Yeah, come on, Gary! When are you going to do something about all this fly-posting, eh? Eh?

http://www.glasgow.gov.uk/en/Residents/CleanGlasgow/ReportIt/

most recent illegal campaigns by Diabolical liberties-Charlene Spitteri,Primal Scream,Fratellis to name but a few.

come on Gary surely you are smart enough to see whats going on here!

http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Publications/2006/12/08092458/1

> Does anyone have any idea who is behind legitimate company city centre posters?

They’ve got the same address as Diabolical Liberties, certainly, which suggests that Horroks is behind it – but I can’t find any indications that CCP is doing anything that isn’t above board. What is GCC “onto him” about?

> does anyone know how much these CANCELLED STICKERS are costing Glasgow taxpayers???

Less than flyposting firms are spending, I’d wager. Me, I’d like to see the council paste over posters with something nice rather than just cancelled stickers.

I think the middle ground is for legal drums owned by companies such as City Centre Posters. That way advertising can still go ahead, but administered by a legitimate and transparent company.

D.

> And Gary what’s all this ‘fear of lawsuits and death threats’.

That was a throwaway gag :-) But then again, I’ve a number of musician friends who’ve had hassles flyposting in other people’s “patch” – and as flyposting is illegal, by definition any organisation that does illegal flyposting is a criminal organisation, surely?

> If a local promoter such as myself or a new band asked for advice on how to promote their venture what would you tell them?

I’ve already covered a lot of that in the blog entry: fanzines, advertising. Use the internet. Flyering. Street teams. They all work and they’re all relatively inexpensive – particularly street teams.

> Go to JC Decaux or Clear Channel and spend 2 thousand pounds a week on a billboard?

Again, I’ve covered that in the blog post.

> Or go to your local authorised scheme provider such as city centre posters and spend £40 for 2 weeks poster display in central locations?

I’m not suggesting that legal poster zones are the answer, but I do think they’re a step in the right direction. Price, positioning etc is something for interested parties to discuss with councils.

> Fly posting is not the way forward but neither is zero tolerance.

I’m not suggesting no posters at all; however, what I am against is the flyposting that covers every available surface. For example, a shop in my street was being refurbished recently; within *hours* of the boards going up, every available surface was covered with posters from major record labels. I’m inclined to agree with the “broken windows” theory, that widespread postering makes an area look worse than it is.

> is it really fair to expect promoters and SMEs to stretch their tiny marketing budgets to more prolific outside advertising multinationals

But that’s my point: it’s not SMEs, it’s Sony, and BMG, and various other giant corporations. Drinks companies. Lifestyle brands. Etc etc etc. Why should these firms be allowed to break the law and run up huge costs for clean-up operations? It’s not as if they’re broke.

The other problem I have with it is about advertising in general: why does a company’s “right” to advertise overrule any other consideration, such as people’s right to enjoy their cities, or their right to have the council tax they pay go on something more beneficial than stripping down posters? Remember, this is something that costs councils hundreds of thousands of pounds per year.

> I’d rather put my money into a locally run authorised scheme

So we agree, then :-) I do think something like that is the answer. How it would/should work, I’ll leave to the people who want to advertise, and the councils who can organise it.