Peter Kirk Foundation report

Street performing in Europe, where are we heading?

Gérard Spencer Hang player

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Peter Kirk Scholarship Structure

Table of Contents

Table of Contents ................................................................................................................................. 1

1. A historical introduction to street performing ............................................................................. 2

2. The pros and cons of street performing ....................................................................................... 6

3. The main legal aspects of street performing ................................................................................ 8

4. The reasons behind my interest in street performing ................................................................. 10

5. How has travelling around Europe improved my street performing act as well as myself as a person? And my new one man project idea... .................................................................................... 12

6. Travelling observations .............................................................................................................. 15

6.1 Loneliness ............................................................................................................................ 15

6.2 Privatization of land ............................................................................................................ 15

7. The diversity of regulations, any tendencies ? ............................................................................ 17

8. Two interesting case studies ....................................................................................................... 24

8.1 Cooperation between buskers and city councils / other parties ........................................... 24

8.2 Aggressive police force : crises are a time for change ! ..................................................... 24

9. My interviews with other performers ......................................................................................... 26

10. Conclusion .............................................................................................................................. 32

11. Personal thoughts .................................................................................................................... 34

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1. A historical introduction to street performing Street performing has existed for centuries... it has been part of our everyday lives since human society has existed. Street performance has not only been taking place for ages, but has also been occurring in most countries throughout the world. Mariachis (traditional Mexican musicians) street performing in Mexico

Martial art experts (Samurais) performing in the streets of Japan

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A traditional Moroccan street musician performing on Jemaa El-Fnaa square, in Marrakesh

A 1855 painting by Portuguese artist Jose Rodrigues, representing a 'poor' street performer

A 1898 picture by Eugene Atget, of an organ grinder in Paris Troubadours, in medieval France

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So what is street performing, or 'busking' as it is often referred to today? It basically refers to entertaining people in public areas (streets, squares, in front of cafes and restaurants etc.), in return for voluntary donations. There are literally hundreds or even thousands of acts, embracing all forms of art, taking place all around the world, at this very moment : ⁃ dancers doing a show of Tango, Hip hop, tap dancing etc. ⁃ magicians ⁃ human statues ⁃ single musicians, duets, quintets or whole orchestras ; playing some classical/jazz/rock/folk/

world music ⁃ jugglers and fire spitters ⁃ drawers and painters ⁃ comedians and story tellers ⁃ contortionists and monocycle riders The list is too long to name all the different types of acts... and this should be praised : there is so much talent out there just waiting to be discovered. A break dancer, somewhere in the USA

A magician street performing in Covent Garden, London

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There are three main elements that contribute to a good performance : 1) How professional is the performance : is the act a professional one that you could actually

expect in a concert hall, a more traditional artistic/ cultural venue ; or is it clearly amateurish ?

2) the way in which the performer interacts with the public : this is often underestimated by

the performers, even though it is extremely important. A performer should always attempt to connect with the public by engaging with them through jokes, stories, active participation or simply asking how they are enjoying the day to get a discussion started.

3) Where you perform : this specific point can sometimes lead to tensions between

performers, who want to perform on the same pitch. The pitch on which you perform is of crucial importance, and varies according to the type of performance (should it be a busy street, an intimate square, a large square, should it be noisy or silent etc.) It is this point that will lead me to the next section.

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2. The pros and cons of street performing Let's start with the positive aspects of street performing, as I believe that these outweigh by far the negative apects. As we have seen in the introduction, it is a longstanding tradition... if this practice has been continuing over such a long period, there must definitely be something good about it – otherwise this tradition would have already died off. I will start this section with three quotes taken taken from my own website, on the guestbook page : 1) Tel Erasmus, tu es un voyageur moderne, polyglotte et ouvert sur le monde et les Hommes,

menant une vie trépidante, riche en rencontres. Tu te balades de ville en ville avec un instrument dont on ne sait pas vraiment s’il appartient à un passé lointain ou s’il n’a pas encore été inventé. Tu redonnes aux gens un peu aigris comme moi, un peu d’espoir, de poésie dans ce monde qui se dégrade et se décompose. Bonne continuation sur ta belle route. Roland

2) Surreal tunes Gerard! Keep-up spreading these great vibes! Sebastien 3) Felicitaciones, tu musica toca el alma mia. Carlos Montaya

What is the common aspect we see in these quotes : my performance has suprised people and brought-up some emotions. Basically, it has done something positive – bringing added value to the location where I was performing.This is the 'purpose' of street performers : to bring happiness, laughter, emotions and suprises within the heart of cities. If the public appreciates the act, they can stop, watch, and donate something to the performer if they wish to. If they dislike the act, they can simply continue on their way. Besides what we want to bring to the public, street performing is also a life choice: 'street performance is a political, social or artistic choice, and even as a career goal. Beautifying our cities, getting paid to practice, meeting your audience, giving art to those who can’t afford staged live performances' All in all, we see that street performances have a positive impact on both the public and the performer in the heart of our cities. In addition to this, Sociologist Susie J Tanenbough, has found in her book : 'Underground Harmonies: Music and Politics in the Subways of New York' that where street performers regularly perform, crime rates tend to go down.

Authorities have very mixed feelings/reactions to street performing ; sometimes understanding the benefits of this practice, promoting it and making it 'logistically simple' through no regulations/ regulations giving freedom to the performer. Once I enquired about regulations in Tel-Aviv, Israel, and the answer from the city council was so positive and encouraging. Below is an extract of the answer I received : 'The Municipality of Tel - Aviv – Yafo is aware and encourage holding street art performances and recognize its contribution to the cultural wealth of the city and its people.

Street artists are artists displaying their art on the streets and urban spaces, and represent all media: theater, street circus, music, dance, visual arts, performance artists, performance art and all artist finds the urban space as a platform to display his art'.

