Licensing Act 2003 (alcohol, entertainment etc.)

The Live Music Act 2012

The Live Music Act 2012 (“the Act”) came into force on 1 October 2012 and removes the licensing requirements for:

• amplified live music between 8am and 11pm before audiences of no more than 200 people on premises authorised to sell alcohol for consumption on the premises;
  
• amplified live music between 8am and 11pm before audiences of no more than 200 people in workplaces not otherwise licensed under the 2003 Act (or licensed only for the provision of late night refreshment); and
  
• unamplified live music between 8am and 11pm in all venues.

Where a premises continues to operate other licensable activities such as the sale of alcohol, any conditions relating to live music will be suspended unless they have been added following a licence review.  It is also possible under the Act to reinstate or impose conditions about live music following a review of a premises licence or club certificate relating to premises authorised to supply alcohol for consumption on the premises.

The Act also removes the licensing requirements relating to entertainment facilities and widens the licensing exemption for live music integral to a performance of Morris dancing or dancing of a similar type, so that the exemption applies to live or recorded music instead of unamplified live music.