License to Killjoy? Part two

By Adam Ford

I've never had the pleasure of traveling abroad, but apparently wherever you go – from Bangkok to Timbuktu – people mention only one thing when you tell them you're from Liverpool. It's not the legendary 'scouse wit'. It's not the Reds, the Blues, or even Ron Dixon's latest heart attack. It's music. ‘Ah! The Beatles!’, the Thai and Mali people exclaim. Or so I'm told anyway. So it's fair to say music plays a big role in the Liverpool way of life. With this in mind, where will we be if the new Licensing Bill is passed? As promised in the last Nerve, I will examine the effects the legislation could have on Merseyside and the rest of England and Wales. Will the Beatles of the future have somewhere to play, building their confidence and reputation? Or are we destined for a bleak cultural Chernobyl where there is no escape from Atomic Kitten or whoever it is next week?

First off, a recap for those of you not lucky enough to have read the first article. The Licensing Bill, currently before Parliament will allow pubs and clubs to open more or less whenever they want. Hooray! But now for the bit they tried to keep quiet.... all venues wishing to hold pre-advertised entertainment must apply for an Entertainment License, which will cost around £500 plus a £150 per year inspection fee. Inspectors are likely to 'recommend' measures to bring some premises up to locally-defined standards, meaning further costs. If a licencee or performer breaks the law, fines of up to £20,000, and/or six months imprisonment will result for all parties involved! Kim Howells, the government minister behind the changes, has claimed that the new laws will undo the harm done to music by the ‘absurd’ law he intends to replace, but his response has done little to calm the fears of those directly involved in the music scene. In January, hundreds of musicians carried-out a large protest in front of Parliament, wearing masks and holding blank musical scores to emphasise their point. Petitions have been set up on the internet, and furious letter-writing campaigns launched.

Alan Peters, Deputy Chair of the Musicians' Union Liverpool Branch, is outraged. As a writer and performer for many local blues bands, and the proprietor of Groovin Records – an independent label – he is clearly in a great position to assess the potential impact. I interviewed him to gauge the opinion of the music industry.

What effect(s) do you think the new licensing laws will have on your personal activities within the music scene?

These new licensing laws will be disastrous for me in the fact that they will destroy my 'bread & butter' gigs due to the fact that the smaller venues will not be able to meet the new restrictions and fees. This in turn will probably force me onto the dole. A prospect that really annoys me and brings me into direct confrontation with the party I have supported all my life!

What effect(s) do you think the new licensing laws will have on the music scene as a whole?

This will be disastrous for the 'ordinary' musicians (the foot-soldiers of the music biz) but not the fat-arses like Elton and McCartney, as all monies from licensing besides going to the treasury goes to those 'who have and not to those who have not'. Nothing is new in the fact that by giving these very privileged, albeit talented musicians, silly titles to bring them on-board into the 'establishment' stops them from being too controversial. This is a policy to wipe out the grass roots – the very foundation of live performance music – in favour of the massive global entertainment organisations with their large screen broadcast entertainment and juke box music. Local 'live' music will go the way of the corner shop in the wake of the global supermarkets! If no license is required for a crowded bar with big screens and a powerful PA, why is the provision of even one musician to be a criminal offence unless licensed?
Why should live music in England and Wales be subject to greater regulation than Scotland, Ireland and elsewhere in Europe?

Surely though, the Musicians' Union would kick up a stink about these changes?
That's their job isn't it?

But anger has also come from more unexpected sources. Harry Ross, vicar of St Luke's Church, and Chaplian of Everton FC, has complained that the Licensing Bill hits small venues hardest, especially those who do not serve alcohol – such as church halls. Ross recently told local press, ‘a £500 fee would be a prohibitive figure for St Luke's and for at least 80% of other parishes in Merseyside’.

Despite Kim Howells' expressed intention to strengthen the music industry, many fear that live music will soon be decimated by government policy. Liverpool – with its rich musical tradition dating back centuries – will be hit more than most. A capital of culture? Ah, that legendary scouse wit...