York welcomes buskers with new guidance designed to promote harmony on the streets

York welcomes buskers with new guidance designed to promote harmony on the streets
Post Date May 19, 2015
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Category Articles, York

York City Council have followed on from Liverpool to become the second major UK city to adopt new collaborative guidelines for busking. The Council worked closely with the local busking community, the Musician’s Union, the Keep Streets Live Campaign and local businesses to produce a document designed to encourage and welcome buskers from all over the world.

You can read an online version of ‘A Guide to Busking in York’ by clicking on the following link: A Guide to Busking in York-print artwork

Busking in York

 

‘A Guide to Busking in York’ is very different in tone and content from busking policies in many UK towns and cities, which all too often see busking as a potential problem to be managed and restricted, rather than as a grassroots cultural activity to be celebrated. York’s new approach recognises that the busking tradition is characterised by informality, spontaneity and democratic access to public space. The new guidelines replace a cumbersome and coercive regime where the local authority used to charge buskers for permits and hold auditions. Once upon a time, buskers without permits were moved on and many would-be performers were turned away because the system of obtaining a license and attending an audition put people off from coming to York to perform. Until an online petition was started by the Keep Streets Live Campaign. It was signed by over 4000 people and called on York to scrap their restrictive policy and work with the busking community to produce new guidance. The new guidelines are the result of that successful campaign and replaces the old permit and audition system.

Now, no ‘license’, ‘permit’ or audition is required to busk in York. Instead, ‘A Guide to Busking In York’ sets out some simple principles for buskers based upon common sense, consideration and good will. The guidance also sets out practical steps for resolving potential issues between buskers and others who share public space in the city before problems have a chance to escalate. This new approach safeguards spontaneity, whilst allowing appropriate action to be taken whenever issues do arise.

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York have also taken the welcome step of publishing a condensed guidance document aimed specifically at city centre businesses and residents to help them resolve any busking-related issues amicably and to explain the busking guidance clearly. It asks those who may have an issue with a busking performance to politely speak to the busker themselves and reach a compromise before making a formal complaint. Most situations can be resolved in this way. For those that can’t be, a council officer will attend and assess the situation. If the busker is deemed to be at fault and the issue persists then the busker can ultimately face enforcement action but this will only ever be as a last resort. You can follow this link to see an online copy of the guidance document aimed at businesses: York Busking Guidance businesses – final

York’s new guidance for busking further enhances its deserved reputation as one of the UK’s leading cultural cities. Importantly, the new policy safeguards the spontaneity and informality that are key to the busking tradition, which will help to attract high quality busking acts from all over the world and animate the city’s streets. The new guidelines have removed unnecessary and costly bureaucracy and stand in direct contrast to regressive approaches in other places, such as: Camden’s coercive license regime and Oxford City Council’s ill-thought out proposals to use draconian ‘Public Space Protection Orders’ to criminalise ‘non-compliant’ buskers.

By drawing up busking guidance alongside the Musician’s Union, Equity, the Keep Streets Live Campaign, local buskers and businesses, York Council have pioneered a radically different, collaborative approach to the oversight of street culture, setting a high standard for cultural policy that other towns and cities in the UK and beyond would do well to follow.

 

 

 

 

Repeal London’s Anti Busking Laws

Repeal London’s Anti Busking Laws
Post Date November 06, 2014
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Category Articles, Blog

We have launched a new petition to safeguard London’s buskers from laws that threaten cultural freedoms. Please sign it via this link:

https://www.change.org/p/rt-hon-theresa-may-mp-repeal-london-s-anti-busking-laws

 

Cultural Freedoms Under Threat

 

The future of spontaneous performances of art and music on London’s streets is seriously under threat because of bad laws which strangle grassroots culture and criminalize artists and musicians. If we act now we have a unique opportunity to lift the burden on culture-makers by supporting Lord Clement Jones’ amendments to the Deregulation Bill which is going through Parliament at this moment, and striking this outdated legislation off the statute books for good.