Sometimes, however, it is the exact opposite. London, for instance, is very strict regarding street performing regulations. This article entitled 'Busking in London is dying, leaving a hole in the heart of the city' develops on the critical situation of the street performing scene in London.

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And what about the bad aspects of street performing? Even though passers-by can move if they dislike an act, residents and shop owners cannot simply 'move on'. So they might get irritated from hearing music constantly/ regularly having acts performed in front of them. This said, by living or working in the town centre, people know that they will be exposed to a lot of noise, so those noise issues should not come as a surprise ! The main reasons behind the street performing regulations are very simple : it is the of shop owners and residents complaining to local authorities that will often lead to act in a completely disproportionate reaction on the part of the authorities.

I believe residents or shop owners who are unhappy should go and talk to the performer(s) to find a solution rather than complain to the police or to the council – comunicating properly is the best way of moving forward and finding solutions. On one occasion I was playing in Brussels, just a few metres from the authorized pitch – the police came after 10 minutes telling me to move away because a shop owner had called them ; the policeman even felt bad about having to make me move. Once a resident in Germany threw a glass of water on me from his balcony... I wondered why those people did not simply come and talk to me ? Sometimes an act is so successful that some business owners get jealous of the amount of money performers make – and they will complain out of jealousy. Some acts are simply 'bad'. Some acts are very noisy. Some acts draw so much attention that the public may block the access to shops/restaurants or parts of the steet. Some performers put pressure on the public to get some money. Another problem that occurs are tensions between performers themselves who might argue on using a certain pitch... or because one will perform too close to the other. These are some of the issues that happen now and again.

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3. The main legal aspects of street performing

Street performers are submitted to two kinds of regulations : the ones on street trading, and the ones on street performing.

For street performers who sell something it is sometimes quite problematic because most of them do not have a street traders license. Fortunately, the police doesn't care much about performers selling their artistic creations. Selling without a license is basically illegal in most places. But fortunately, it is quite easy to get around this problem by thinking outside the box !

As we can see, the wording is very specific and precise ! Through this method, a policeman saying anything against displaying one's artistic creations is basically wrong and acting illegally.

Fortunately, the public will in most cases donate what is suggested. As I will develop in the next section, I discovered in Belgium a law that allows artists to sell their creations without this license. There is therefore no need to use such methods. Unfortunately, finding such a law (if it exists in other countries) requires an extensive amount of research. It also happens that the police/ authority in charge of street performing is actually not aware of those very precise laws (this was the case in Belgium until I made a whole media case out of it).

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And now the regulations on street performing : those are so diverse and vary extensively from place to place. Sometimes a license is needed (and may require an audition, meaning travelling somewhere to pass it, with no certainty of obtaining this license), sometimes it is not. Sometimes the regulations on the license are very easy to follow, sometimes they are harsh and rigid :

• specific times and places to play

• limited amount of time

• authorized or unauthorized use of amplification

• specific number of authorized performers in one act

• specific number of periodic licenses that you are entitled to per month/year etc. Sometimes the regulations are very vague and are actually hard to understand, therefore simply

being a matter of interpretation – for instance, do not play too loud music ! What is the definition of too loud ? Regulations are sometimes ridiculous, with unauthorized amplification for instance ! Playing clarinet, saxophone or trumpet is often far louder than a guitar player singing along using an amplifier !

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4. The reasons behind my interest in street performing About 1.5 years ago, I closed down my UK based social enterprise to make a new professional start in music. Already while working on my social enterprise, I did many street performances on weekends (mostly in Norwich, Cambridge and Brussels). Slowly but surely, busking became a new passion : meeting some interesting people and bringing positive vibrations to city centers, sharing my music, making some decent pocket money, developing my public speaking and social skills – and obtaining a few invitations to various types of events. When I started music professionally, I knew that street performing would, at least to start with, be my biggest source of income. Once I started music full time, I also had a lot more spare time – and therefore took this opportunity to travel and play in new places. Even though most of those experiences abroad were great, they also had their share of bitter anecdotes : ⁃ In Berlin, I was given the following guidelines by the city council : ⁃ As far as your plan to play music on the street is concerned, please consider the following

details: 1. While playing please avoid disturbances. 2. It is not allowed to use amplification. 3. It is not allowed to play near hospitals, nursing homes, memorials and schools during school time. 4. It is not allowed to play near or under living compartment windows. 5. You are allowed to play music on working days between 08:00 till 13:00 and 15 till 20:00 o'clock for one hour without permission. 6. You are allowed to play for max 1 hour at the same place (after 30 minutes you have to make a break for 10 minutes). If you want to play for a longer time you have to get a permission for the special use of public roads (please see in Annex "antrag_sondernutzung). 7. If you want to play with a major quantity of musicians with special instruments that make loud noise you also have to get a permission (please see in Annex "antrag_sondernutzung). I played in a pleasant pedestrianized shopping street situated in an area of Berlin called Charlottenburg. There is nothing in the above guidelines about not playing there or specific explanations about that specific area of the city. After a few minutes the police came along and told me that I was not allowed to play there, indicating that I needed a specific license from the Charlottenburg council. I argued showing the printed email received by the main Berlin city council, but they did not want to hear anything : I had to move on. In this case, the Berlin city council said one thing, the police another. I was the one losing out on the lack of communication between two supposedly competent public services - losing time, money and energy. In Prague: From Berlin I went to Prague. I checked the city council website, and it appeared that it was legal to perform within the city center. I got to Prague, and after less than 15 minutes, the police told me that it was not legal anymore, since only a few weeks ! The city council website had not been updated yet, here are the new regulations. In Lyon, France: I received the following email from the city council after having contacted them : Monsieur SPENCER, Vous avez sollicité la Mairie de Lyon au sujet d'une autorisation pour jouer de la musique dans la rue. Vous pouvez jouer de la musique dans la rue sans demander d'autorisation. Vous devez toutefois respecter l'ordre public et la tranquillité des riverains. Nous vous remercions de conserver ce numéro d’enregistrement D-20120729-0011 pour toute question

