a longtime supporter of live music
The bill has prompted some members to call for its 80-year-old ties with the Labour Party to be severed, while more than 40,000 people have signed an online petition.
A spokesman for the Department for Culture, Media and Sport, which drew up the bill, said the government intended to allow venues to sign up for automatic entertainment licences when they applied for an alcohol licence.
"Rather than crippling music it will actually help it spread," he said.
Weddings 'affected'
But Mr Ames said although the union had been "waiting for years" for the entertainment licensing laws to be changed, there was now a danger they could be "changed for the worse, rather than the better".
The union claims the bill could mean 110,000 pubs, bars and restaurants in England and Wales would lose the right to allow one or two musicians to perform.
More than 15,000 churches outside London and 5,000 registered members' clubs would no longer be exempt from licensing regulations for public concerts.
Wedding receptions, corporate functions and parties would be also affected if performers were paid.
It is also feared that churches could need a licence to ring their bells, while buskers could be committing an offence.
The maximum penalty for an unlicensed performance would be a £20,000 fine and six months in prison.
The bill has gone through the House of Commons and is now in the Lords.
http://www.petitiononline.com/2inabar/petition.html
Do your bit!! :p
For a person who is really dumbfounded about the way this country is being run, I was astounded to hear about the affect of the new licensing laws on live music. Does this really mean that you won't see more than 2 people on stage in a pub anymore? Is my only escape from the dirge that is Saturday Night TV going to be a kareoke machine ?
Here is some info. I will be very interested to see if anyone can actually say that they back it. For those that don't, there is a petition address at the bottom!!
Billy Bragg and Jools Holland are among hundreds of musicians protesting in London against proposals they say could criminalise carol singers.
They are gathering on the day of Mozart's birth to lobby MPs against the Licensing Bill, which proposes the reform of entertainment licensing.
Among the protesters are members of the Musicians' Union, including Blur drummer Dave Rowntree, who will join the lunchtime protest at Parliament Square.
Musicans' Union spokesman Keith Ames said members feared there could be a "tax on music" as a result of the new bill.
Billy Bragg is a longtime supporter of live music
The bill has prompted some members to call for its 80-year-old ties with the Labour Party to be severed, while more than 40,000 people have signed an online petition.
A spokesman for the Department for Culture, Media and Sport, which drew up the bill, said the government intended to allow venues to sign up for automatic entertainment licences when they applied for an alcohol licence.
"Rather than crippling music it will actually help it spread," he said.
Weddings 'affected'
But Mr Ames said although the union had been "waiting for years" for the entertainment licensing laws to be changed, there was now a danger they could be "changed for the worse, rather than the better".
The union claims the bill could mean 110,000 pubs, bars and restaurants in England and Wales would lose the right to allow one or two musicians to perform.
More than 15,000 churches outside London and 5,000 registered members' clubs would no longer be exempt from licensing regulations for public concerts.
Wedding receptions, corporate functions and parties would be also affected if performers were paid.
It is also feared that churches could need a licence to ring their bells, while buskers could be committing an offence.
The maximum penalty for an unlicensed performance would be a £20,000 fine and six months in prison.
The bill has gone through the House of Commons and is now in the Lords.
http://www.petitiononline.com/2inabar/petition.html
Do your bit!! :p