 

Why the law needs to change

 

On the 9th April 2014, Boris Johnson launched the #backbusking campaign with the aim of making London ‘the most busker friendly city on earth’ by reducing some of the red tape and restrictive laws that have turned London into a ‘no go’ area for buskers. He was joined at the launch by the winners of a mayoral competition set up to find ‘London’s best buskers’, a young band called “The King’s Parade”. A month later that same band were arrested by the Met Police for busking in Leicester Square under Section 54 of the 1839 Metropolitan Police Act which makes it an offence to use a noisy instrument ‘to gather alms’ on the street. The same law also makes it an offence to fly kites and ride sleighs, and yet this antiquated legislation was used to hold four talented young musicians in custody for six hours after arresting them in front of a shocked crowd, despite the fact that they represented the very best of London’s busking talent.

 

It gets worse…

 

In November 2013, Camden Council passed a resolution that made it a criminal offense to sing or perform any kind of music on the streets without first paying for a license even if the music making is undertaken with no intention of collecting money. Any person who wishes to play music in public spaces anywhere Camden must pay a fee of up to £47, wait for up to 20 working days, submit to a public consultation and be deemed ‘a fit and proper person’ to busk after a police check. They were able to introduce this intrusive and restrictive policy because Section V of the London Local Authorities Act 2000 allows local authorities in London to criminalize spontaneous street performance, impose fines of up to £1000, confiscate musical instruments and to sell them to pay the fines. This restricive policy is being challenged in the Court of Appeal but meanwhile other London Boroughs such as Kensington and Chelsea and Southwark are considering using this law to control street culture and it could quickly spread amongst all the 32 London Boroughs if the underlying legislation is not struck off.

 

 

Why Should We Stand Up?

 

London is one of the world’s great cultural centers with buskers making a signifiant contribution to the cultural and visitor economy of our capital city and yet young musicians can face lifelong criminal records and the loss of their livelihoods and precious musical instruments simply for playing music on the streets, this simply cannot be justified.

 

Live music contributes £632 million to the UK economy each year and busking provides a vital forum for young British artists to gain valuable performance experience in that most democratic and open of forums, the streets! Artists as diverse as Ed Sheeran, Jessie J, Passenger, Eddie Izzard, Bill Bailey, Billy Bragg, Rod Stewart, Paul Simon and even US founding father, Benjamin Franklin cut their performing teeth on the streets. Would they have started busking if they faced arrest and a criminal record for doing what they loved?

 

Section V of the London Local Authorities Act 2000 and Section 54 of the 1839 Metropolitan Police Act threaten the survival of a great British cultural tradition in our capital city, London. They must be taken off the statute books.

 

 

We Need Your Support.

 

Lord Clement Jones – the author of the 2012 Live Music Act and a passionate supporter of grassroots art and culture – has proposed an amendment to the Deregulation Bill to repeal London’s anti-busking legislation. With government support this is a unique opportunity to force London’s Boroughs to come up with a more creative and supportive stance towards their musicians and artists. The Greater London Authority has convened a taskforce to develop a code of conduct for busking across London. Councils and the police have all the powers they need to tackle genuine noise nuisance and obstruction from busking without criminalizing spontaneous street performance and introducing blanket prohibitions. We are calling on them to work alongside buskers, businesses and professional bodies such as the Musician’s Union to develop a code of conduct for London that supports and nurtures a fine cultural tradition instead of stifling it by turning artists into criminals.

 

 

 

This approach works

 

The Keep Streets Live Campaign is a not for profit organization that exists to protect informal offerings of art and music in public spaces. We successfully challenged restrictive license schemes in Liverpool and York and are now working alongside the local authority and business groups alongside professional bodies like the Musician’s Union to develop codes of practice for busking which promote harmonious relationships between buskers and businesses whilst preserving spontaneity and openness by spelling out how existing laws can be used to target genuine nuisance. We are challenging Camden Council’s restrictive busking law in the Court of Appeal and working with the London Mayoral taskforce to develop a pan-London code of conduct that simplifies busking rules across London. You can find out more about us by visiting http://keepstreetslive.com

 

Response to Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea Busking Consultation

Response to Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea Busking Consultation
Post Date October 16, 2014
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Category Articles, Blog, Policy Objections

The Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea are consulting on bringing in a busking license which will be almost as restrictive as Camden. We have taken part in their consultation and have reproduced our responses here. You can take part in the consultation which closes on October 19th by clicking on the link below and using our responses as a guide if you wish. The more people who complete this consultation the greater the chance we have of persuading Kensington and Chelsea’s Councillors not to adopt this proposed scheme.

