The Stage

Live music licensing petition reaches list of top issues

Published Tuesday 13 February 2007 at 14:40 by Nuala Calvi

A petition calling on the prime minister to free music from ‘burdensome’ licensing regulations has attracted more than 10,000 signatures and made it into the top ten petitions on the Downing Street website, out of a list of almost 3,000.

Started by musician Dominic Cronin last year, the petition now ranks alongside bids to scrap ID cards and planned vehicle tracking and road pricing policies as one of the public’s top gripes with the government.

The news comes just weeks after the Department for Culture, Media and Sport pointed to the success of the legislation in a survey that showed more than 60% of smaller venues now have a licence for live music.

Ministers claimed the act would make it easier for pubs and clubs to host music by introducing a tick box for live entertainment in the applications forms for liquor licences. But the act also did away with the old ‘two in a bar rule’ that allowed one or two musicians to play without the need for a licence.

In a further embarrassment for the government, the proprietor of a London bar is to meet with the chair of its Live Music Forum, Feargal Sharkey, after challenging him to hear about the problems faced by venues applying for a live entertainment licence.

Ged O’Sullivan, proprietor of Ryans Bar in Stoke Newington, said: “I estimate that it will have cost me nearly £20,000 by the time the process is finished, and this does not take into account loss of earnings. And that is just to have the live music that we’ve always had. Even then I am not sure of the outcome. I know many other licensees who are just not bothering because of the hassle. Sign the petition here: http://petitions.pm.gov.uk/licensing/