Background reading on the promoter's ordinance: The proposed law, and the Chicago Music Commission's response to it

Links (3)

Chicago Music Promoters on Alert
Published 5/12/2008 by Mitchell Bandur at Live Music Blog.com
... a vote on a proposed promoters ordinance that would require all independent promoters to possess a license to book shows. This would effectively kill a lot of good shows in venues that define this city's music scene, but all is not lost. You can call your alderman and tell him or her how you feel (vote no) and show up at your local venues in support of the scene. There has been plenty of spilled ink over this issue, especially by Chicago heavyweights Jim DeRo and Greg Kot. Get some education on the issue and take action. Call your alderman, ...

Save Chicago Culture
Published 5/12/2008 by Jason Tate at AbsolutePunk.net - News
... An interesting law is being proposed in Chicago that may have a lasting impact on indie-promoters in the city. SaveChicagoCulture.org has launched to help raise awareness. ...

Chicago May Not Be Independent Concert Promoters' Kind Of Town Pretty Soon [Authority Always Wins]
Published 5/13/2008 by Maura Johnston at Idolator
... a money-losing proposition for promoters that aren't Live Nation-sized, is in large part a response to a 2003 fire at the local nightclub E2 that killed 21 people and injured more than 50—an incident which, Sun-Times critic Jim DeRogatis points out, could have been avoided if laws currently on the books in Chicago had been enforced. Making constituents pay for the embarrassing screw-ups of their politicians? That's the American way! DeRogatis has the full text of the ordinance, and a list of nights that would likely be affected: ...