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Brigid Simmonds OBE is Chief Executive of the British Beer & Pub Association (BBPA), the UK’s leading organisation representing the brewing and pub sector. Its members account for 96 percent of the beer brewed in the UK and around half of Britain’s 51,000 pubs.
Pubs remain at the heart of local communities. And for pubs that put on live music, they really are the place where live performance music in Britain begins. This is something we in the pub trade are very proud of, and I am sure we can do more together to promote this unique marriage.
In recent years, pubs have faced big challenges and continue to do so. The whole hospitality sector has been squeezed during the recession, as household incomes have taken a hit. However, pubs have faced a range of very specific problems.
We’ve had years of punitive tax and regulation as we’ve been unfairly targeted by government in an effort to address the issue of irresponsible drinking. This approach has become increasingly ineffective, as around 70 percent of alcohol is now bought from shops and supermarkets.
Beer is still the nation’s favorite pub drink, but beer has been subjected to huge increases in taxation as the government tries to balance its books. We have seen beer duty rise by 36 percent since the budget of March 2008. The VAT rise has also hit pubgoers when it comes to food and drink, as pub food is subjected to VAT whereas supermarket food often is not.
On the regulation of music, however, there is a somewhat brighter picture. The government deserves credit for its current proposals to deregulate live music, something we have been calling for over a number of years. The current regime is unnecessarily restrictive and hampers small gigs.
While many pubs have closed, those that are thriving have been working hard to ensure the best possible experience for customers. Pubs have always adapted to challenging times - just look at the transformation of pub food over the past 30 years. Changes to meet consumer needs continue with pubs installing broadband internet access and state-of-the-art coffee machines, to give just two examples.
To keep customers coming in, this trend to innovate and adapt applies just as much to entertainment. For pubs, music is certainly a vital ingredient. In Britain, we have a music industry that is world renowned. And, while the stars of tomorrow are using the internet to reach their audience in new ways, I still see pubs as a natural home for the promotion of live music, right at the heart of the community - and we must champion this more.
To this end, we have been delighted to work with PRS for Music over the last two years to support the Music Makeover campaign, which has really helped pubs to maximise the potential of their music offering, to the benefit of local musicians and, of course, the venues themselves. I hope this continues.
But music in pubs extends way beyond live performance. When it comes to recorded music, I fully recognise that collecting societies have an entirely legitimate role in representing the commercial interests of the music industry. To this end, the BBPA has enjoyed a very positive relationship with PRS for Music in recent years. I have been really impressed with the society’s willingness to recognise the need for a supportive approach and to reinvest in music in pubs.
That said, the relationships between collecting societies and pubs will not always be a bed of roses. The collecting society model, though legitimate, has inherently monopolistic features that we need to guard against. It can cause problems without the right culture and approach.
As a trade body representing pubs, we haven’t been afraid to challenge music tariffs when we believe they are wrong. Alongside other industry bodies, we took the PPL Background Music Tariff to the Copyright Tribunal, and in 2010, we secured fee reductions for pubs that are worth £6m each year. We will continue to challenge tariff increases if we feel they are unjustified.
PRS for Music deserves credit for adopting a voluntary code of practice on customer service over its collection of fees. At a meeting in parliament in early November, I called for a voluntary code to cover all collecting societies that would establish minimum standards along the lines of those set out in the Hargreaves review. We need more openness and transparency in tariff negotiations, and collecting societies must use a sound evidence base to support any proposed increases in tariffs in the future.
Music and pubs are a vital and vibrant combination. Let’s work together to ensure we get the best out of both.
Pubs remain at the heart of local communities. And for pubs that put on live music, they really are the place where live performance music in Britain begins. This is something we in the pub trade are very proud of, and I am sure we can do more together to promote this unique marriage.
In recent years, pubs have faced big challenges and continue to do so. The whole hospitality sector has been squeezed during the recession, as household incomes have taken a hit. However, pubs have faced a range of very specific problems.
We’ve had years of punitive tax and regulation as we’ve been unfairly targeted by government in an effort to address the issue of irresponsible drinking. This approach has become increasingly ineffective, as around 70 percent of alcohol is now bought from shops and supermarkets.
Beer is still the nation’s favorite pub drink, but beer has been subjected to huge increases in taxation as the government tries to balance its books. We have seen beer duty rise by 36 percent since the budget of March 2008. The VAT rise has also hit pubgoers when it comes to food and drink, as pub food is subjected to VAT whereas supermarket food often is not.
On the regulation of music, however, there is a somewhat brighter picture. The government deserves credit for its current proposals to deregulate live music, something we have been calling for over a number of years. The current regime is unnecessarily restrictive and hampers small gigs.
While many pubs have closed, those that are thriving have been working hard to ensure the best possible experience for customers. Pubs have always adapted to challenging times - just look at the transformation of pub food over the past 30 years. Changes to meet consumer needs continue with pubs installing broadband internet access and state-of-the-art coffee machines, to give just two examples.
To keep customers coming in, this trend to innovate and adapt applies just as much to entertainment. For pubs, music is certainly a vital ingredient. In Britain, we have a music industry that is world renowned. And, while the stars of tomorrow are using the internet to reach their audience in new ways, I still see pubs as a natural home for the promotion of live music, right at the heart of the community - and we must champion this more.
To this end, we have been delighted to work with PRS for Music over the last two years to support the Music Makeover campaign, which has really helped pubs to maximise the potential of their music offering, to the benefit of local musicians and, of course, the venues themselves. I hope this continues.
But music in pubs extends way beyond live performance. When it comes to recorded music, I fully recognise that collecting societies have an entirely legitimate role in representing the commercial interests of the music industry. To this end, the BBPA has enjoyed a very positive relationship with PRS for Music in recent years. I have been really impressed with the society’s willingness to recognise the need for a supportive approach and to reinvest in music in pubs.
That said, the relationships between collecting societies and pubs will not always be a bed of roses. The collecting society model, though legitimate, has inherently monopolistic features that we need to guard against. It can cause problems without the right culture and approach.
As a trade body representing pubs, we haven’t been afraid to challenge music tariffs when we believe they are wrong. Alongside other industry bodies, we took the PPL Background Music Tariff to the Copyright Tribunal, and in 2010, we secured fee reductions for pubs that are worth £6m each year. We will continue to challenge tariff increases if we feel they are unjustified.
PRS for Music deserves credit for adopting a voluntary code of practice on customer service over its collection of fees. At a meeting in parliament in early November, I called for a voluntary code to cover all collecting societies that would establish minimum standards along the lines of those set out in the Hargreaves review. We need more openness and transparency in tariff negotiations, and collecting societies must use a sound evidence base to support any proposed increases in tariffs in the future.
Music and pubs are a vital and vibrant combination. Let’s work together to ensure we get the best out of both.
