Ridiculous that PRS for Music are making life much tougher for small venues to stream given the times

PRS for Music are looking to license for small-scale live-streamed gigs imposing a flat fee that's at least a 9 per cent tariff on events that bring in less than £500. Too kind. Talk about a great time to do this. Helpful or what for small venues (nearly all jazz venues are small) under the cosh and as we speak all still fighting to survive. Will this encourage or discourage the many small jazz venues currently not jumping on the streaming bandwagon to stream? Such untimely planning certainly won't encourage the smallest operators and budding musician entrepreneurs who promote their own initiatives. A rethink is urgently needed by PRS for Music given the straits small jazz venues are in. Here are the charges that PRS are envisaging

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Oliver Weindling hosts the latest edition of his weekly Vortex-led online gathering this afternoon.

Begun during the first Lockdown and featuring contributions by leading improvisers, poets and visual artists, national and international promoters, record label bosses and the media, this week's Lenin-inspired discussion is on Brexit that takes as its starting point the title of the great Russian revolutionary's 1902 pamphlet What is to Be Done? Burning Questions of Our Movement.

Oliver writes in his popular weekly missive to the regulars ahead of this week's edition ''We have been here for the past year, and indeed have lived with iniquitous penalties on foreign musicians before, such as the MU [Musicians' Union] limits on American musicians after the Second World War. I also found this quote made in the past. Where is it from? (I'll tell you where it comes from if you come along.) 'Now is the chance for the native to assert his proper pre-dominance in the land of his birth… After having their employment prejudicially affected for years past by Germans and Austrian, [musicians] may be excused if they fail to see how the substitution of French and Belgians is likely to benefit their condition.' So, let's think also about how to adapt and survive?''

Oliver Weindling, above, outside Hackney club the Vortex in Dalston. Photo: marlbank

Held at 5.30pm. Usually lasts around an hour. Join Zoom meeting. Meeting ID: 493 403 5526. Passcode: vortex123

Ridiculous that PRS for Music are making life much tougher for small venues to stream given the times

Vortex leads debate on adapting and surviving