hearing damageLowering the noise standard jeopardizes the experience of some concerts in the Netherlands. So says Ruben Brouwer, CEO of Mojo Concerts, the largest concert organizer in our country. This mainly concerns artists who are known for their loud fans. “The audience of Harry Styles is often already above his music. How will that be later?”
If it is up to the Health Council, music should only be amplified to a maximum of 100 decibels in the future, three decibels less than has now been agreed. That may not seem like much, but it is in fact a halving (!) of the sound.
Self-regulation only, as is now done by event makers in a covenant has been agreed, may no longer be sufficient and legislation will therefore have to be considered, according to the Council. Hearing loud noise frequently or for a long time, such as during concerts and also through your own equipment such as earphones, can lead to hearing damage. For example, Dutch research shows that about 54 percent of 12 to 18-year-olds are currently at risk.
The maximum 100 decibels was not devised by the Health Council itself: it would link the Netherlands with neighboring countries and with the advice of the World Health Organization (WHO). But whether lowering this noise standard actually reduces the risk of hearing damage, Mojo Concerts does not dare to say. “I am not an expert, and I see that audiologists are also divided on this,” says CEO Ruben Brouwer. “What I do know is that you need a certain dynamic for a concert to ensure an optimal experience. If you sit very rigidly on those 100 decibels, that can cause a problem with some shows. The question is: do you want something that the industry can work with and where there is a willingness to really enforce it, or are you going to impose something from above?”
Disproportionate
This week, the House of Representatives passed a motion with a large majority stating that the maximum noise level must be lowered. With this next step, the House of Representatives is increasing the pressure on State Secretary Maarten van Ooijen (Health) to work on combating hearing damage among young people. A debate on this is useful, but the focus that is now on concerts and festivals is disproportionate, believes Brouwer. “The Dutch go to a concert on average once a year. It is too short-sighted to state that one only suffers hearing damage in this way. We therefore do everything we can to ensure that it is good and safe, such as through information and prevention.”
Read also: Milestone in the fight against tinnitus: strong increase in sales of earplugs
In a so-called covenant, music venues, organizers of events and parties, gyms, associations and cinemas and film theaters commit themselves to take various measures against excessively loud music. That agreement expires at the end of this year. Reducing the noise levels will, however, be a reason for event creators to ‘examine the value of the covenant’, according to the Association of Event Makers (VVEM).
Stinking best
Mojo Concerts can imagine everything. “Everyone in our sector is doing their very best to keep it as safe as possible for everyone. We work with professionals who know exactly how to handle sound and volume. We adhere to the standard and report everything properly to the government. Enforcement is all right. You want it to stay that way. That everyone remains willing to work on this. I wonder if regulation is the way to go.”
Everyone in our sector is doing their very best to keep it as safe as possible for everyone
Incidentally, such a high noise level does not occur so much in the well-known large halls such as the Ziggo Dome or the Afas Live, but elsewhere, where people hold back a little less, such as smaller bars or party sheds. The partners within the agreement are therefore in danger of being penalized for their openness, while the catering industry, for example, does not participate in the consultations. “It can be confusing for visitors that they are not affiliated with this covenant. As a result, it is possible that two different standards and measures are used at an event,” says a spokesperson for the GGD GHOR, one of the partners. For example, the music may be very loud inside and not outside at the event.
Mojo started in 1968 in an attic room on the initiative of Berry Visser and Leon Ramakers. The company has grown into the largest concert organizer in the Netherlands and is now also a leading player on the European stage. It organizes many concerts and festivals that still attract tens of thousands of visitors, such as Lowlands and Pinkpop. Mojo was the first to organize a stadium concert in the Rotterdamse Kuip. Bob Dylan, with Eric Clapton as support act, had that first in June 1978.
‘The Dutch Disease’: talking shit during concerts turns out to be typically Dutch
Now that the old concert tickets are finally being cashed in, an old, annoying habit is rearing its head again: the Dutch Disease. In other words: the indomitable urge of visitors to keep on quacking during songs. How is that in other countries? We asked four correspondents about their experience.
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