The bill proposed by Councilman Mark Squilla last week would require restaurants, nightclubs and bars accommodating 50 people or more to collect contact information for all performers. They would be required to give the information to police, if asked. Police would then decide whether they get a license to perform.
The proposal unleashed an outcry by musicians and fans on social media.
2 comments:
This plan seems absolutely out of touch and off base. Since the police department seems to be rejecting the plan, it's quite unlikely, from my perspective, that the bill will actually pass through city legislators. However, I still find it interesting that the bill gained enough momentum to even be thought about as a possibility. This just seems like a messy way of including more red tape for any business that uses live music as a part of their overall business model. I just really can't see the small, family owned restaurant that does live music every Friday and Saturday night wanting to fill out a ton of forms to go get their local musician that is being payed the smallest of fees to be guaranteed a legal performance. This seems like it would be a crushing blow to new musicians just starting out as well, as it would make it harder for them to get gigs in the first place.
Part of the fun of DJ culture is the fact that anyone can pick up a MIDI turntable and start mixing. By beginning to usher in these regulations, the fun of the job will start to be diminished, and then all the DJs will be 60 year old men with nothing better to do because all the hip musicians have moved on to something that doesn't require them being held down by the man. As Brennan said, I don't particularly see this going through legislation, as there doesn't seem to be a clear city-wide benefit from the time and effort requiring all of those performers to register. The place where this came from appears to be one of fear, as the old white folk in the police department feel threatened by the incoming wave of EDM culture that they aren't sure how to handle. This is exacerbated by the increased scrutiny on police officers, since every single action they take is watched and analyzed for how PC they are. With good reason, mind you, but still, shutting down DJs is not a way to earn goodwill.
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