Readers of this blog know that I usually divert away from politics on weekends.
This is Thursday, not Friday, but after reading the Skeptical Libertarian I thought I’d bridge the gap:
Many of my professional musician/artist friends tend to lean left when it comes to economics. They will talk about how a business isn’t a person and how money isn’t speech etc. This all while enjoying the luxuries of a fairly unregulated enterprise where their creativity isn’t stifled.
So for fun I thought about what it would be like if starting a band was like starting a small business:
1. First you have to find practice space. You better make sure the practice space is commercially zoned. This will greatly increase the value of the property thus inflating the rent to about 3-4 times more than what it costs to rent a non-commercial property of that size
2. Get a band license. These typically run about 60,000 dollars and are limited.
To get one, first you have to apply. Then you have to post in public your intention of purchasing a band license, allowing neighbors to anonymously object to said purchase. After that you have to go to a zoning hearing with your neighbors and state your case. This includes what type of band, when you will be playing and the type of music.
The zoning board and the community agree that heavy metal is not good for the neighborhood and that if you want a band it can only have three members and it has to be country.
3. Once your band license is approved and purchased, it’s time for each member of the band to get certified in music safety. This costs $100 dollars a member and must be retaken every two years. Once you receive it, it must be displayed at by your band at all times.
4. Now your band is required by law to purchase various types of insurance. This costs thousands of dollars a year.
5. Once this is done, now you have to be approved by the band inspector.
He tells that you can only use Ernie Ball guitar strings and they have to be replaced every two months and that every band member must wear safety gloves when they play. You also have to buy these items from state sanctioned distributers and you cannot purchase over state lines.
6. You also learn that you may be liable for any damages done by individuals to either themselves or others, as a result of experiencing your music.
7. Every band member must be over 18 and be an American citizen or possess a work vista. All their information must also be submitted to the Department of Homeland Security.
The skeptic’s readers made helpful additions:
And that every product they sell must be certified as safe and appropriate by a Government agency according to regulations written by unaccountable bureaucrats opposed to the music industry in general… and since corporations aren’t people and money isn’t speech, the band gets no say whatsoever in what those regulations say or how they affect the final product.
Also, if they don’t support corporate speech, try this: Local musicians can’t form a co-op and go to the city, county or state government to ask for relief, or contribute to the campaign of a politician whose platform includes reforming the music laws. They’d each have to do it only as individuals. Even a band would not be allowed to support a candidate, since a band is a business. Campaigning on stage would be a gift-in-kind…
Musicians also lean to the left because many of them work gigs for cash and pay next to nothing in taxes, while also being able to benefit from a variety of “safety net” type welfare programs because on paper, they’re poor.
Steve Prestegard.com: The Presteblog 
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