Tangle of regulations stopping NSW live music more entrenched than reported
HUNDREDS more NSW pubs, clubs and restaurants are suffering under “archaic and laughable” bans on live music than previously thought, an inquiry has heard.
NSW
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HUNDREDS more NSW pubs, clubs and restaurants are suffering under “archaic and laughable” bans on live music than previously thought, an inquiry has heard.
Departmental bureaucrats from Liquor and Gaming NSW have discovered 669 venues across the state have either full bans on entertainment or partial restrictions, far more than the 289 originally estimated.
The parliamentary inquiry into the state’s music and arts economy was told many of these restrictions were “ludicrous”, with venues banned from having disco balls, dancing or musicians performing rock and roll.
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In some venues, the licence rules are so restrictive that only “cover bands” are allowed, while in other venues musicians are forced to only play “non-offensive acoustic style” music, or just country and western or jazz.
Liquor and Gaming NSW deputy secretary Paul Newson said the error in estimating how many venues were hit by the restrictions was because many licences were historic and handwritten and confusing.
Committee member John Graham MLC asked Mr Newson to justify the restrictive rules around the type of music allowed, saying “they look laughable” and Australian musicians had given evidence about not being able to play live in venues.
The inquiry heard at least 94 venues have outright bans on entertainment, with 575 under partial restrictions, but the figure “could be even higher” as other classes of DA licences had not been checked.
“It’s dramatically higher, so we’re now talking about hundreds of venues across NSW most of which are told ‘no entertainment, no live music’,” Mr Graham said.
“I cannot understand why these venues are being told no live music – can you enlighten us what is the problem?”
In reply, Mr Newson said: “In context, there are some 17,600 licences in NSW, so in context it’s a reasonably small percentage of those licences.”
Mr Newson was then asked directly “what is the principal, why ban musicians?”
“Look, I don’t think that’s necessarily a helpful construction, we are not in the business of banning musicians, we have no role in regulating musicians as such,” Mr Newson said.
But Mr Graham replied: “There are hundreds of venues here told no light music in their liquor licence which you are regulating. Why is that a condition of a licence? What’s the purpose it serve?”
Mr Newson said the conditions were “imposed under the statute” and each file would need to be checked “one by one”.
The public hearing was told the South Dubbo Tavern was told entertainment was to be “confined to solos, duos, small cover bands and country and western music”.
“A singer songwriter turns up at the pub, under the liquor licence they can’t write their own song, they are restricting this to cover bands,” Mr Graham said.
The Wharf Road Restaurant and Bar was not allowed to have “disco type entertainment” and can only play CDs of “soft” rock and roll, while the Stoned Crow in Sydney’s north is only allowed to play jazz and rock and roll.
Earlier, the hearing was told by live music consultant John Wardle that the NSW government needs to adopt a Strategic Plan for the music industry and cut red tape.