With a pledge for £500,000 to set up new rehearsal spaces, the Government today underlined its commitment to support live music. In its response to the Live Music Forum’s report, it also undertook to explore exemptions from licences for some small venues and to work with the Mayor of London to protect venues.
The Forum’s report, published in July, made recommendations on how the Government could improve the licensing system for live music venues and how it could better promote live music. Recommendations the Government will take forward include:
- exploring an exemption to help small venues, such as restaurants, cafes and community halls, whose main business isn’t to put on live music;
- setting up pilot, professionally equipped, community rehearsal spaces for young people, for which £500,000 will be made available over the next two years;
- working with the Mayor of London to see what can be done to ensure key music venues are not closed down in London and, if they are, to explore how suitable replacements can be provided; and
- helping the National Union of Students (NUS) to re-establish a live music network to increase the number of universities putting on live music.

http://www.culture.gov.uk/Reference_library/Press_notices/archive_2007/dcms153_07.htm