The other thing that occurs to me is that there is a specific exception where the music etc is merely incidental to the main activity, with the example of a boxing match or a fairground.

In a bar in a pub, a few people playing to each other in acornwer are surely incidental to the main activity, (which I suppose is drinking and social interaction) unless maybe you've driven all the regulars out...

All right, there are sessions which are entertainment, but most are, for most people, something happening in the background. That's not saying the music may not be very high quality, but it's a different kind of activity from a concert or a dance. And that "incidental" exception does appear to offer room for commonsense to be applied.

I wonder if we've got any magistrates on the Mudcat who'd like to comment?