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relative à votre demande. Nous vous prions de recevoir, Monsieur SPENCER, l’expression de nos meilleures salutations. I was playing in the city center, when the police told me that I was not allowed to do so. They did not accept the above email that I had received from the city council, explaining that the administrator who answered was incompetent in the matter. They told me that if they would see me again, they would seize my instrument, CDs and fine me. Once again, the city council and the police had different views on street performing. In London: Just after passing my interview for the Peter Kirk scholarship, I symbolically wanted to play the Hang at the exact same place where I had discovered the instrument four years ago. This was along the south bank close to the London Eye. I started playing there, quite emotional and really happy about the whole thing – playing at the same place that basically had a life changing impact on me a few years previously. Playing at that very moment was also special to me because it was just after an interview that was all about doing an international study on street performing. And what came next : a member of the South Bank security personnel came alone and told me that one now needed an authorization to play there, and that one could only obtain it after having passed an audition. This moment that was so special to me had just been spoilt by regulations that had become stricter. I could give more examples of similar problems that I experienced, but will end with the most serious one that I encountered, in my own city, Brussels. The whole story is clearly explained in this article. The element that suddenly turned me into a 'street activist' is related to this story. After having my CDs seized by the police, I discovered the law clearly explaining that the policeman actually acted illegally against me by seizing my CDs and accusing me of illegal street trading. I therefore went to the police station with the law printed out, to try getting my CDs back before they would be sent to court, in order to avoid the complicated bureaucratic procedures necessary to retrieve them. I asked the secretary of the inspector who took my CDs if I could see him – she went to his office to let him know that I wanted to talk to him, and came back with the following message : « If Mr. Spencer knocks on my door, he will be sent to jail ». I couldn't believe what she had told me and was enraged about it : how could a policeman supposed to apply the law, first act illegally against me and, then on top of that, threaten to send me to jail for simply wanting to discuss something ? Following this incident, I had extensive media coverage in the Belgian media, including this article with quite a funny title (translated into English) : 'Street performers, is the police of Brussels ignorant of the law' ? All in all, taking into account the experiences I had in Brussels as well as a few other locations, I became interested in exploring the ins and outs of street performing on an international level. Street performing is very important for me ; not only for myself (as a passion and as an important part of my professional life) – but also for what it represents : free entertainment in the heart of cities, the continuation of a tradition that started thousands of years ago.

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5. How has travelling around Europe improved my street performing act as well as myself as a person? And my new one man project idea... Travelling around Europe and performing most days from early May to mid-October in quite a few European countries has been an incredible experience ; where to start ? By playing in so many different settings and having such diverse crowds gathering around me, my public speaking skills have tremendously improved. Today, I always engage with my public through stories and jokes – I encourage my public to ask questions. I also get to observe communication methods. For instance, if I am performing on a square with people sitting around me on some benches, I would first try to engage with the public by asking : « if you are intrigued by my instrument and my music , please come and ask questions once I have finished my piece » - this would work one time in three. I then changed this to, « what would you prefer, a quick piece, a slow piece, or a piece with a story, to then listen to it with some context. Please gather around if you want the story ». This would work two times out of three. Whenever I can, in all kind of pitches, I will try to engage and talk about the story behind the instrument, or about the study I am conducting for the PK Foundation, about street performing/ travelling/ Belgium's got Talent/ changing the law in Belgium. Engaging is good because interaction then starts, which is more fun for everyone – together we start talking, laughing... dreaming ; and from those pleasant moments, I actually end up receiving more coins and selling more CDs. In street performing, fun and money actually go hand in hand – the more fun and interaction you have, the more money you make. With a friendly group of people I met on the Nobel prize museum square, Stockholm, Sweden

Surprising the public is also advantageous. For instance, when I have a mixed crowd, doing some simultaneous explanations from English to French and Spanish impresses people. From language skills come questions about my educational, and professional background. Developing on this is inspiring for some people, especially for the ones who are still seeking their passion, and what they truly want to do in life. I really enjoy talking about personal and career goals with people I meet, and exchange views on those.

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So yes, I talk more than ever before in my performances. I was once upon a time a shy university student having trouble with presentations and public speaking – this is definitely gone, and I actually love and have become quite good in public speaking now. I have also started conducting some street workshops by lending instruments (small percussions, rain stick, thunder stick, Tibetan singing bowls and other strange instruments) to the public and doing a collective improvisation. Street workshops in Utrecht, Holland

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Getting the public to actively participate in the show is also great. Many of my participants have not touched an instrument for ages, and then they got to do it, improvise and have some fun. Beyond the fun aspect, I lend atmospheric type instruments where sounds will always combine well together creating a relaxing uplifting atmosphere. In Bath, UK, I met a magician doing a street show and selling some magical tricks. I really enjoyed his performance, and bought most of the tricks that he was selling. Once my street performing regulation study is over and I settle down, there is a project that I will start working on, combining performing, giving a workshop, doing a magic performance, giving some explanations and stories, with the use of a loop station (this artist uses the loop station to perfection). So hard work coming-up : learning how to use the loop station and getting good at magic performing to create what I hope will be a truly unique and successful show ! So thank you to the PKF, I might have not got interested in magic and had this project idea without the scholarship! Through travelling, I got to meet so many interesting people, I got to experience many random situations, view so many different sights. All in all, I have truly benefited from this, becoming a more confident, assertive and ambitious person.

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6. Travelling observations

6.1 Loneliness When street performing, I get to speak to many lonely people, many of whom often live on the

streets ; and do not really have anyone to talk to. My working in the streets makes them feel comfortable to talk with me. I am glad to contribute to their wellbeing, through playing and talking...

