Good News! Small Venues no longer need a live music licence. Musicians get Busy!

As of today, 1 October 2012, the Live Music Act comes into force. Essentially this means Small venues in the UK will no longer need a licence to stage live music between the hours of 8am and 11pm. Pub Rock rules and restaurants and cafes will be able to have spontaneous live music without the paper work and previous restrictions.

 I think this new law will be great for musicians and live music bars/pubs/cafes alike and reduce the amount of bureaucracy at the local council level. So what are the nuts and bolts of the Live Music Act? I found a great blog by Cousins Business Law which summed it up quite nicely and is reproduced here -  Click here for their website. This law applies to UK venues.

The Live Music Act comes into force on 1 October. The government (Department for Culture Media and Sport) has also issued a draft paper for consultation by 28 September, so the Guidance will only come after the new provisions are in force! A new revised statutory Guidance is due to be laid before Parliament on 31 October 2012.

So what are the changes?
Firstly, note that the Act only applies to Live music. So playing recorded music by DJs and other types of regulated entertainment will still require a licence and will be subject to conditions.

Dancing: where a venue has a premises licence to sell alcohol for consumption on the premises and for dancing, and has a permitted capacity of no more than 200, any licencing authority imposed conditions relating to the dancing will not have effect unless they were imposed as necessary for the prevention of crime or disorder or public safety, or were imposed on a formal review. This is not new. But what will remain a bizarre anomaly is that any recorded music played to accompany the dancing will still be and will be subject to licensing authority imposed conditions, and as any conditions are most likely to be about the music, I see little achieved by this provision.
Only dancing to live music or unamplified music which qualify as set out below will in effect be free of conditions.

Live Music:
1) Amplified live music: live music in premises authorised to sell alcohol for consumption on the premises satisfying the capacity limit of 200 will not be considered regulated entertainment  in the first place, and will not therefore require authorisation under a premises licence or a temporary event notice, if it is limited to live music between the hours of 8 am and 11pm (longer if a special celebration has been declared) and the premises are open for the sale of alcohol. Also note that amplified live music in workplaces for no more than 200 people will not require a licence. But conditions can be imposed on a review of a Premises Licence as if it was regulated entertainment.  

2) Unamplified live music: between 8am and 11pm it is not deemed regulated entertainment at all, whatever the capacity of the premises, and whatever type of premises, whether licensed or not, and so again no conditions can be enforced unless it is on a Review, which of course only apples to premises with a Premises Licence.
If a Premises Licence does authorise live music, any conditions will not have effect as far as live music satisfying the capacity limit and hours is concerned, unless again they are imposed on a Review of the Premises Licence.
And note the position with beer gardens. The draft guidance makes it clear that only beer gardens included within the Premises Licence-identified as such on the plan filed with the Licensing Authority, will come within the new regime for live amplified music. If they are not, they can still be used for unamplified music between 8 am and 11pm without a licence.

Entertainment Facilities:  finally, an opportunity has been taken to abolish the often confusing requirement that entertainment facilities themselves have to be licensed as regulated entertainment . So it will no longer be necessary to be licensed just because you have a dance floor and amplification, or perhaps a stage. It is the entertainment itself which may need an authorisation, unless it is small scale live music only or unamplified music, as described above.
If you need any help in understanding this new world of music and dancing licensing please give me a call. These legals were written by Nigel Musgrove, specialist in Licensing law. Give him a call if you are confused - Thank you Nigel.
Tel: 0845 003 5639  

The Guardian quoted Jazz musician Buster Birch today describing the change as "a huge thing", adding that live music is "very important for our society and our culture".  UK Music, the group which represents the music industry, estimate that up 13,000 more venues could now start holding live music events.

We at Love Live Music are passionate about Live Music in small venues and agree with Buster and UK Music.  Hopefully this new law will facilitate a greater amount of Live Music throughout the UK and encourage greater business in our Pubs, Cafes and restaurants.

So look forward to Live Music gigs springing up everywhere, Musicians dust down your instruments, talk to your local pubs, restaurant and cafe owners and get playing! I look forward to listening to some of you in the next few months.

Sources: The Guardian, BBC Website and Nigel Musgrove http://www.business-lawfirm.co.uk/Default.aspx

Sally Jackson Freeman

1/10/2012

Digital Transformation: Why I love the London 2012 volunteers by Rick A Freeman

Digital Transformation: Why I love the London 2012 volunteers...: This blog is inspired by the 70,000 games makers who gave freely of their time and energy in support of London 2012.   Top job – you have m...

FREE Live Music in London this summer

Free Live Music in London this summer during and post 2012 Olympics

  A couple of you have been asking me about where you can see the best Live Music in London this summer. So here is the latest news and availability for FREE live gigs.

