Ordinance could hurt Chicago promoters, music venues

Sarah Marie Young performs at the Morse Theatre, a jazz venue in Chicago's Rogers Park neighborhood. (Photo: Hollis Templeton/Medill)

BY HOLLIS TEMPLETON – MEDILL NEWS SERVICE

An ordinance that would limit music venues from hosting events by independent promoters is making the rounds again at Chicago’s City Hall.

The so-called promoters ordinance was introduced to the Council’s License and Consumer Protection Committee in June 2007 by the Department of Business Affairs and Licensing at the request of Mayor Richard Daley.

The ordinance comes as a delayed reaction to a February 2003 disaster that killed 21 people at E2 nightclub on Chicago’s South Side.

The promoters ordinance would require independent promoters to pay licensing fees ranging from $500 to $2,000 and obtain $3,000 in liability insurance, even if they are working in conjunction with venues that have been licensed by the city and have their own liability insurance.

While City Council’s license committee approved the ordinance, it was tabled before a full council vote due to an outcry from the music community. A revised version of the ordinance is expected to be brought up for a vote in committee again soon.

The Chicago Music Commission, a nonprofit music advocacy organization issued a statement on March 3 in objection to the latest draft of the ordinance.

“The ordinance creates an unnecessary and overly burdensome layer of new regulation that will increase costs for the smallest and most fragile of Chicago’s small music businesses while failing to add viable safety and transparency measures,” wrote members of the CMC.

The Commission argues that there are less-burdensome means available to address public safety and accountability concerns—like existing insurance coverage and the control of venues during events—and that those means should be better enforced before an ordinance takes effect.

“I just hope that something like this would never come to fruition, because it would definitely hurt the little guy, said Reggies manager Robby Glick. “That’s what the arts are all about—giving indie artists a break and a platform.”

Listen to Tim Tuten, co-owner of the Hideout and a member of the Chicago Music Commission, talk about the importance of music, the music “business” and promotion of artists in Chicago. 

Tags: Chicago city council, Chicago Music Commission, Hideout, promoters ordinance, Reggies, Robby Glick, Tim Tuten