It is quite sad to see those lonely people out there. Whether it be from personal choice not to

integrate into today's society or because of difficult/complicated personal circumstances leading to living on the streets, social exclusion and isolation is a harsh reality in today's society.

6.2 Privatization of land ⁃ This was mostly observed in the UK with private companies possessing areas of the city

centre that appear to be public.

'Southgate Place', a square in the city of Bath, UK, is completely privatized : street performing is not accepted. In this connection, the wording on the city Birmingham city council website is quite compelling, with the word ‘shopping’ actually mentioned, and put before the word « visiting » : « Street

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entertainment is a long established tradition in city streets throughout Britain. Birmingham City Council, through its City Centre Management operation, is keen to continue this tradition and to create a lively and vibrant atmosphere for both local people and visitors. A variety of professional, smart and enjoyable street entertainers will help to make shopping and visiting the city centre a memorable experience. » To me, this privatization of urban areas has the consequence of simply converting those spaces into uninteresting shopping areas with very little space left for cultural expression. In the long term I really do hope that our city centres will stay « publicly owned »: a complete privatization would have dreadful consequences on cultural expression – converting what we call today ‘public space’ into tomorrow’s ‘shopping space’.

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7. The diversity of regulations, any tendencies ? I will start by stating the regulations of all the cities I have been to for my study. Portugal : Faro, Tavira, Lagos, Evora, Lisbon, Cascais, Sintra, Coimbra and Porto None of the above towns are regulated, besides Lisbon where obtaining a license requires filling out a complex form. The police in Lisbon are strict about regulations, as they prevented me from street performing, because I did not have this license. The form being only written in Portuguese, I am unaware of the exact street performing regulations. Holland : Utrecht : A license is necessary. One can obtain it through the city council. The license states that you have to change location every 30 minutes. This is quite ridiculous as you hardly have the time to start playing before it is already time to stop. And you can not play more than once a day at the same place. In practical terms, no performers really care about this, and the police did not check me a single time. Leiden : No regulations on the matter – street performing tolerated. Amsterdam: the city council never answered my email requesting information on regulations. I was in Amsterdam for a single day and didn’t experience any problems with the police. I did play in the famous flower market along the canal and unfortunately, it was the shop owners that were not very pleased with my playing, and therefore asked me to move on. Besides the flower market, I didn’t find any good pitch to play. Amsterdam is quite confusing, on the one hand, I received the following email in reply to an inquiry that dates back to July 2012 and on the other, I’ve heard of a few musicians who have been moved on by the police force…

• Dear Mr Spencer, I made a phonecall for you and Mr. De Jong (from the City Hall) told me: “as long Mr. Spencer does not make too much noise, he can make some music in the streets” Not on the Dam Square, not in front of the Central Railway Station.

Hope to see and hear you playing here.

RJP I haven't found any up-to-date information on Amsterdam. This (unofficial) information dating from 2007 is actually in contradiction with the 2012 answer I received from the city council. All in all, a very confusing situation.

UK : Norwich : no licensing, simply a code of conduct that basically is about « being courteous and respectful ». Birmingham : license needed, audition once a year. There are only specific locations where one can perform.

Cardiff : No license necessary. A very harsh busking code of conduct : for instance, a performance should be maximum 30minutes, and performing should only be between 11am and 3pm.

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Bath : no licensing – the code of conduct is very easy to follow. Besides this code of conduct, street performers in Bath meet up every morning to allocate times and pitches to the various performers. This is because there are many performers for a small city with a lot of tourism. This meetup entitles all performers to enjoy at least once a day the best pitches in town. This really is a unique characteristic of the city of Bath with performers actually getting together to organize pitches themselves. Furthermore, they are regularly in touch with the council as soon as there is an attempt to add new regulations to the city.

Small world : I coincidentally met in Bath a couchsurfriend who hosted me in Holland

Bristol : There are no regulations regarding busking. Below is an extract of the answer I received from an employee working at the Bristol city council : « The short answer is that Bristol hasn’t adopted a process or policy to manage busking. This is mainly due to the fact that large parts of the city where footfall is high are privately managed and it is therefore not possible to have a one city approach to busking.» This answer is quite striking as it echoes what I previously wrote about privatization of land.

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My couch surfing host in Bristol was a balloon artist, and this is her balloon interpretation of me playing the Hang!

Cambridge : no licensing, simply a code of conduct that basically is about « being courteous and respectful ».

Sweden : Both cities played in, Stockholm and Uppsala, are unregulated.

Denmark: Copenhagen's official rules are very strict : in the good areas of the city performing is only accepted between 5 and 8pm during the week, and 2 to 5 pm on weekends, and money may not be collected.

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Arguing with a very rude resident in Copenhagen, Denmark. (Luckily the public was supporting me and also tried, without success, to discuss with that person who prevented me from performing)

Improvising a performance with other artists in Copenhagen, Denmark

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Poland : Warsaw : there are no rules about street performing.

Krakow : technically speaking you need two authorizations to perform – one for the market square and another for the rest of the pedestrianized town center.

Lithuania : Vilnius: A license is necessary. Obtaining it implies stating the exact time and place where you intend to perform in a request to be sent to the relevant city council department.

To have a more complete view on street performing regulations, I will also add the regulations of cities I have played in outside of this study, as well as cities I haven't been to but inquired about legislation.

