NEWS
Why Edinburgh City Council’s live music policy needs to
change – and how you can help
Music Is Audible is seeking a common-sense change to current legislation. Henry Northmore speaks to Sneaky Pete’s Nick Stewart to fi nd out more
COMING UP
• The West End Festival (Fri 3-Sun 26 Jun): coming to Glasgow’s west end (obviously). • The Edinburgh International Film Festival (Wed 15-Sun 26 Jun): programme highlights include Jason Connery’s Tommy’s Honour, Gillies MacKinnon’s Whisky Galore! and the premiere of Pixar’s Finding Dory. See features, page 12.
• LeithLate (Thu 23-Sun 26 Jun): multi-arts festival. See feature, page 34.
At the moment, City of Edinburgh Council has one of the most restrictive live music policies in the UK. It currently contains a clause that states: ‘all amplii ed music and vocals shall be so controlled as to be inaudible in neighbouring residential premises.’ If a venue doesn’t comply they are in danger of losing their liquor license. Realistically most live music venues can’t survive if they can’t sell drink.
‘What doesn’t work is the line that music must be “inaudible to residential premises”,’ explains Nick Stewart from Music Is Audible and live / club venue Sneaky Pete’s. ‘In a heavily tenemented city like Edinburgh it’s simply not possible to have full inaudibility. So what happens is places that would put on gigs don’t, because the fear that they could lose their license means it’s not worth the risk.’
Music is Audible is a working group currently consulting with the council, seeking a small but crucial change to the wording of the current legislation. They propose a more l exible: ‘Amplii ed music shall not be an audible nuisance in neighbouring residential premises.’ At the moment a venue can be get in trouble simply for hosting live acts. ‘The real difference is that the current clause presupposes that being able to hear music is a nuisance and actually environmental health law doesn’t say that at all,’ adds Stewart. MIA is looking for a common-sense approach where each case is judged by eight criteria as laid out by the Consultation on Guidance to accompany the Statutory Nuisance Provisions of the Public Health etc (Scotland) Act 2008: Impact,
12 THE LIST 2 Jun–1 Sep 2016
Locality, Time, Frequency, Duration, Convention, Importance and Avoidability. It might seem like a minor difference but it could have a big impact. If we want a thriving cultural scene in Edinburgh, music needs a platform. ‘There could be a lot more music but everyone plays it safe,’ says Stewart. ‘I personally feel that young people growing up in Edinburgh, if they are real music fans, want to move to Glasgow because they feel like there’s a stronger scene. If there was more of a sense of a scene in Edinburgh more people would stay and that would promote the scene continually.’ What Music Is Audible is seeking is a realistic workable alternative. ‘This is a reasonable request for a change in legislation. It’s quite the opposite of a noise-makers charter. Any venue that was chancing their arm and trying to make too much noise would i nd themselves labelled as being a “nuisance.” This clause will only benei t venue operators who operate their venues well and work with their neighbours.’
If you think this matters and want to show your support, you need to send your views in writing to The Edinburgh Licensing Board via LiquorLicensing@ edinburgh.gov.uk or post (marked ‘Licensing Board Consultation’), to Licensing, City of Edinburgh Council, 249 High Street, Edinburgh, EH1 1YJ, before 22 July. ‘If you disagree with us, that’s also the address to write to,’ adds Stewart, ‘but I’d request that anyone who does please have a good read through the literature we’ve set up (musicisaudible.org) so they can see just how reasonable our proposal is.’
• Glasgow Comic Festival (Tue 28 Jun-Sun 3 Jul): in various venues across the city. See feature, page 37. • King Tut’s Summer Nights (Wed 13-Sat 30 Jul): a showcase for some of the freshest musical talent in the country, with more than 70 acts performing over two weeks.
• The Edinburgh Food Festival (Wed 27-Sun 31 Jul): this foodie extravaganza will be satisfying appetites in George Square Gardens. Expect street food, local producers, talks and debates. • Mugstock (Fri 29-Sun 31 Jul): a not-for-proi t festival in Mugdock Country Park. It’s got music, food, drink, theatre, art and more, and the lineup includes Stanley Odd, Colonel Mustard & the Dijon 5 and Young Aviators.
• The Edinburgh Festivals: yep, clear August in your calendar for the Edinburgh Festival Fringe (Fri 5-Mon 29 Aug), the Edinburgh International Festival (Fri 5-Mon 28 Aug), the Edinburgh Art Festival (Thu 28 Jul-Sun 29 Jul), and the Edinburgh International Book Festival (Sat 13-Mon 29 Aug). Look out for our August issues for full coverage, and check out all our reviews at list.co.uk festival.