Music in Sam Smiths pubs?

Two pubs I know quite well have lost lots and lots of trade because of this.

The Plough at Whitby, during folk week, was almost deserted, whereas it used to be packed, inside, upstairs and all down the yard, all week. Live folk music in the bar, front bar, upstairs, 2 back rooms and in the yard, with anyone who can play anything joining in. Wonderful! They must have doubled their year's profits in that one week.

Nellie's in Beverley has had to lose the folk club, as no doubt all other SS pubs have. It was a pretty popular one, so a good income night is lost, which has now become quiet, pleasing just a few miserable people rather than many.

Neighbouring licencees in both areas are delighted, of course!!!

If you don't like live folk music you can always go somewhere else. It is considerably rarer to come across than any other sort of pub music, of course.

I don't know whether most do, as I don't know how many there are. I've seen real ale in the Chandos, Cheshire Cheese, Princess Louise and Citte of York in the past year or so, but not in the Glasshouse Stores. Within the past five years(!) I /think/ I've had real ale at Swiss Cottage, but not at their Anerley pub (which isn't central London anyway).

Not really, it was the first thing through my mind and then after careful consideration of the subconscious (possibly twisted) wit I used it.

(Change of newsfeed and I've just picked up on this one)

MadCow8/10/05 6:21 PM

To the best of my knowledge... SS introduced a blanket policy of no music recorded (CDs or Juke box) or live music or TV about a year ago.

The PPL/PRS cynically used the Licensing Act kerfuffle and resulting confusion as smokescreen cover for a massive price hike of their own opportunistic making.

The PPL/PRS (now working in tandem) increased some fees 5 fold for 2005 -

2006 with further increases planned. Sam Smith's management simply said, no we're not having it. Other smaller outfits and freehouses have followed suit in dropping music and video/TV from their pubs.

I'm glad the price hike backfired on the PPL/PRS, but sad to see live music suffer. There may well also have been a desire by SS to save on new style licenses - with entertainment provisions and related additional H&S and certificate renewal as well as other legal and municipal charges saved.

All CD players, juke boxes, TV sets, videos, projectors, karaoke machines as well as live music were therefore banned and equipment removed. I seem to recall someone calculating the overall related cost savings across all their circa 1,000 pubs was immediate and in a year circa 2 million + UKP p.a. I don't know about the accuracy of that figure.

The saddest part of it (as someone has already pointed out) for me was that live music was also a victim and some great old folk clubs suffered - particularly folk clubs and folk and acoustic music sessions. Some of these (clubs within SS pubs) and pub sessions had fine reputations for great music and many fine musicians (during Whitby Fest' in particular) and several going successfully since the 1950's and 60's were still as popular as ever.

The PPL/PRS are private limited companies making money for their members - record companies, composers, publishers and already over-rich pop stars at everyone's expense. PPL/PRS are also backed up by the laws of copyright and intellectual property ownership and linked to other orgs worldwide.

The marketing of music by PPL/PRS as a means of making profit on food and drink is, it seems, a justification for charging more and more and taking a heavy-handed approach. These costs are simply passed onto the consumer in higher and higher drink prices.

The record industry is in decline with sales falling at about 10% gross per year - year on year. Fewer artistes being signed etc fewer records being sold, electronic transfer MP3s and I-pods being the future anyway. So they are looking to pubs, clubs, restaurants, shops playing recorded music and all live performance to replace that lost and declining income. The shift has something of a desperate feel to it.

I took an increased interest in this development 2 years ago when I read something on the PPL/PRS website which indicated big price rises. I run and help with folk sessions/clubs in 3 different pubs and a hotel each month and attend a further 8 pub sessions each month. Despite being a folk musician of sorts and a lover of sessions in pubs, I still saw it as Sam Smith's Brewery management taking a courageous stand against being ripped-off by sheer exploitation and greed.

With hundreds of pubs closing every year, there are many hundreds of jobs at stake here and many at Tadcaster - and whether you like their real ale policy or not - that necessary profitability and competitively priced beer was Sam Smith's corporate voiced main concern in defending their actions. There was a short press release at the time.

For anyone who does not like modern youth music anyway with its often monotonous thumping digital bass, the absence of music - especially loud music - in a few pubs is a real godsend. For every 10 of those who gaze at football screens there are 5 others who actively avoid them.

A no-music policy has been part of the success of JDWs 640 or so pubs since way back - and where conversation does at least exist. There's room for many different kinds of pubs surely - some with loud music for youngsters, some with live music, some with big screen football, some none at all?

I well remember a prearranged meeting with a friend in a noisy pub some years ago. My friend asked the barman how much the juke box cost for a tune. The barman told him. Then my friend asked how much it would cost him to have the bloody thing turned off for 1 hour. The question met with a blank stare from the barman. Paying for silence did seem like a reasonable idea at the time I must say.

It would be interesting to know what the impact of the music and TV ban has been on SS business - now a year on. We might just be surprised.

CR

In message , Chris Rockcliffe writes

It would. Is there a Sam's shareholder in the house?

In message , MadCow writes

I believe the brewery is totally family controlled, hence they can do what they want.