The City of Edinburgh Council is hosting an open forum to discuss how to improve the live music scene in the capital.

The event, at the Usher Hall, is free to all, but is described as being aimed at “industry professionals”, and takes place at a time when gig-goers will be at work – from 3.30 – 6.00pm at the Usher Hall.

Blame for the parlous state of the city’s music scene has often been laid at the feet of the council, who have taken criticism for their handling of noise complaints, officious behaviour where smaller ‘house’ gigs are concerned, a perceived bias to big business and housing development over smaller operations, and a lack of support leading to long-standing venues being forced to close.

Sadly, the event seems to be woefully under-promoted and the format for the debate is unclear, but hopefully anyone who cares about music and can get to the Usher Hall on Monday will make their voices heard on behalf of the rest of us.

More (sketchy) information can be found here. For anyone unable to get to the event there’s apparently a hashtag for everyone to engage in the debate online – #livemusicmatters.