London: It is such a large city that each area of it is under a different set of regulations. Most performers play in the underground which is something I personally hate doing. Due to those complicated regulations and a police force abusing their powers, street performing in London seems to be dying slowly… Or maybe there is still hope for London? The future will say…

Maastricht (Holland) : Every Monday from 8.30am, the city council distributes on a first come first served basis a limited number of authorizations. If you arrive too late, too bad for you, you will have to wait until the coming Monday. You may still purchase a daily permit that will cost € 118,85. Without the license, it is a question of being lucky or unlucky, as you can see on those two blog articles from busking colleagues : blog article & blog article bis

Den Haag (Holland) : The official version says that street performing is banned from the « busy places in the city centre ». There is also an article from an online alternative paper that state that street performing has simply been forbidden.

Rothenburg Op Der Tauber (Germany) : A license is necessary. It can be obtained easily through the city council. You cannot play more than one hour at the same place. There are also specific pitches where you are supposed to play. The license is valid for one week. Berlin (Germany) : I was told by the city council that no license is required. It was actualy the case in the town centre where I could basically play anywhere. I also went to play in Charlottenburg, an area outside the city centre but still in Berlin. The police told me that I was not allowed to play there and that I needed a license. In big cities, this is quite frequent that different areas of the city have different sets of rules.

Brussels (Belgium) : A license is necessary and can be obtained through the city council if you have an artistic/musical diploma/ degree or after having passed an audition. It states where and when you can play, and for how long. You can only play on even hours (this is very specific to Brussels). This license can be obtained for one month six times per year for residents in Brussels and four times a year for others. Following the problems I had with the police and the media case I made out of it after having studied the legislative aspects of street performing, Brussels is the only city I know of where it is clearly written that a musician can sell their own CDs.

Namur (Belgium) : According to the law, it is basically illegal to do any form of street performing. In practical terms, I already played there several times and no one complained to me.

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Brugge (Belgium) : A license is necessary. A Brugge resident can play 15 days a month and a non resident just 10 days a month. You can play one hour at a time at the same pitch and then have to change location. There are a few specific spots where performing is not allowed.

Tel-Aviv (Israel) : No license is necessary to play there. Street performing is actually encouraged by public authorities.

Jerusalem (Israel) : I never received any answer about street performing. I played there for over a week and never had any trouble.

Prague (Czech Republic) : Street performing is now forbidden in most tourist areas of the city. In addition to this, there is also a code of conduct to follow.

Basel (Switzerland) : No license needed. However, there is a harsh set of rules to follow (playing max 30 minutes/ hour, only once a day at the same location, you must play/sing softly (whatever that means).

Edinburgh (Scotland) : No license is required and you can play anywhere.

Paris (France) : It seems that the only place thta you can play without obtaining an authorization is Place Beaubourg. There are therefore dozens of performers on that square. You need an authorization to play in other areas of the city. In Montmartre for instance, they have not distributed licenses for several years and this is apparently not going to change anytime soon.

Lyon (France) : the city council told me that street performing is allowed and that no license is necessary. The police told me that it was not allowed, that a license was necessary and that the person who gave me the information was wrong.

It is important to mention that I have only enquired about the legislative aspects related to my type of act : an accoustic non amplified show. The legislation is not the same for all performers : it will change depending on how loud you are (a hang player, a whole band, an amplified guitarist or a trumpet player), if you take a lot of space or not (a single 'human statue' or a whole group of dancers). Generally speaking, the less noise you make, and the less room that you need, the more freedom you have.

All in all, we can see that street performing regulations really are varied. There are some places where no license is required. In those places, there is sometimes a code of conduct that basically puts on paper the basic 'elements' of being courteous and respectful : if there are several performers wanting the same pitch, one should change every hour to allow all performers to enjoy a good location. If a resident or a shop owner asks you to stop your act, then you should stop (except if you have only performed for five minutes, then you could 'negotiate' to have anything between 30 minutes to 1 hour before changing pitch – or change location if the person asking you to stop has a valid reason). In the places where no license is required such as Leiden, Tel-Aviv, Edinburg, Porto, Cambridge, Norwich, Uppsala, Stockolm etc. I believe that everything is working fine between performers, residents and business owners. If there is a problem, the concerned people simply « need to speak » and reach a mutual aggreement. This generally works out just fine. Authorities start adding regulations when residents/ business owners complain directly to them, without first talking to the performers. There are quite a few cities, such as Brussels or Paris, where the whole problem of strict and restrictive regulations started because of gipsy musicians who played very loudly, and did not cooperate if they were asked to move/ play more softly.

Regarding CDs, it is basicaly not allowed to sell them as it is considered as street trading. However, in the vast majority of cases, the police will not say anything if they see you selling your CDs. Besides, there are ways of getting around this by playing with words (see picture p.8)! With such a precise wording, the situation can become quite ambiguous : are people buying what you are offering, or taking it and 'perhaps' donating something in return ?

When a license is required, the regulations tend to vary quite extensively. How long you can perform at a single spot, being able to return or not to that same spot on the day, how many days a

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week/month/year one can perform, how loud you are allowed to play, the places in the city where you are specifically allowed or not allowed to perform. What also varies is how you can obtain a street performing license :

⁃ an audition is necessary (this is therefore problematic if you live abroad)

⁃ you just have to complete a very simple form, sometimes the form is very complex to complete

⁃ you can only obtain the permit on a first come first served basis

⁃ you have to pay for it...

From the numerous locations I have played in, there are only two tendencies that I have observed. 1) European capitals tend to either have a busking permit scheme – or a very strict code of conduct. The only capitals I have played in having neither are Edinburgh, Stockholm and Warsaw.

2) The other tendency is that, generally speaking, cities with a lot of tourism are stricter than others and do operate a licensing scheme/ strict regulations : we can observe this with Brugge, Maastricht, Bath (where street performers agree amongst themselves because of the huge number of buskers), Rothenberg Op Der Tauber... Those tendencies obviously cannot be generalized : both Cambridge and Stockolm for instance are very touristic, yet are very easy going regarding street performing. There will be more on regulation analysis in my conclusion.