BT River of Music - 21st- 22nd July

Hundreds of exceptional events combine this summer to form the London 2012 Festival but one of the most eagerly anticipated is the BT River of Music series of concerts. This weekend some 1,500 musicians from more than 200 countries will gather to perform at six separate stages along the Thames for a free music festival. Each of the stages represents a different continent and it’s musicians from that region that will contribute to its programme. The Scissor Sisters headline the Americas stage at the Tower of London; Beverley Knight appears at the Europe stage which is divided between Somerset House and Trafalgar Square; the Noisettes feature on the Africa stage in London Pleasure Gardens, but this is also a one-off opportunity to experience authentic performances from lesser-known musicians that rarely have the opportunity to play in London.


Please note that tickets for the Americas stage (Tower of London), Europe stages (Somerset House, Trafalgar Square) and Saturday at the Africa Stage (London Pleasure Gardens) are now completely fully booked and there will be no tickets available over the weekend of the festival at the site.

Get your FREE tickets for Africa (Sunday), Asia and Oceania here: FREE TICKET LINK

FREE tickets to BT London Live During the Olympics

Don't worry if you didn't get any Olympic tickets the games will be streamed lived to Hyde Park, Victoria Park and Trafalgar square every day of the Olympics in the BT London Live Event.

Open every day at 11am you can get guaranteed entry to the Hyde Park arena before 2pm to experience the screenings of all the Olympic medal events, sports participation and daily arts and cultural events.*
*Guaranteed Entry Tickets for August 4 at BT London Live Hyde Park are valid from 7am until 9am. Guaranteed Entry Tickets for August 7 at BT London Live Hyde Park are valid from 8.30am until 11.30am. (Subject to license)
Guaranteed Entry Tickets do not allow for readmission to the site, however customers will be able to rejoin the queue. Admission will not be guaranteed. You can book Guaranteed Entry up until 23:59 the day before your chosen date of attendance.

There is loads of great live music from Tom Jones to Paul Carrack, The Feeling, Temper Trap and others.

Victoria Park in London's East End will host live music across the 17 days & include Alexandra Burke, Soul II Soul, Norman Jay and Friends, Club de Fromage, Courtney Pine, Sean Rowley’s Guilty Pleasures, Slow Club, Sound of Latin London and more.
You can also have a go on a special zip wire and Observation Wheel at extra cost.



ParaOlympics - Live at Trafalagar Square - 29th August - 9th September 2012


Live Music continues to be a part of the BT London Live experience during the Paralympics, with a concert planned each evening.

BT London Live relocates to the iconic London landmark for the Paralympic Games, featuring Channel 4 coverage of the Games on a 60m² giant screen daily between 11am to 11.30pm.

Aspiring able-bodied and non able-bodied athletes alike will also be able to experience and try out a range of Paralympic sports in what will become one of the world’s most iconic sporting venues – albeit just for 12 days.

Guaranteed Entry tickets are not available for BT London Live Trafalgar Square which offers walk in entry at all times, on a first-come, first-served basis, subject to capacity.

Itunes festival at the Roundhouse Camden, London - FREE TICKETS FROM THE WEBSITE


The iTunes Festival is coming back in September 2012. There will be more than 60 artists to perform 30 consecutive nights of brilliant live music at the Roundhouse in London. This year’s spectacular line-up includes Usher, Jack White, Norah Jones, One Direction and more. Every ticket to the iTunes Festival is free—you can apply to win tickets to any performance.

If you can’t make the gigs, watch the shows live or view them afterwards for a limited time on your computer with iTunes, or on your iPhone, iPad or iPod touch with the iTunes Festival app. You can also stream the concerts to your big screen wirelessly using AirPlay and your Apple TV.

I hope this has helped. London really is giving away tickets to the best Live Music in the world.
#LoveLiveMusic

Essential Reading - The Science of Email Timing

Ever wondered the best time to send out your emails? 

Read Bobby OWsinski's useful overview

Thank you Bobby - a superb Blog

As I’ve posted here before, your email list is one of the most powerful marketing tools that an artist or band (or a business or brand) can have. Recently some data courtesy of Dan Zarrella and Pure360 has shown that there is a definite science behind the timing of sending your emails, just as there is for posting on Facebook and Twitter. Here are some tips and tricks for getting your email timing just right. Remember that all times are Eastern Standard Time.

Before sending an email, consider:
6AM to 10AM: The second most prevalent email opening time is at the the beginning of the working day.

10AM to Noon: Consumers are not opening marketing emails, choosing instead to focus on work.

Noon to 2PM: Consumers are unlikely to open emails during their lunch break, choosing instead to spend their time on news and magazine alerts.

2PM to 3PM: Right after lunch consumers remain focused on work, responding mostly to email offers related to financial services.

3PM to 5PM: Consumers start thinking about their personal situation and as a result, more emails relating to property and financial services are opened during this time period than any other.

5PM to 7PM: Consumers tend to open business to business (B2B) promotions during this period, but also open more holiday-type promotions during this period than any other.

7PM to 10PM: The time period when recipients are most likely to respond to consumer promotions is when they get off work.

10PM to 6AM: This is an email dead zone, as most sent during this period are ineffective.

Here are a few other timing issues to consider:

• Bounce rates are highest in the morning.

• Open rates are highest during the weekend by 45%.

• Open rates are 53% higher in the morning.

