However, the Act having passed parliament is a valid (if not optimal) basis for society to operate.

No matter what tactics where used to get this Act passed, I think we can all agree on that. However, we must also recognise that the 'spin' was not and is not the words of the legislation. This latest draft 'statutory' guidance is continuing this 'spin'. And if this is passed/accepted, it will only result in even more confusion between what the words of the Act say and the guidance/'spin'. And between what music is licensable and what is not, and for what reasons.

I am not sure if our licensing officers see it this way, but as far as I can see, under this guidance to the the Act, the playing of any recorded music is now licensable. As is the performance of any live music - unless in is considered (in the first instance by the licensing authority but ultimately by the courts) to be 'incidental' (apart of course, from all the many other specific exemptions).

Local authority licensing officers, who have traditionally considered recorded music not to be licensable, and persecuting live music, to be their main goal, will be reading this guidance in orded to form their local licensing policies. The guidance helpfully tells us all that, the Act does not define the word 'incidental'. It also tells an operator that their must first decide if they need a Premises Licence. It also tells us all (including LAs) that in cases of doubt, the operator should seek the advice of the local licensing authority. Which is not really a lot of help as this body will be reading the very same guidance.

So the guidance is fudging and passing the whole shebang to the local licensing authority (and the courts. Which means in effect, that it is being left to the same licensing officers, whose additudes have caused most of the the problems to live music in the first place. So this is why it is so important for us all to get involved at this local level and to do it NOW. To get our local councillors who sit on the licensing committees to set policy based on the interpretation of the Act/guidance, that is the best one for out local areas.

So that these very same licensing officers are carrying out the policies towards live music, that we wish to see - rather than making policy and interpretations, that we do not.