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8. Two interesting case studies The two case studies that I will develop here have been chosen because they are putting some 'practical substance' to the conclusions that I will advance in my final section.

8.1 Cooperation between buskers and city councils / other parties Liverpool : To make it short, in summer 2012, Liverpool authorities made streeet performing regulations much stricter. Following this, members of the keep streets live campaign and other people involved in street performing did some street protests, started a petition and made a legal challenge against the city. This article develops on this. It did not take long for the city council to withdraw those new regulations : this was done in September 2012, less than 3 months after the regulations were first introduced. In January 2014, 'Keep Streets Live' members and other street activists/ performers were invited to participate in talks designed to create new street performing guidelines for the city. Several meetings were then held between the authorities and performers, who worked hand in hand to establish new guidelines. Those discussions are still continuing today, and Liverpool leads the way in having both the busking community and the city council working together. Bath : There have been increasing tensions between the busking community and the Reverend of the abbey. Basically, some street performing acts took place just a few metres from the abbey and disturbed choral sessions. This lead to Rev Edward Mason making a public case about the noise through local media in the wastern daily press : « How do I feel? I feel like weeping. Truly. Weeping for a city ruined by the clamour of music. Weeping for choirs that are victims. Weeping for my staff subjected to music every day. Weeping that we human beings just cannot resolve conflict. (Let’s not look at Syrians and condemn them when we can’t even sort out music amicably!) Weeping for an Abbey that has had a superb ministry of peace, healing and quiet for hundreds of years and which is being subject to the violence of noise. » Following this, the public authorities considered some serious changes in the street performing regulations, making them a lot stricter. The busking community then started a dialogue with Rev Mason, that proved to be succesful, as they are now working hand in hand, and also interacting wih the city council. In the same way as in Liverpool, dialogue brought understanding and satisfaction to the concerned parties.

8.2 Aggressive police force : crises are a time for change ! The following are a few examples of the police acting abusively and irrationally. Some cases have been filmed and gone viral on the internet, and have also interested the media. In those cases authorities need to respond to the issue. If dealt with in the appropriate way by the performer who suffered and possibly other colleagues/ supporters, then a nasty incident can turn into some constructive change. ⁃ this video shows an argument between a beatboxer, and the police – the latter saying street

performing is not allowed and the musician arguing that it is (London) ⁃ Here, the police puts arrests some dancers in (Venice, USA)

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⁃ A singer is arrested by the police, in the undergroud for no apparent lawful reason (New-York, USA)

⁃ A 4 musician band is arrested. Police used a 19th century law that also makes door ringing illegal to justify this arrest ( London).

If I take this example of a 4 man band arrested in London, the story got all over British media. Here are a series of articles developping on this : 1, 2, 3, 4 This abuse by the police, as demonstrated by the video, created an outcry of injustice in the busking and artistic community. Journalists wrote very critical articles about the behaviour, with the attached one actually questioning the future of street performing in London. The article entitled « London busking arrests lead to calls for code of conduct » is self explanatory : this arrest, combined with the reaction it caused might initiate new and more flexible regulations for street performing in London. The same happened to me: I made my case public, and the head of culture of Brussels admitted on television that the police acted illegally against me. By doing this, I initiated change.

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9. My interviews with other performers My initial objective was to interview one performer per country. In the end, it happened that I have several from some countries, and none from others. This was because there were some cities where I didn't meet other performers or where it was not possible to organize an interview with the ones I met. My interview sheet included the questions listed below. 1) Where are you from and what do you play ? 2) For how long have you been street performing ? 3) Is it a hobby or a job ? 4) Where have you already played ? 5) Have you ever had problems with the police ? If so, what ? 6) Do you enquire about the legislation at the places where you perform ? 7) What is your view on the future of street performing ? As the conversation was engaged, I sometimes had trouble in following the exact interview structure that I had planned, even though I gathered the necessary information. Below I have summarized the main content of the various interviews that I conducted. Portugal, Evora : classical accoustic guitarist My 'busking colleague' in Evora is French, and has been playing classical guitar in the streets for over 35 years. He is a professional guitar player who studied at a conservatoire in France. Street performing started as a 'holiday job' in Stockolm, and he loved this experience of affording his holiday through street perfroming, of interacting with people he met along the way, of bringing smiles to people and opening their heart and soul...so he continued doing this once his holidays were over. Over the years, he's played in many towns in Norway, Germany, Switzerland, France, Spain, Italy and Portugal. One day in Stockolm, he was busking with a license, and the police came towards him in the middle of a show to ask if could prove that he had enough money to live there and that he was not a vagabond. Even though he had a bank account, he could not prove that he had any money as he didnt have any statement/ details from the bank. In the police car, the police threatened him that he'd be sent back to his country if he could not prove 'that he had money in the bank'.The police thefore arrested him and locked him up for a few hours until a friend of his went to the police station with information proving that he had a bank account with some money ; then he was released. He understands that regulations are necessary, because buskers tend to play many hours in the same pitches, which might become a nuisance for local residents and business owners. When he travels, he doesn't enquire in advance about legislation. He prefers reaching the place he wants to play and enquire with locals. He believes that quite often, the coucil and the police have two different interpretations of the regulations. He adds that the show itself, and the appearance of the performer does have a strong impact : how loud you play, where and for how long etc. He only plays in touristic locations, as he believes that tourists are a lot more receptive to street performances than locals : they are not working, they are not in a rush, they are just there to enjoy. He has observed changes in legislation. In Swtzerland for instance, street performing was forbiden for a long time. At some point, the regulations opened up and many Peruvians arrived. They played as bands with up to eight people, loudly, for a long time... he believes they 'abused' the regulations

