End of the music in Berlin?

Gutterslut reminded us of the threatened gigantic price hike for playing music in clubs and bars in Germany. Click the headline for details and what you can do. Gutterslut say: "If GEMA (the equivalent of UK's PRS - Performing Rights Society) goes ahead with their crazy new reform plans of increasing fees by 1000%* there will be no more Berlin clubbing the way we know and love it." Needless to say Discodamaged does agree with Gutterslut, we have already published something about it on our Berlin site.

You can sign the petition here: http://openpetition.de/petition/online/gegen-die-tarifreform-2013-gema-verliert-augenmass. It's all in German so we made some handy notes to help you get through it. You can also email this URL http://tinyurl.com/dydblk2 to all your friends - including straight ones. It will bring them to this page.

1) Scroll down nearly to the bottom of the page to find the form you need to fill in.
2) Großbritannien (pronounced gross britannien) is probably the country you live in.
3) Pink fields are mandatory
4) If you filled in the form OK you see this at the top of the page:
Sie haben die Petition erfolgreich unterschrieben. Vielen Dank für die Unterstützung!
5) If you screwed up you see one or more of these:
Bitte geben Sie Ihren vollständigen Vor- und Zunamen an. (Error with your name)
Bitte geben Sie Ihre Straße und Hausnummer an. (Error with street address)
Bitte geben Sie Ihre Postleitzahl und Ihren Ort an. (Error with postcode)

* Yes really 1000%. Under the plan rates at SchwuZ, one of Berlin's oldest gay clubs, would increase from about 10,000€ per year to about 90,000€! They would not be able to stay open.