The Government is currently passing a law to restrict the Live performance of music in venues. The law basically requires pubs to apply for a license before they are allowed to play live music. Furthermore, each venue can only apply for 12 licenses a year. What this means is that old pub round the corner that puts on live bands and performances all the time for a bit of fun will have to stop. All them little places that you go to for a few quick covers of songs or to tidy your skills before you do the larger events will disappear. This may be ok for the pubs that do the once a month live music night but then it’s all added paper work that will hinder live music. Pubs are a haven for amateur musicians having a bit of fun or starting their careers, this legislation will destroy that activity. If it comes into effect it I don’t believe it would be too far fetch to say this it would heavily restrict the influx of music into our lives. The music industry is a hard business to get a foot hold in and this is just adding oil to the step. At the moment these restrictions apply to England and Wales but it won't be long before scotland follow suit then the island of culture and diversity will surely become the island of bureaucracy. Now there is hope in a form of a petition which can be found here http://petitions.pm.gov.uk/licensing/ The petition closes very shortly in June so i urge people to act straight away. The music industry needs help not hindrance The following information is taken from www.lastminutemusicians.com The petition needs to do much better to make an impression on ministers, ad to encourage DCMS to implement music-friendly amendments. The petition is for everyone, not just musicians. Please consider signing if you haven't already done so. If you have signed, encourage friends to sign. Points to remember about the new legislation: a.. The unlicensed provision of even one musician is a potential criminal offence (although some places are exempt, including places of public religious worship, royal palaces and moving vehicles). Max penalty: £20,000 fine and six months in prison.   b.. The rationale is to prevent noise, crime and disorder, to ensure public safety, and the protection of children from harm.   c.. But broadcast entertainment, including sport and music, is exempt - no matter where, and no matter how powerfully amplified.   d.. In the transition to the new regime, bars with jukeboxes, CD players etc were automatically granted a license to play recorded music; but their automatic entitlement to one or two musicians was abolished.   e.. For the first time, private performances raising money for charity are licensable.   f.. School performances open to friends and family are licensable - they count as public performances.   g.. Under the old regime all premises licensed to sell alcohol for consumption on the premises were automatically allowed up to two live musicians (the 'two in a bar rule').   h.. In December, DCMS published research confirming that about 40% of these have lost any automatic entitlement to live music as a result of the new Act: 'Very few establishments that wanted a new license were denied it, and many who were previously limited to 2-in-a-bar now have course, with the fact that 40% of establishments now have no automatic means of putting on live music (i.e. they would have to give a Temporary Event Notice).'   ['Licensing Act 2003: The experience of smaller establishments in applying for live music authorization'; December 2006', paragraphs 6.1.1 and 6.1.2 'Conclusions', p54; Caroline Callahan, Andy Martin, Anna Pierce, Ipsos-MORI]. Temporary Event Notice - in effect a temporary entertainment licence. Only 12 are allowed per premises per year. They cost £21 each. See the full MORI reports on this site: http://www.culture.gov.uk/Reference/ link to sign petition is here.. http://petitions.pm.gov.uk/licensing/