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in some way. Complaints then started and authorities added restrictions : where and when one can play... having to pay for a license. He doesn't play in his region because there is no tourism there, and he would only earn a fraction of what he earns elsewhere. He is quite neutral about the future of street performing. On the one hand, he believes that people need music and that performers bring a lot to the places where they perform . On the other, he also believes that many performers abuse by playing too loudly. As a result of this, regulations are created and performers therefore cannot be spontaneous anymore. Despite not knowing how regulations will develop with time, he is confident that street performing will continue. Portugal, Lisbon : Macedonian flute player My second interview was conducted in Spanish, French and English (it was actually quite complicated to communicate...). This was in Lisbon with a Macedonian flute player. He is professionally trained and has been doing some street performing for about 4 years. This and music in general are his life. He mostly performs in Portugal, but also plays in France,Italy and Grece. He's already had some problems with the police in Lisbon. He says that it is very difficult to obtain a license from the city council. Each administrator sends the request to another, and in the end nothing is done. Without a license, performing in Lisbon is a risk where the police can seize the instrument and the CDs. He has already been brought to the police station for performing without a license. Friends of his have already been fined for street performing in Lisbon without a license. Lisbon is the only place where he has had problems with the police. He does not enquire in advance about regulations when he travels. He just asks other performers that he meets along the way. Despite doing this, he often thinks that it is pointless because different performers can say different things. He is generally quite optimistic about the future of street performing, even though he is worried about the situation in Lisbon. He is considering to leave Lisbon if regulations get stricter and/or if the police make more frequent controls. Birmingham, UK : British singer song writter My third interview was in Birmingham with Chester, a British singer - song writter. He been playing for over 20 years. Street performing is his main job. He has performed in over 600 towns all around Europe. He's had on and off problems with the police. He was arrested once in Santander, Spain and was walked to a police station where he had to sign a piece of paper saying that he would not street perform there again. Generally speaking, he believes most policemen are actually friendly and helpful ! According to him, it is illegal to license street performing in the UK. The law (the 2003 licensing act) states that street performing is an activity that cannot be licensed in public areas. If the security personnel of a shopping mall would ask you to stop performing on a spot that is just outside the mall, you would be entitled to refuse. Chester is one the the founders of « buskers unregulated », an organization promoting the idea that public property belongs to all and that street performing should be allowed as long as elementary

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rules of common sense and courteasy are followed. He regularly participates in discussions with city councils throughout the UK to discuss new policies and guidelines for street performing. When travelling, he sometimes enquires about regulations and laws. Thisis not to know if he can play, but just out of interest. He believes street performing will always continue, as it has survived until now. It may become more difficult in some cities but it is up to performers to do something about it, collectively, or individually. Birmingham, UK : British singer song writter My fourth interview was also in Birmingham, with Johny Walker. He is a singer song writter from Liverpool who founded the most important UK organization for the defense of buskers : Keep Streets Live. He is very well aware of many legislative aspects of street performing and has helped a few buskers who got into trouble with public authorities. With his organization, he has brought the London borough of Cambden to court due to a strict street performing licensing scheme that they recently introduced. He started street performing about 13 years ago while studying at Durham university. Its more than a job for him : he sees it as a vocation. He's played in most UK cities as well as some towns in Belgium, Holland and France. Over this period, he has had very few problems with the police/ safety officers/ public wardens... He believes that the fact of him being white and occidental looking helps a lot in facilitating his street performing life. In the UK, he doesn't enquire about the law as he knows exactly how to react when this is necessary. If he is cautioned, he uses his legal/regulatory knowledge to defend himself. When an incident happens, he also uses this knowledge to make a media case out of it. He is optimistic and excited about the future of street performing. For him, it's all about getting people together : getting performers together to work jointly, and establish a discussion with public authorities. He also thinks that an international movement of like-minded street performers wanting to defend their rights could be something very beneficial in empowering the international community of performers as a whole.

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Chester, Jhonny and myself after the interview, Cafe Nero, Birmingham Bath, UK : British acoustic guitarist My fifth interview was in Bath with an British acoustic guitar player. He has been performing for 4 years and it is a full time job for him. He's performed in many UK and Italian towns. He's never had any issues here in Bath. In Italy, he got into trouble for selling his CDs, as he was told he needed a license to do so. He took away the poster with the prices and the police were then happy with him displaying his CDs to the public. Regarding the future of street performing, he is confident that it will continue, even though he is scared about the impact of modern technology. Over 50% of his earnings are from selling CDs; the day when CDs become 'old style' in the same way as vinyl’s are today – earning money will become quite tricky. Stockholm, Sweden : Polish pianist My sixth and final interview was in Stockholm with a Polish 'amateur' classical pianist. He's been street performing with his electric keyboard for just over a year, and started to do so to get over the stress of playing in public. Street performing is currently his main source of income, even though he doesn't really see it as a job. He has only performed in Stockholm so far and has no plans to travel at the moment.

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He has been cautioned for using his amplifier, so he tends to hide it when he performs. He found out that there are no regulations for street performing, but there are some for using amplification. Even though he is not allowed to use amplification, he continues using it as it is necessary for his act, simply 'hiding it' for it not to be too visible. He eventually intends to have a real piano for his show. Even though this is louder than an amplified keyboard, he believes that he will be allowed to use it as there is no legislation against it. In the long term, he sees street performing safer than many other jobs, since people always enjoy music, art and shows... and that they will continue donating something if they enjoy the performance/ show.

