City set to outlaw 'murder music'

Music inciting hatred towards minorities will be outlawed at pubs and clubs in Brighton under council plans

Under the policy, the playing of all so-called "murder music" could lead to a venue losing its licence.
It would cover all music, live or recorded, allegedly inciting hatred on religious, racial or sexuality grounds.
Last year, the Concorde 2 venue in the city's gay district cancelled a show by dancehall reggae artist Buju Banton who recorded a song with homophobic lyrics.
The Jamaican singer's song, Boom Bye Bye, had lyrics referring to the shooting of gay men, and the concert was cancelled after pressure from the council, police, and the city's gay community.
He has since signed up to a commitment to ban hatred and prejudice from his music.
'Protecting people'
Councillor Dee Simson, chairwoman of the council's licensing committee, said the policy was not to be used "to harm freedom of speech".
She said: "It will be used in really extreme cases to stop the playing of what's loosely termed murder music."
And she said it was only through the venue's "goodwill" that the Buju Banton concert was cancelled last year, because the city had no "explicit policy in place to stop him from playing".
Ms Simson added: "We have a large gay and lesbian community in Brighton and Hove and we want to protect people from facing such hatred.
"I'm a firm believer in freedom of speech but I'm against the incitement of hatred against minorities."
It is not a case of licensing officers going out and checking lyrics
Councillor Dee Simson
She said anyone could raise concerns about a venue's music with the council, in the same way that concerns about anti-social behaviour or violence would be tackled.
The licensing panel would then review the licence, which could be suspended or revoked.
She added: "It must be stressed this small section of the policy is more about giving guidance to licensees and is likely to be used rarely, if at all.
"It is not a case of licensing officers going out and checking lyrics."
And she said it was "not a specific ban" and needed to be "kept in perspective" because there were very few performers whose work fell into the categories.
Free speech
HAVE YOUR SAY
However offensive I find his views I am not required to go and listen to them any more than he is to mine. More control of what people think/say/do is not the answer.
Dan Purkis, London
Send us your comments
Gay rights campaigner Peter Tatchell, from the group OutRage!, said the authority was "to be congratulated for its decision".
"Free speech does not include the right to advocate the killing of other human beings," he said.