It’s getting tougher and tougher to make a living as an artist, and the city of Philadelphia is trying to make it harder for venues and promoters too. Philly Councilmen Darrell Clarke and Bill Greenlee have put in a proposition for bill No. 100267, which will tack on a new list of requirements and regulations for concert promoters both professional and DIY. Many are arguing that the new requirements will eliminate many of the city’s music promoters as they will be liable not only for the actions of concert goers during the show but afterwards as well.
According to CityPaper.net:
The bill requires that every permit application include a copy of the contract between the venue and the promoter — in effect, making rental prices and rates for each individual promoter a matter of public record . To make matters worse, the cops can deny a permit for any reason and without explanation up to 10 days before the event — which could devastate businesses that fronted costs, to say nothing of destroying the credibility of those trying to book events.
Greenlee states that the reason for the changes in policy are related to a number of “event-driven disruptions throughout the city” including a sold-out show at the Comcast Center that resulted in many concert-goers taking to the nearby streets. The thing that has a lot of people confused on this end is the fact that the Comcast Center is a skyscraper, not a venue, and after searching for two days and asking a few people we know in Philly, we couldn’t find what concert it was that supposedly triggered this bill. Whatever the actual cause of this proposed bill is seems trivial considering that if it’s passed, the cost to businesses would likely be more than what the Congressmen are trying to prevent.
Check out what the actual bill entails here, and if you don’t like it sign the petition here.
