iradiophilly | News - Councilman Squilla Responds to Criticism; Sonic Boom in NJ; SS United States Could Be Saved

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Councilman Squilla Responds to Criticism; Sonic Boom in NJ; SS United States Could Be Saved

by: iradioal - Philadelphia, PA
started: 01/28/16 9:40 pm | updated: 02/01/16 5:29 am

Philadelphia City Councilman Mark Squilla has responded to the widespread criticism of his proposed Bill No. 160016 for amending the statutes related to special assembly occupancy licenses. The bill as written would require venues to keep a record of names, phone numbers, and addresses of all artists that perform at their locations and provide that information to police. The Police would also have say in approval of events. Squilla posted on Facebook that the intention of the bill was to close a loophole that allows venues to skirt the SAOL if they don't have live music or DJs but simply play music from a streaming service or iPod. (like adding a 'jukebox' tax). He did not intend it to 'restrict artistic expression.' The police also said they do not want anything to do with approving events and that people have 1st Amendment rights. Squilla is open to amending the bill and removing any offending language.

SEE ALSO: Music Community Upset over Squall Bill
Additional thoughts added below...

Councilman Mark Squilla
1st District City Council
City of Philadelphia
332 City Hall
Philadelphia, PA 19107
p. 215.686.3458
f. 215-686-1931
e. Mark.Squilla@phila.gov

READ the BILL | SIGN the PETITION | CONTACT the COUNCILMAN

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A sonic boom rocked parts of South Jersey and up the east coast into Long Island and Connecticut this afternoon. Residents first reported tremors and shaking around 1:30 pm and initially thought there was an earthquake but the US Geological Survey said that it was not earthquake but a sonic boom. The National Weather Service also confirmed that it was a sonic boom. Officials at nearby McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst Joint Base said that it was not them; they do not have any supersonic jets at the base. The Naval Air Warfare Center Aircraft Division has said that they were doing routine flight testing of an F-35C in the Atlantic Test Ranges that could have resulted in the booms. It is based out of Naval Air Station Patuxent River, Md.

The SS United States conservancy group issued a statement today that they will hold a press conference next week to announce 'an exciting future' for the ship. That event will be held on February 4th in Manhattan, raising speculation that the ocean liner may become unmoored from it's South Philadelphia dock and returned to New York for any type of transformation. The historic ship still holds the transatlantic speed record for a passenger liner and has been saved from the scrap heap over and over as the conservancy looked for investors and developers to resurrect the giant. Most recently the ship was saved in October by a large donation to keep it docked (at $60,000/month) while the conservancy sought options.

Tonight,
Cloudy skies, temperatures in the mid 30's this evening in Center City

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(1) response

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by: iradioal - Philadelphia, PA | responded: 02/01 5:29 am

Additional thoughts on the Bill 160016:

Bill 160016 contains amendments to an already existing piece of the Philadelphia Code (9-703) and Yes, it may seem like just another fee/license that businesses have to pay and more bureaucracy to track it. Most of the license deals with the safety of the building and owner's responsibilities. I guess the theory is that establishments that routinely attract crowds larger than 50 for entertainment purposes need a special occupancy license over and above just a regular occupancy license because of all the people crammed inside dancing can cause problems with safety.

The bill doesn't have anything to do with broadcasting/streaming a performance FROM the venue or specifically receiving and rebroadcasting a Live remote broadcast. It also doesn't have anything to do with royalties due to performing rights organizations (PROs) like ASCAP or BMI. Any place that publicly plays music owes the PROs money.

This special event occupancy license is meant for places that play amplified music with the intent for dancing. The current law only says DJs and live entertainment. Venues have found a loophole and avoided getting the license by only playing music from satellite services, iPods, or STREAMING from Pandora, Spotify, etc. This updated bill closes that loophole by including all places that are playing recorded music regardless the source. It uses streaming music as an example of a source.

The part of collecting the names of performers has nothing to do with closing the recorded music loophole. However, it is the most contentious part of the bill and the part that Squilla says will be removed after all this outrage. Squilla said the loophole was the original intention.

Originally, they had hoped venues would collect personal contact information of both performers and promoters for every event and make that information available to police. Police would use that information to establish patterns of crime and threats to public safety surrounding certain venues, promoters, and acts. Police could then directly reach out to those parties following incidents at the event, and prepare for possible incidents at upcoming events. One example would be to followup with promoters who plaster concert posters on telephone poles and don't remove them. If they had contact information from the event they could easily track the parties down.

The police have come out and said that they don't want anything to do with approving shows or to be the censor police. That language will be removed.

Reportedly, the bill will be amended to remove language requiring the collection of artist's information. Venues may still need to keep only the promoter's information on file at the venue, that also assumes the promoter could get in contact with the performers. In case of an incident, the police would ask for the promoter's contact information if needed as part of an investigation.

The increase in fee from $100 annually to $500 biannually was also met with resistance. That fee increase will probably come down.

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