Live Music Act 2012 update
The purpose of this licensing bulletin is to summarise the
provisions of the Live Music Act (The Act) which will come into
force on 1 October 2012.
The Act will amend the Licensing Act 2003 by partially
deregulating live music provisions and removing "entertainment
facilities" for music or dancing as a category of regulated
entertainment.
The specific provisions for live music are as follows:
- to remove the licensing requirement for unamplified live music
between 08.00 and 23.00 in all venues
- to remove the licensing requirement for amplified live music
between 08.00 and 23.00 for audiences of no more than 200 persons
on premises authorised to supply alcohol for consumption on the
premises.
The Act also provides a licensing exemption for live or recorded
music (amplified or unamplified) which is integral to a performance
of Morris dancing or dancing of a similar type. Workplaces will
also be exempt from requiring a licence for amplified live music
between 08.00 and 23.00 for audiences of no more than 200
persons.
The exemption for unamplified live music between 08.00 and 23.00
is interesting in that it applies to all venues and so would
include outdoor festivals and concerts. There is no numbers
restriction on audiences for this particular exemption.
In relation to amplified live music, it is the size of audience
rather than the capacity of the premises or the number of
performers which is relevant for the exemption to apply. However,
the exemption would only apply to the licensed premises and so will
not include, for example, a beer garden unless it happens to fall
within the licensed area on the plan.
The question arises as to what is meant by "live music" as
opposed to recorded music. Recent draft guidance from the DCMS
which is subject to a 'technical consultation' until 28 September
2012 advises that "live music" can include some recorded music
provided the live element of the performance is a 'substantial and
continual' creative contribution. So, for example, a drum machine
or backing track used to accompany a vocalist or band would
constitute amplified live music and therefore it appears will not
be treated as recorded music for the purposes of the live music
exemptions.
It is important to note that the live music exemptions will
apply to existing licensed premises as well as any new licences
granted once the Act is in force. Any conditions on existing
premises licences which "relate to live music" (for example,
closing doors or windows at a specified time during live music)
will in effect be 'suspended' during the exemption period. However,
caution is needed here because if the conditions also relate to
other licensable activities, for example, recorded music, then they
will continue to apply.
Conditions on existing licences which relate solely to
"entertainment facilities" will no longer apply because these
activities will no longer be licensable, although the same caution
applies if the conditions arguably also relate to other activities
which remain licensable.
The Act allows a licensing authority to impose restrictive
conditions regarding live music following a review of a premises
licence and this could have the effect of removing the live music
exemptions. It would also be possible for the licensing authority
to impose conditions which in some way restrict or limit the
provision of 'entertainment facilities', even though these
activities will no longer be licensable from 1 October 2012.
The main purpose of the Live Music Act is to encourage
'low-risk' live music in venues subject to the safeguards mentioned
above. The new provisions are an improved version of the 'two in a
bar' exemption that applied under the previous licensing regime.
Following a long campaign by the live music industry, the
Government have acknowledged that enforcement powers already
available under existing legislation, for example, Abatement
Notices, together with the review powers under the Licensing Act,
are adequate to address any noise concerns arising from these
activities.
