Racial bias in London music event licensing, report says

Black-led music events in London face disproportionate restrictions and cancellations because of "racial bias" in licensing and policing, a report has concluded.

The Race Equality in Music Event Licensing (REMEL) report , commissioned by the Greater London Authority, said that black-led events were blocked at higher rates than white-led events in the capital, and South Asian-led events also faced restrictions.

The report said genres including Afrobeats, hip-hop, drill, R&B and dancehall were routinely flagged as "high risk", while indie, pop and rock nights faced less scrutiny.

Cameron Leslie, chairman of the mayor's London Nightlife Taskforce, welcomed the report and its recommendations.

The Metropolitan Police said it understood the "concerns and differing views" on the matter, and would "carefully consider the report's findings".

London Councils, which represents local authorities across London, has been asked for comment.

The report, carried out by Black Lives in Music, was informed by interviews, focus groups, workshops, a survey and internet research. Freedom of Information (FOI) requests were also submitted but were largely rejected or only partially answered.

Researchers said that a lack of race-disaggregated licensing data (data broken down into racial and ethnic categories), limited official datasets and rejected FOIs made some patterns difficult to measure.

Alongside black-led events, the report also looked at South Asian-led events, but found that South Asian music was "largely invisible within licensing records".

The report suggested that South Asian music and cultural events were often allowed to proceed through "negotiation, modified hours and conditions", but said the evidence did not demonstrate that South Asian music was "disproportionately cancelled" in the capital, and incomplete licensing records made firm conclusions difficult.

The report was welcomed by the Musicians' Union, UK Music, the Music Venue Trust, the Night Time Industries Association and LIVE trust, among other organisations.

Dr Hakeem Stevens, report co-author and lead researcher, said they looked back to the beginning of recorded sound in the late 1800s as part of the research.

"We've got incidents of licensing decision issues based around race going back that far - to the 1910s, 1900s and so forth," he said.

"People assume that the problems came about in the last 10 to 15 years," he said, adding that the issue dated back to approximately 100 years.

Issues dating back more than a century were not cited within the report, but the legacy of Form 696 was discussed.

The Metropolitan Police form, which was scrapped in 2017, had been dubbed a "racist" risk assessment.

It was introduced in 2005 after a spate of shootings at London club nights, and influenced similar forms used by other police forces in England .

The report said that licensing decisions for live music events were influenced by risk and "racialised assumptions about culture and safety".

The report said this meant that "institutional racism" was "reproduced" through routine processes rather than explicit bans or policies.

Event organisers and venue owners told researchers that "police intelligence" was "routinely used to justify heightened scrutiny of black and South Asian events", and gave examples of being asked to fund a police presence or private security for an event.

One licensing officer interviewed for the report said that sometimes this intelligence was credible, and other times it was "hearsay".

"These practices act as a hidden form of economic exclusion," the report said.

"Events are not directly banned but are made logistically or financially impossible to run.

"Police intelligence, which is often unverified, becomes a tool for discouraging organisers and forcing them to pay additional costs."

The report added: "Each [event] cancellation represents not only a financial loss but also a denial of economic and cultural participation in one of the UK's most successful creative industries."

Charisse Beaumont, chief executive of Black Lives in Music, said entrepreneurs and artists in the capital at the beginning of their careers were "oppressed and suppressed due to the licensing system" and its "disparities".

Kwame Otiende, owner of The Jago, a live music venue in Dalston, and chairman of Hackney Council's Licensing Committee, said: "The report evidences what we have always known. Inequality has always existed, especially within the night-time economy."

The report set out 19 recommendations, including a review of the licensing system, transparent evidence standards and a requirement for cultural impact assessments for major licensing decisions.

It also called for "a licensing system rooted in fairness, transparency and equality", adding: "Safety must never be used as a cover for racial bias, cultural misunderstanding or disproportionate restriction."

Michael Kill, chief executive of the Night Time Industries Association, said the report highlighted an "uncomfortable reality" in parts of the licensing, policing and local authority decision-making system, and provided "evidence, recommendations and a platform for change".

Metropolitan Police commander Neerav Patel said the force understood the "concerns and differing views" on the matter.

"Our focus will remain on making fair, evidence-based contributions to the licensing process which balance the interests of venues, promoters, artists and local communities, while never compromising on our ultimate priority which is to keep Londoners safe," he said.

"We will carefully consider the report's findings in that context."

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