Last week, we reported on a new piece of legislature in Philadelphia that threatened to reshape the city’s music community. The bill, which would have forced musicians to provide personal information for a city-wide artist registry and gave concert veto power to law enforcement officials, was widely criticized among people at every level of the music industry.
Fans, promoters, venue owners, musicians and more petitioned against the bill, racking up over 15,000 signatures in the first three days of its existence. Excitingly, it seems that the outreach effort was successful!
In a new report published by Philly.com, it seems those responsible for the bill have promised to amend some of the more concerning aspects. According to Squilla, the bill was initially intended to crack down on venue/bar owners who live stream performances without a license, and the additional provisions were only added as a means to crack down on unsafe events.
The retractions almost certainly stemmed from the outpouring of the community’s criticism, as Squilla was trending on Twitter just one day after the proposed bill circulated among social media. Let’s be thankful that the City Council has aligned on the side of reason.
*Update* According to The Key, Philadelphia City Councilman Mark Squilla has officially withdrawn the bill. Admitting he had misinterpreted his own words, he explained, “To me, [the bill] wasn’t affecting venues, it was only affecting the people operating without a license,” and admits taking full responsibility. To a room full of music industry representatives, he said: “We don’t want to discourage artist expression…That’s the last thing we want. By no means am I anti artist or anti-venue.” The bill will be entirely re-written from scratch, and with additional consideration to Philadelphia’s thriving music scene. Big ups to those who helped lead Councilman Squilla to reason!