The much-maligned Licensing Act has had a corrosive effect on live music in smaller scale venues, which might have benefited from the old "two in a bar" exception under the old licensing regime. This sidestepped the need for premises to apply for a licence if two, or less, musicians were playing.

However, the current legislation - controversially - swept that away, also ignoring a suggestion from the MU and others that the Government should introduce an exception for venues with ...