• Click rates are 10% higher on the weekend and early morning.

• The most effective sending frequency is 1 to 4 per month.

• Conversely, the unsubscribe rate is higher at 1 to 4 per month, but levels off at 8 to 31 per month.

• The highest unsubscription rate occurs among those who have been subscribers for less than 10 days.

• The highest click-through-rate (CTR) is with those who have been subscribers for less than 10 days.

A common question after reading the above tips is, “What if my fans are spread out in different time zones?” This one is easier than you think. All email services like iContact, Constant Contact, Mail Chip, etc. provide the ability to segregate your mailing list into groups and schedule your mailings. Simply divide your list into the various different time zones and schedule your email blast accordingly.

To sum things up, don’t send those promotional emails out without first thinking about the timing. It could mean the difference between your fans reading it or not.

For more on Music 3.0 music promotion techniques, visit the Music 3.0 blog.

This is a great article and these principles can be applied to your marketing strategy whether you are in the music business or just trying to get your product out there.

Sally Jackson Freeman

Marilyn at MOMA

Looking through some of my pictures from 2011 and here is a Marilyn Print by Andy Warhol that is hanging in MOMA, NYC. I would highly recommend a visit to this art gallery. They were very relaxed about taking photos - so all copyrights belong to MOMA for this image. Happy New Year!

The Correspondents at the Hi Fi Cub Leeds by Bill Moody

Love live Music welcomes new music blogger Bill Moody to our blog. Bill reports on his night out at the Hi Fi Club in Leeds.

I’m still trying to piece together how many musical genres are mashed up into this act and ‘act’ seems more appropriate in the vaudeville sense rather than ‘band’. Scat vocals, ragga chanting, lindyhop styles, a soupcon of jazz get a powerful backbeat which is just as eclectic. Mr Bruce is a longer skinnier Cab Calloway from the Golden Age of cinema. Mr Chuckles is master of the darker deck arts and makes it modern.
Brilliantly off beat and original they make the mash of 20s swing and Amen Break powered jungle a far more likely marriage than first thought. If Bertie Wooster was fed a litre of Lucozade this is how he would dance the Charleston. I don’t know what he’d have to be fed to make Bertie hang off a ceiling girder and stage dive from there but that’s what we got. Who knew that bluebottle iridescent leggings and Tudorbethan jacket and architect’s round glasses would work either? I’m lying about the leggings. I only saw those on YouTube. The dancing was so frenetic and the crowd were so tightly packed I ouldn’t see much but a blur of fringe and a big grin. Everything is so mixed up it can’t be given a genre. I’m not even going to try or I’ll end up with a word like Tesco. Techno/disco/90s. Remember? Answers on a robopigeon telegrammymail please.
The Hi Fi Club Leeds is a tiny basement (like trying to perform “on a skateboard” according to Mr Bruce) and the atmosphere is great. They have a fantastic mix of music with the emphasis on fun and funk. I haven’t been here since Marva Whitney and Osaka Monoaural about 18 months ago but you get the idea about the variety just from seeing Marva and these guys in the same review.

Jack Jackson: Rhythm and Radio Fun Remembered - Thank you Stephen Garner

Last Thursday, 27th October 2011, BBC Radio 4 Broadcast the following programme about my grandfather Jack Jackson and his legacy to our family. It was great fun making the programme and celebrates the musical and artistic legacy that he has created within the family.

If you have a spare half hour, have a listen on iplayer. International listeners can access the link too:

BBC Iplayer Link - click here

Here is the BBC Radio4 Programme description:

Exploring the legacy of musician and broadcaster Jack Jackson through the lives of three generations of his family.

Kenny Everett said of him 'He was the first person to have fun on radio', and although he inspired many broadcasters and musicians it is the incredible impact Jackson still has on his family over thirty years since his death which proves the most fascinating.

This programme uncovers another Jackson dynasty overflowing with musicians, record producers and artists all striving to preserve his memory and make their own impression on the world. His two son's established a recording studio, used by artists such as Elton John, Tom Robinson and Motorhead. His daughter is a successful artist and designer and several of his grandchildren are forging effective careers in the music business - one of which co-founded production group 'Bimbo Jones' which has taken numerous number ones to the top of the dance charts. His great grand children are all encouraged to be musical.

Jackson's career in entertainment spanned fifty years and he is recognised today in the Sony Radio Hall of Fame.

Jackson formed his band in the thirties and was a regular at London's Dorchester Hotel. He became a disc jockey in 1948 on the BBC Light Programme. His innovative programmes featured a mix of linking his voice with comedy clips and popular music. According to his grandson Marc he was the first broadcaster in Britain to introduce the technique of sampling and to present a "clip show" programme.

He is also cited as the man who gave the BBC the nickname 'Auntie' and the first voice heard on ITV.

Jack Jackson died in 1978, but over thirty years later his spirit is very much alive in the daily life of generations of Jacksons.

His memory has touched every branch of the Jackson family tree and as this programme reveals they all respond to his influence in a variety of interesting and different ways.

The programme is produced by Stephen Garner.