Nashville music venues are facing fines for flyers on telephone poles

As its name suggests, you can catch lots of shows at The 5 Spot in East Nashville for just $5, and even less at the venue's weekly "$2 Tuesdays" showcase.

But the longtime music venue says it's now facing $50-a-pop fines for flyers attached to telephone poles — a standard practice for promoting live music in Nashville for decades.

"Thanks to all the concerned citizens, music venues are being charged $50 per flyer on telephone poles with the name of the business on them," venue owner Todd Sherwood posted on the East Nashville Facebook group. 

"It has been a law for a long time, but now being enforced due to a few persistent complainers to codes. Please do those small businesses a favor and go see a show, buy a few drinks, and have a good time. Maybe take some flyers down for us as well. You might miss having live music venues in the neighborhood when they are gone."

It's not just The 5 Spot on the hot seat. The venue's musical neighbors have been dealing with this issue, too.

Mike Grimes, co-owner of The Basement East, says they were visited by the codes department about flyers promoting their concerts earlier this year. They were ultimately not fined. The venue has stopped their street team from posting on poles, and has alerted local bands about the threat of fines.

Small venues like theirs "gain most traction from social media anyway," Grimes said, and they've shifted focus accordingly.

"We roll with changes whatever they may be. We are passionate about what we do and are happy and healthy."

It is a codes violation to put a flyer on a utility pole, Codes Department spokesman Sean Braisted said.

The department received complaints about flyers and a member of its flex team documented the violations and sent notices. Before a club would be fined in environmental court, the codes department allows time for the flyer to be removed.

“...They are a violation of the Metro Code and a potential safety hazard for utility workers who need to climb the poles,” Braisted said.

There have been about 10 violations per year for putting signs on utility poles, according to codes records. The exception was in 2013 when there were 41 violations.

Paper flyers remain a component of a club’s promotion strategy, according to Chris Cobb, who co-owns the music venues Marathon Music Works and Exit/In. Although social media and online strategy are most important, bands and venues still want to get the word out to their neighborhood about a concert.

Cobb was cited for violating the utility pole code over a decade ago. He contested the matter in environmental court and won. He said his suggestion at the time was for the city to put kiosks where paper signs could be pinned up in neighborhoods that have music venues.

Few Nashville venues are more connected to its neighborhood than The 5 Spot. Since opening in 2003, it has almost exclusively booked local musicians, many of them East Nashville residents. 

Metro Councilman Brett Withers, whose East Nashville district includes the 5 Spot, said he was not aware of a rise in complaints about flyers on utility poles.

Withers said he notices flyers taped or pinned to poles around the Five Points neighborhood and while he doesn’t complain about it, clubs should know it is illegal under the city code.