Philadelphia Councilman Wants To Collect Addresses Of Entertainers Coming To His City

Story out of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania:

A new bill from Philly City Councilman Mark Squilla would require owners of nightclubs, cabarets, bars and restaurants in the city to collect the names, addresses, and phone numbers of entertainers — bands, rappers and DJs — in a registry, and to share that personal information with police upon request.

Police spokeswoman Denise James would not comment, instead referring Billy Penn to the department’s public affairs office, which did not respond.

Squilla vowed that “no specific music acts created this issue.” However, Councilwoman Maria Quiñones-Sanchez, Chairwoman of the Committee on Licenses and Inspections, which will be reviewing the bill before it is up for a vote in Council, had a different take.

Sean Agnew, owner of R5 Productions, worried immediately about the impact on the city’s music scene, and the practical application of such a sweeping request.

“This is news to me. I’m not sure what the reasoning or theory is. As someone who books 600+ shows a year, I have never once received an artist’s home address or phone number. It’s all through booking agents, managers, publicists,” Agnew told Billy Penn. “There is a firewall in place with the artists. I can’t imagine a band’s representatives wanting to give their clients information over to the police without a really good reason.”

Agnew, for his part, now wants to work with Council to “craft a measure that’s a bit more realistic.”

“I’m just trying to think of a situation where the police want the addresses and numbers of the 10+ members of Arcade Fire,” he said. “Seems really intense.” Cont.

Story from - Billy Penn
Image from - Wikimedia Commons