The city tries again to legislate Clubland — without any input from the music community
With nary a word of public notice — and with no public hearings seeking input from the Chicago music community — the City Council Committee on License and Consumer Protection was set to meet again today in its rush to push through a new “promoters’ ordinance” initially proposed last year and only delayed at the last minute when music activists caught wind.
Like most laws, this one has a noble goal: to regulate concerts and dance events in Chicago, rooting out illegitimate “underground” promoters operating without proper licensing and therefore possibly endangering music lovers. Like many laws drafted from only one perspective, however, this one could cause serious, perhaps unintended consequences for people who try to promote live music here.
Of course, the city already has myriad laws on the books dictating proper licensing and safety codes for concerts and clubs — not the least of which is the controversial “anti-rave ordinance” passed in the ’90s, which came on top of police, fire, city building and health department oversight and the always acute watch of aldermen and neighborhood groups.
But suddenly, city officials — chief among them committee chair Ald. Eugene Schulter and acting director of the Department of Business Affairs and Licensing Mary Lou Eisenhauer — have an urgent need to create an entirely separate part of the city code tightening the reigns on promoters even more. And this need is so urgent that little effort was made to seek any input from the promoters or the people who work with them.
If approved by the committee and the City Council, the law would require anyone promoting any event drawing more than 100 people to obtain a license — even if they are working with a well-established and already licensed promoter.
Licensees would also have to carry at least $300,000 in commercial liability insurance (even if the venue is insured), and they would have to be at least 21 years old (thereby ruling out enterprising college students, D.I.Y. punk fans and other budding young entrepreneurs from hosting a concert or a legal rave — and if you think that’s not a good idea, you should know that several of the top promoters in Chicago actually started their careers at age 18 or 19).
What all this means is that if, say, a local fanzine wanted to promote a monthly concert featuring the bands in its new issue at a well-established local club of 200 capacity, the editors would have to apply for a promoters’ license and meet all of the requirements and expenses, even if the club already has a license and can boast of a clean record of trouble-free events. The same would hold true of many regular benefit gigs.
As it now stands, the law would only allow venues with “fixed seating” — that is to say, chairs that can’t be removed — to host one-time events by unlicensed promoters like our magazine or benefit in the example above. This requirement rules out the exact sort of clubs that would most benefit from these events, including venues such as the Empty Bottle, Buddy Guy’s Legends and Metro.
One music activist who asked not to be named said that “the net impact of this law is simple: It’s going to make it harder for a lot of people to promote concerts in Chicago, and therefore there’s going to be less music in Chicago.”
Stay tuned for more as friends of the local music scene mobilize in an effort to make themselves heard at City Hall.
Comments
Thanks so much for keeping us in the loop, Jim. These provisions are so transparently greedy and draconian. I hope the City Council has the sense to reject them, though I fear they do not.
Posted by: Steve | May 7, 2008 11:29 AM
Erm, as a guy who promoted local shows at established venues, I have no idea how this is supposed to be in the public's interest.
Posted by: tankboy | May 7, 2008 12:20 PM
Anything the general public can do about this at this point or is it too late?
Posted by: Sheila | May 7, 2008 02:07 PM
I wonder how they define "promoting."
Posted by: Jake | May 7, 2008 03:51 PM
Last time this happened (with a little more notice) there was a nice mobilization, but not sure at this point what can happen. Looks like a fight after the fact will have to come about---
Here's Schulter's emial - ward47@cityofchicago.org
Posted by: avant/chicago | May 7, 2008 04:00 PM
I NEVER post to these.. maybe I will more often.
Take care to remember when the city of Chicago began to exact these same methods against the film industry. They required extra taxes, passed multiple new regulations... and let's not even get STARTED with the unions..(And No I Am NOT Anti-Union). Anyway...End result.. Most movies are shot on-location in Canada.
Just here to let you know, there should be a balance.
These situations SHOULD be regulated to a point, to ensure public safety. We all KNOW how seedy some promoters can be, BUT when either the PROPRIETORS (or) the REGULATORS get too GREEDY... it WILL dry up any given industry, along with any collateral industries...*ahem* real estate / foreclosures / sub-prime crash / overall credit crisis ....
This is a situation where the regulatory body is way out of line, and it will result in adverse financial repercussions.
Posted by: Say My Name.. Who cares | May 7, 2008 04:07 PM
First, absolutely nothing gets advanced without Mayor Daley's input...so he blessed this. This is so funny that the Democrats are willing to take more and more rights away from the average citizen. Higher Taxes, More Fees, More Constraints, More Paperwork, More Payoffs........it is the Democratic Party Way!
Posted by: Bob | May 7, 2008 04:08 PM
Is the text of this proposed ordinance online anywhere? Has it changed in any significant way from last year (I'm guessing not). (I can't find a copy that's still up from last summer, either)
Posted by: Candice | May 7, 2008 05:31 PM
it seems like this law would only encourage the type of behavior they are trying to curb. if a promoter was going to host a 200 person event at a legitimate venue, but then realized they'd need all this insurance etc, wouldn't the promoter host the event at an underground venue? can we please have less thought out and mbarassing laws? if these are the same people behind foie gras...
Posted by: jiiiim | May 8, 2008 07:34 AM
We got a copy posted online, and some links. If people do not like the ordinance as it is right now, then contact your aldermen and city government and show up WED at the meeting.
http://Chicago-Music.org/promoters.php
Posted by: Mark | May 8, 2008 05:58 PM
The communists and fascists (Daley and Blagejovich) are really working hard to destroy what was a great city for a while. Time for the good people of Illinois and Chicago to wake up and fight. Otherwise, Chicago will be just like Detroit in 10 years.
Posted by: Brian K | May 8, 2008 08:50 PM
It's laws like this that give good government a bad name and allow idiots like the Wingnut above to rave out about Evil Democrats.
Posted by: Ron S | May 9, 2008 12:26 AM
....if these are the same people behind foie gras...
Posted by: jiiiim | May 8, 2008 07:34 AM
-----
Yeah, I'm sure the animal rights people are behind this.
Pea brain.
Posted by: Ron S | May 9, 2008 12:30 AM
is anyone really surprised?
this city is all about trying to rid people of their money.
you need a license to tie your shoe in this city.
you can't drink a fountain soda without paying 3 taxes.
king daley needs to go. who votes for these cronies
Posted by: king daley | May 9, 2008 09:29 AM
it's all about money in this city. the city is greedy. Daley is greedy. Soon you'll need to buy a license to sneeze on your sidewalk.
raise your hand if you find this appalling. now keep your hand up if you were in support of the CTA tax hike or the transfer tax hike, put your hand down if not. those with their hands up: shut up, you have no right to complain
Posted by: dane | May 9, 2008 09:35 AM
wait a minute, daley and blagojevich are definitely not communists. and theyre not really fascists either. find other things to call them, cause those dont stick. mob boss, autocrat, theres plenty of epithets that are far more appropriate
i can tell you that this will affect a tremendous number of community organizations, youth programs, artist collectives, and activist groups that i've worked with, among many, many others. and it will open up excuses for dictator daley to bust in on more events and groups he doesnt like. crack down style.
hope everyones contacting their own aldermen too! no pasaran!
Posted by: leftist | May 9, 2008 01:16 PM
this legislation will only be enforced when convenient for the city to do so if passed.
in other words, most music will die but things like youth programs will certainly be overlooked - which just further shows how stupid the law is to begin with.
Posted by: smarts | May 9, 2008 02:41 PM
Within a year I will be gone from this over-legislated, over-taxed crap hole that is cook county. Chicago is killing itself.
Posted by: Anonymous | May 9, 2008 10:50 PM