 

http://www.rbkc.gov.uk/survey/busking/snphase2busking1.htm

 

1.) Appendix A shows the pilot area to which the Street Entertainment (Busking) Policy refers to. Do you agree with the selected pilot area?

The Greater London Authority has convened a mayoral taskforce specifically for the purpose of agreeing a code of conduct for busking across London between all stakeholders. In the light of this process alone, which Kensington and Chelsea are part of, the imposition of a statutory licensing regime is highly prematureSection V of the London Local Authorities Act is a contentious piece of legislation which empowers local authorities to criminalise street culture, impose fines and seize musician’s instruments. The local authority has other statutory powers (Environmental Protection Act 1990, Highways Act 1980) that can be used to address problematic busking. The imposition of a licensing regime is contrary to the nature of busking as a spontaneous and informal cultural pursuit.

 

2.) Busking will not be allowed in the piloted area without a licence on Fridays and Saturdays from 10.00 to 18.00. Are these controls appropriate?

 

 

In the busking tradition performers typically perform in many different localities in the course of a working season. Busking licenses create unnecessary obstacles for travelling performers and always lead to a decline in the circulation of performers and greatly reduce variety. Camden have introduced a license under these powers alongside Hillingdon. If the 30 remaining boroughs followed suit the result would be the total fragmentation of the London busking community. Very few performers will have the resources to pay for 32 separate licenses, the result will be greatly reduced variety and quality of performances and the diminishment of the cultural life of the capital. A license regime also criminalises unlicensed performers who may not have been aware of the license arrangements and will be put off from coming to the Borough to perform. It creates an arbitrary barrier to the use of public space for the arts and would be resource-intensive to enforce. The threat of instrument confiscation and punitive fines is disproportionate to the issues that can arise from busking and is an unwarranted interference with Freedom of Expression under Article 10 of the Human Rights Act. An ongoing legal challenge to Camden Council’s license regime under Section V powers is being heard by the Court of Appeal on November 13th. These restrictions will be open to a similar challenge.

 

3.) On a Friday and Saturday, during the hours of 10.00am and 6.00pm the council will issue a maximum of 6 x 70 minutes slots per day, per location. Do you feel this number of slots is appropriate?

 

Busking performances differ in length according to the nature of the performance and the context in which it takes place. The Keep Streets Live Campaign Best Practice Guide recommends that performers do not repeat material in the same location but move between locations. We also recommend that buskers swap and share pitches informally. This scheme will lead to more co The proposed scheme is too prescriptive because it will lead to performances being cut short arbitrarily and doesn’t take account of the nature of busking as a primarily informal and spontaneous activity. The proposed scheme is too prescriptive because it will lead to performances being cut short arbitrarily and doesn’t take account of the nature of busking as a primarily informal and spontaneous activity. Some musical performances will be longer than 70 minutes, some will be much shorter. The booking system does not allow the flexibility and informality that is part of the nature of busking.

 

4.) Of the 42 slots available, each busker will be able to pre-book two slots per day. is this an appropriate number of pre-bookable slots?

 

Having to pre-book slots is unnecessarily bureaucratic in the first instance. Buskers typically turn up to a location and make an evaluation as to whether a space is suitable for a performance. They will then negotiate with other performers and come to arrangements in an informal way. Requiring pre-booked slots means that inevitably people will not turn up to their allocated spot but it won’t be open to people who could otherwise have used it. The scheme will have to be administered which will be resource intensive. Keep Streets Live Campaign strongly recommends not having pre-booked slots at all and encouraging buskers to swap and share pitches on an informal basis.

