The Experience Of Smaller Establishments In Applying For Live Music Authorisation

Summary

This is a summary of the findings of a survey conducted by Ipsos on behalf of the Department for Culture Media and Sport (DCMS), in association with the Live Music Forum (LMF). The survey looks at the experiences of people (predominantly licensees) involved in making new licence applications under the 2003 Licensing Act (see note), with specific reference to how they have found the transition and whether they applied for a licence to allow the staging of live music.

The survey was conducted by telephone between 16th August and 13th September, 2006. The findings are based on 2,101 interviews with 'smaller' establishments across England and Wales, those being public houses, wine bars and nightclubs, hotels and inns, student unions, restaurants and cafés (providing table-side service), members clubs and associations, places of worship and community halls (where licensable activities take place).

Overall pattern of live music authorisations

Across the broad range of establishments taking part in this survey, the proportion with authority to stage live music under the new licensing regime is very similar to the proportion of establishments which used to stage live music, either through a Public Entertainment Licence (PEL) or under other authorisations, such as 2-in-a-bar (60%). Just over three in five establishments (61%) have this authorisation under the new licensing regime. A further 2% have staged live music under some other authorisation (e.g. giving a Temporary Event Notice).

What happened to establishments which didn't have a PEL but staged live music?

The key change in this respect is that 70% of establishments which used to stage live music without a PEL (and know whether or not their new Premises Licence permits live music) now have a Premises Licence which permits the staging of live music events. As, in most cases, there are no restrictions on the number of performers, even those who used to operate under the 2-in-a-bar rule can now stage live music with two or more musicians, except in the few instances where restrictions have been added during the licence application process.

Among those establishments previously operating under the 2-in-a-bar exemption, 71% applied for a Premises Licence which allowed the staging of live music events, just one per cent had their application denied which means that 70% of establishments which previously operated under 2-in-a-bar were granted a premises licence including the provision of live music. This is despite the fact that they were a little more likely than average to receive an objection regarding their application (typically about noise levels).

Among those who used to stage live music without a PEL and who do not now have a Premises Licence permitting the staging of live music, the vast majority (97%) chose not to apply to include live music provision in the Premises Licence. Just three per cent of these establishments (or less than half of one per cent of all establishments) applied for a licence to stage live music but were denied.

What about those who did have a PEL?

Of those establishments which used to have a PEL (45% of all establishments), 90% now have a Premises Licence which permits the staging of live music. (Three in five establishments which had a PEL chose to simply convert their licence with no variations.) Seven per cent of those who had a PEL chose not to apply for a licence to stage live music events, while one per cent were denied a licence to stage live music.

Representations and conditions

Excluding those who directly converted their PEL, three in ten establishments (29%) applying for a Premises Licence which allowed provision for live music included conditions in their initial application, which suggests that they may have taken a pragmatic approach to the licensing process. The conditions were most likely to relate to the timings of their live music events.

Again excluding those who directly converted their PEL, 15% of establishments applying for live music on the Premises Licence received objections. These were most likely to come from local residents (or people representing them), and were most likely to relate to noise levels. Two-thirds of cases where objections were received went to a hearing, whilst others were either dealt with through mediation or, in a small number of cases, the application was withdrawn. Nine per cent of all establishments applying to include live music in their Premises Licence, excluding those who directly converted their PEL, added or had conditions attached to their licence application following a hearing or mediation process.

Overall impressions of application process

Overall, 55% of establishments say that they found the application process "easy" (while 27% found it "difficult"). The key benefit of the new Licensing Act 2003 in terms of the ease of putting on live music is identified as the "lack of a renewals process" — 38% of all establishments selected this from a list of possible alternatives read out to them over the telephone.

Out of all those who applied for live music as part of their Premises Licence, 79% describe themselves at least "satisfied" with the outcome, and just 6% say they are "dissatisfied".

Music with more than 2 musicians: early indications

Over a quarter of all establishments (27%) with a Premises Licence allowing the staging of live music have already put on at least one event where more than two musicians have performed (that is, between November 2005 and September 2006). A further 8% say they definitely will do so. Almost half of all establishments, on the other hand, say that this is unlikely. The micro establishments (those with capacity for fewer than 101 people for live music) are less likely to have staged a live music event with

Technical details

This survey was conducted by Ipsos on behalf of the Department for Culture Media and Sport (DCMS), in association with the Live Music Forum (LMF). The survey looks at the experiences of people (predominantly licensees) involved in making new licence applications under the 2003 Licensing Act (see note) , with specific reference to how they have found the transition and whether they applied for a licence to allow the staging of live music.

Interviews were undertaken across six different types of establishment across England and Wales:

• Public houses, wine bars and nightclubs;
• Hotels & inns;
• Student unions;
• Restaurants and cafés (only those providing table-side service);
• Members clubs & associations;
• Places of worship & community halls — only those where licensable activities take place.

The main stage involved a quantitative survey among a sample of 2,101 licensees (or others within an establishment who had overall responsibility for applying for the establishment's licence during the transition to the new licensing arrangements). The survey results were then adjusted by being weighted back into their correct proportions by establishment type and region (i.e. England and Wales), so as to better reflect the overall distribution of the target audience types.

Interviews were conducted over the telephone, by Ipsos's telephone centre, between 16 August - 13 September 2006.

Reports

• Download the report — The experience of smaller establishments in applying for live music authorisation pdf, 1.2MB (at DCMS website)
• Download the technical report pdf, 725KB (at DCMS website)

Note

• For details, see: 2003 Licensing Act
• In the DCMS press release of 7 December 2006 (Encouraging signs for small music venues — Woodward) it is noted that "a quarter (25 per cent) of premises now have a licence to put on music for the first time." This statement is based on the finding that a quarter (25%) of establishments which did not have a Public Entertainment Licence nor put on music under the old licensing regime now do have a licence that allows them to play live music.