Press Releases
The day live music died
In the wake of the UK Government’s clear reluctance to act on the bureaucracy of the Licensing Act 2003, admit it’s mistakes and end the ongoing controversy over the Metropolitan Police’s form 696 Andy McSmith, writing in the The Independent Saturday, 18 July 2009, reports:
“You are in a pub, having a good time, and someone walks in with a guitar, drink flows, and the crowd starts singing some old number like, say, "I Fought the Law (And the Law Won)". Before the evening is out, the poor publican could be fighting the law, and the law will win again. Live music is fast disappearing from pubs, clubs, wine bars, restaurants and other small venues, musicians claim, because of a law passed in 2003, when the Government was trying to eliminate teenage violence that they associated with badly organised music events. Hopes were raised recently when the Commons Select Committee on Culture, Media and Sport ended a lengthy investigation into the 2003 Licensing Act by recommending that venues with a capacity of fewer than 200 people should be exempt.“
Read the article in full at http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/news/the-day-live-music-died-1751562.html