 

5.) If all the slots have not been filled in advance, then on the day before noon a busker can take up an additional slot provided that they have not already used that same site on the same day. Is this restriction appropriate to allow fair distribution of slots?

 

 

Some buskers will have a large repertoire which would allow to play different performances at the same location on the same day. Pre-booking slots is unnecessary and will, in itself, lead to an unfair and uneven distribution of slots. Existing statutory powers can be used against buskers who cause issues by not moving. The introduction of a licensing regime with pitch allocations and pre-booked slots will greatly reduce the vibrancy and circulation of performers.

 

6.) Do you agree that the council should allow street buskers to apply for an additional street trading license?

 

 

This question relates to CDs of busker’s music. Having recordings available to the public enhances the busking experience by allowing performers to make their music available to a wider audience and allowing the public to enjoy a tangible souvenir of the busker’s performance. Nonetheless, CDs are a secondary element to busking and should therefore be made available on a voluntary basis to those who wish to take one. Best Practice Guidance agreed between Liverpool City Council and the Keep Streets Live Campaign recommends that CDs be made available for a ‘suggested and voluntary contribution’. It is emphasised that members of the public are free to take a CD without making payment, just as they are free to enjoy the performance without making payment. Requiring an additional street trading license for busking is another layer of unnecessary bureaucracy which will put off performers from registering under the scheme, and discourages buskers from making their music available to the public to the detriment of the busking experience. Whereas for a market trader the sale of stock is the primary purpose of their business, for a busker CDs are a secondary aspect of the busking performance. This is an important difference that needs to be recognised.

 

7.) If you are a busker will you be willing to pay the initial £15 fee for a period of 6 months?

 

Whilst the £15 fee in itself is not prohibitive it accompanies a huge range of terms and conditions and restrictions that, taken together, greatly inhibit the ability of working musicians to make a living on the streets. It criminalises an informal cultural pursuit, it creates obstacles for travelling performers and it attempts to impose a highly formalised set of regulations upon an informal cultural pastime which has always relied on spontaneity and democratic access to public space. Busking adds vibrancy and colour to public spaces, increases dwell time for local businesses and is an enormous part of the visitor economy to London. Musicians should not have to pay for the privilege of providing free entertainment to the general public whilst enhancing the shared public spaces of the borough. The license scheme is a misconceived attempt to address problems that have been caused by a small minority of performers who could be dealt with using existing statutory powers. We recommend that Kensington and Chelsea engage with the Greater London Authority taskforce and agree a code of conduct for busking that works for all parties. If the aim is to attract high quality performers into the borough, this scheme will achieve the opposite. It will create a narrow pool of performers who are willing to sign up to the restrictions (who may well not be buskers in the traditional sense, and will predominately only perform within the Borough), and will deter many other performers from ever visiting. Over time it will greatly diminish the vibrancy and variety of street performances on offer in this part of London

 

8.) If you are a busker would you pay £40 for a period of 4 weeks to sell associated items?

 

Whilst we welcome the fact that RBKC recognise that ‘associated items’ are a legitimate aspect of busking, we recommend that buskers do not sell CDs but make them available for a suggested and voluntary donation. A street trading licence is unnecessary to that end and the cost of it is prohibitive relative to the amount of time slots RBKC are making available for busking.

 

 

9.) Do you have any further comments concerning this draft Street Entertainment (Busking) Policy?

 

On behalf of the Keep Streets Live Campaign of which I am the founding director I will send you a PDF document containing the best practice guidance agreed between the City Council, Business Improvement District and the busking community in Liverpool over a period of five months. It aims to give businesses, buskers and residents the resources they need to resolve disputes and to allow street culture to flourish. It could be adapted for use in Kensington and Chelsea at a fraction of the cost of the imposition of the Licensing Regime that is proposed. Keep Streets Live is part of the Mayoral taskforce for busking alongside RBKC and would be very happy to work alongside your officers and other bodies such as the Musician’s Union to agree a scheme that works for all parties.