Charisse Beaumont, chief executive of Black Lives In Music, joined the Chancellor Of The Exchequer Rachel Reeves, Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner and Mayor Of London Sadiq Khan at a government roundtable, focused on reducing red tape in the hospitality and leisure sectors.
The event, which took place at Ronnie Scott's jazz club in London's Soho, brought together key industry stakeholders to discuss the government's newly announced measures to boost the British night-time economy, particularly for venues like pubs, clubs, and restaurants.
Beaumont's participation has come at a critical time as she leads BLIM’s REMEL Survey, commissioned by the Mayor Of London. The REMEL (Race Equality In Music Events Licencing) survey is being launched with the Musicians’ Union, UK Music, LIVE and Mayor of London, and addresses over-policing and discriminatory licensing practices in the UK live music industry, with a focus on gathering data and stories from black and brown artists, promoters, and venue managers who have experienced unfair cancellations and discriminatory licensing practices.
This roundtable represents a crucial opportunity to connect our REMEL Survey with the government's new initiatives to reduce red tape in the hospitality and leisure sectors
Charisse Beaumont, Black Lives In Music
The REMEL initiative examines the legacy of Form 696, which was used by the Metropolitan Police Service until 2017 to inform licensing decisions about live music events. It required promoters and venues to state the expected ethnic makeup of an event’s audience. Although discontinued, its impact continues to affect licensing decisions and interactions within the industry. BLIM’ research has uncovered patterns, including cultural venues with predominantly Black and Brown music programming being unable to secure the longer operating hours necessary for economic viability, last minute cancellations and more, despite no evidence of adverse effects.
At the roundtable, Beaumont spoke about unlocking the economic potential of the UK's night-time economy by removing discriminatory licensing barriers that disproportionately impact Black and Asian-led events.
"This roundtable represents a crucial opportunity to connect our REMEL Survey with the government's new initiatives to reduce red tape in the hospitality and leisure sectors," said Beaumont. "The discriminatory licensing practices we've documented directly impact the viability of music venues that showcase diverse artists and programming. We're encouraged to see the government taking steps to address these barriers to growth."