My Polish pianist colleague in Stockholm, Sweden

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Interview analysis The results of those interviews are very encouraging. For all the musicians in question street performing is a consequent part of their revenue and they really enjoy it : it is a life choice ! They believe that they are continuing a tradition that adds something to the life of cities, whether simply through entertainment or 'something stronger'. All of them are rather optimistic about the future of their profession. Street performing has survived until now, despite some difficult moments and some bitter anecdotes – so why would this change now ? Despite being optimistic about the future, it is clear that there will be some serious challenges ahead : adapting to technological changes, reacting to police abuse or being ready to fight against regulations if these get tougher. For all six of them, and myself, problems with the police are only occasional : most street performing is good fun ! The most negative comment in my opinion is the one of the Macedonian flautist who said that he would consider leaving Lisbon, if there are more regular checks. He tried obtaining information for a license, but with no results. None of them enquire in advance about regulations and licenses when they play in a new place. They simply go and play there and hope for the best. The street performers I interviewed that are also activists are also the calmest. They know that improving matters with authorities, residents and businesses requires constructive negotiation, taking into account the interests of all parties. They also know that any incident is worth reporting to the media : street performing incidents with authorities can be quite newsworthy. Researching specific legislation on street performing can also help, as this allows performers to use that knowledge in case the police intervene during an act.

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10) Conclusion Regulations tend to become increasingly strict with time. Indeed it is probable that in the long run authorities will receive complaints from both residents and local businesses. If those complaints start adding up, the authorities will react by adding new regulations making it tougher for artists to perform. In addition there is a growing tendency towards privatization of land. This has been observed in cities such as Bath, Birmingham and Bristol. When land has been privatized, it is no longer the local authorities that are in charge, but the owner of the land (i.e. the owner of large shopping areas in most cases). There are exceptions to this when authorities understand the importance of street performing and the added value it can bring to the life of cities. In those cases, there are no regulations or simply a code of conduct that puts on paper basic rules of courtesy. My interviews with Jhonny Walker and Chester, combined with my own experience highlight the following positive outcome : we, performers, individually or collectively, can bring change to regulations, making them more flexible and easy to follow. It is all about getting in touch with the authorities to discuss our issues, as well as knowing the relevant legislation to counter police arguments if necessary, and not hesitate to contact the media if we have a story that could be of public interest. It is in our own hands to improve city regulations if these become too harsh. It is complicated to compare regulations from one city/country to another as there are so many variations ! Regulations really are a matter for local authorities, so even within the same country, one city might be very open and tolerant and another very strict. The only tendency that I have observed (wit some notable exceptions such as Stockholm, Cambridge, Edinburgh) is that capitals as well as touristic cities tend to have stricter regulations. . The performers I interviewed, just as in my own case, very rarely get into trouble with the police. This leads to another important aspect : in a scenario where a (group of) street performer(s) is travelling and only staying a few days in one city before moving to the next one, there is no point inquiring about regulations or applying for a license. This is because the probability of being controlled by the police is quite low. Besides, if one is in a large town and is told off in one part of the town, one can just move to another part of the same town, where the chance of being checked by the same police agent is very low. Most members of the police force are actually quite friendly and will not ask a performer to stop his/her act even though (in some cases) it is technically illegal. On the other hand, if one mainly performs in the same city, it is important to know the regulations and to respect them, as well as apply for the license if there is one ! Indeed, one will see and be seen regularly by the same police agents. Regarding CDs, playing with words or with the way you display your set is an easy way to get around regulations on street trading. The best example of this has been illustrated through Jhonny Walker's signpost. With this wording, it would be hard for a police agent to prove that you are selling rather than offering as the decision to leave money is entirely up to the members of the public. To summarize, today's situation is promising for the following reasons: ⁃ is relatively easy to travel from town to town for street performing without getting into any

trouble ; ⁃ with a little imagination one can get around the laws on street trading and easily distribute

CD's ; ⁃ abuse by a police agent, if correctly handled, can lead to positive change ;

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⁃ it is up to performers to improve their street performing options through constructive dialogue with the relevant parties ;

⁃ for the city(s) in which we perform the most often (and where we will therefore regularly see the same police agents), enquiring about the legislation can be very helpful to defend ourselves if necessary. It is also an opportunity to check if local/regional legislation is in accordance or in contradiction with national legislation ! Perhaps the way forward would be to introduce legislation at the European level !

May street performing continue embellishing our cities and lives !

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11. Personal thoughts In March 2013, I stopped working on EUROPEDUCATION, my British-based social enterprise. After considering looking for a more traditional job, I decided that would not be the right option. Now was the opportunity to make my late teens dream come true : create and play music, and make a living out of it. Little did I know about the journey I was about to embark upon. Through music and street performing, my life took a drastic turn. My work allowed me to travel and brought me into direct contact with the public. It improved my public speaking skills, confidence and assertiveness. It opened the doors to events such as concerts and workshops. My brother also advised me to apply to 'Belgium's Got Talent'. I applied, passed several auditions, reached the semifinals and appeared on national TV for the first time. Through street performing, I today have dozens of beautiful anecdotes to relate. On the down side (or good side when looking at it today), I got into trouble with the police, not only in Brussels, but also in other cities (Berlin, Prague, Lyon, London, Paris...). Through those problems, I started reflecting on our rights and freedoms, as street performers. I made a media case out of what happened to me in Brussels, and ended up changing the regulations of my main street performing city. A friend sent me a link to the scholarships offered by the Peter Kirk foundation : a perfect opportunity to continue studying street performing at an international level. I applied, and obtained this grant... thank you for your interest in this fascinating topic of street performing ; a well-established worldwide tradition present in our everyday lives. I am now back from this incredible busking euro trip and concluding it with this report. Over the last six months, all my energy went into the travelling - and I haven't really composed new pieces, or worked with other people (musicians, therapists, other artists etc.) as I was constantly moving from one place to another, focusing on this study. So I am now in a new phase in my musical career : my focus has shifted from street performing to 'entering the Belgian music scene', composing and creating more music, starting new cooperative projects with other people. The end of this project is the start of new projects. One door closes, another door opens... I am now looking forward to new adventures and hope life will continue to be this exciting ! All the best, and stay tuned. Gérard Spencer