Ventnor Blog

E-petitions really are the new black … each week another seems to pop up. Luckily, it seems that there is great value in them, as the word spreads far quicker than the old days when you’d be accosted on the street by someone in a raincoat with a clipboard and pen.

Living on an Island which is heavily populated by musicians and citizens who enjoy going out to listen to music in pubs and raising school funds with charity gigs, I guess the petition below is pretty darn relevant.

Apparently, there is a government move to make it extremely difficult for musicians to perform live in small venues, or for schools, pubs and charities to raise money for causes through musical events. This new legislation will inhibit the central role music making has in our lives and communities.

As an example, did you realise that if you and your mates sing Auld Lang Syne in the pub on New Years Eve and the landlord doesn’t have the correct licence, he/she could be fined?

Signing the petition, which takes less than a minute could make a vital difference to the nurturing of community music making, and enabling young musicians to find their feet in the performing world.

The live music/licensing e-petition now has over 60,000 signatures. It currently stands 3rd in the list of 1,702 petitions on the Number 10 Website. The deadline is in June and the petition needs to do better to make an impression on ministers, and to encourage DCMS (Department for Culture Media and Sport) to implement music-friendly amendments.

So go on, make a difference and put your name to the petition.

Background on the petition.

[Image of music in a pub (not on the IOW, but hey) courtesy of DLG]

Politics, Music