El Reg, again, reports that a dozen boroughs in London have implemented a new ‘risk assessment’ policy that attempts to vet performers at any live music event. The policy means the Police can ban any event if they do not receive the personal details of the performers involved. Apparently, the policy has “…already been used to pull the plug on an afternoon charity concert of school bands in a public park organised by a local councillor”. Fair enough, school bands are usually pretty dire, but perhaps this is a little over the top.
The police want information on these events 14 days in advance, so they can evaluate the potential ‘terror threat’. The policy seems to be targeted at music favoured by the black community.
“Have a look at the papers and tell me where the black-on-black shootings happen? They’re around the night time economy, music promotions attract people who have a propensity to use violence. That’s not speculation. We have a duty to prevent that from happening.”
Well fair enough, there’s a point there, but why vet the performers? Surely the crowd are the people who are the potential trouble. I’m a gigging musician myself and I can tell you that if my band(s) incited violence, we would be screwing ourselves over. No venue wants to invite a band that is going to incite a riot or stir up violence, it’ll only cause them trouble. If a band does that sort of thing, they are quite frankly, irresponsible and stupid, and are throwing their future gig chances away. I am involved in and attend gigs of the ‘metal/death metal’ variety and despite the injuries from mosh pits, circle pits and ‘walls of death’ or what have you - there isn’t a focus on violence or incitement, despite these gigs being probably the most ‘violent’ one will come across.
How the police have decided live music is now a potential terror threat is beyond me. All this will do is discourage live music, by making venues less likely to host gigs, and making it harder for bands to be seen and heard. Another example of short-sighted idiocy.