The city of Chicago has declared new laws which recognize rock, rap, and dance music as fine art. What this means for venues is that they will be exempt from the three percent tax on admissions and ticket sales.

Back in August, the Cook County Department of Revenue issued demanded notices to smaller venues not meeting the requirements for live cultural performance.

The three percent tax would mean many clubs would have to close shop as they could not afford the fees in back taxes. Additionally, many fans, artists, and business people within the industry were quite vocal with the situation.

In the end, Cook County Commissioner John Fritchey and industry stakeholders, along with the administration for Cook County Board President Tony Preckwinkle, deemed that the closing of so many shops would lose the city’s cultural identity.

“This agreement makes it clear that it was never the intent of the Administration for the County to play culture police and make decisions on what is, or isn’t, music or art, and that fact is bolstered by [Cook County Board] President Preckwinkle’s desire to co-sponsor my amendment.”

“By bringing together public officials and music industry representatives, we were able to arrive at language that all parties agree recognizes the diverse and robust nature of live music while providing the County with the ability to collect those taxes that are legitimately owed to it.”

Read the full press release on Facebook.

H/T: MixMag

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