The schedule wall at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival 2011
The Quest to find the Perfect Permit System
One of our goals is to find out what permit systems work around the world. The idea is to come up with as good a system as possible, a middle ground between the lovers and the haters of permits.
The Busking Project is not created by buskers. We’re relying on the experience of others as we go. So, please tell me where you think I’m wrong, or what I’ve missed. We’ll incorporate your views into the final product.
“The Pros and Cons of Permit Systems” (below) is the first part. The second part will then detail a permit system that deals with them. The final part will talk about implementation of the system, who will benefit, and what still needs to be resolved.
Thanks for reading,
Nick
PART I: The Pros and Cons of Permit Systems
PROS
- An audition process ensures that some standards are met
- Permits reduce police harassment for permit holders
- Permit holders are in some ways “legitimised” — reducing self doubt and embarrassment, convincing people that it’s okay to perform on the streets
- Formally scheduled pitches reduce arguments between buskers
- Permit systems allow authorities to quickly remove bad apples. If they`re not playing by the rules, they will be pushed out.
- An organised authority managing buskers makes contacting them for gigs easier
CONS
- An audition system will give weight to performers who conform to “established urban aesthetic notions about what a professional musician is”
- A limited number of permits arbitrarily denies some buskers permission
- Cops are more likely to harass non-licensed buskers
- Permits might legitimise some buskers, but they also delegitimise the rest
- Buskers who aren’t free on audition day will not be able to get a permit
- Not all ethnicities in a city will be equally aware of the permit system
- Licensed pitches fill up easily, restricting permit holders
- It costs a lot of money and time to properly administer a license system
- An organised schedule removes the cultural exchange between buskers
- Nomadic buskers cannot get permits quickly
- The bureaucracy of permits takes the “street” our of “street performance”
- Permits add to the myth of the “established” or “professional” artist, something many buskers are against
- The issues permits fix can be handled without the need for a permit
Hi people.
I busked in Covent Garden pre permit and lists and in Edinburgh before regulation of any kind, yes I’m that old.
I also travelled around various parts of the world and busked in many place legal and otherwise. From my experience, in every case when permits and waiting lists were introduced, things go downhill.
In Edinburgh in the 1980 there was an informal ‘system’ on the mound, you could set up and try and attract a crowd at almost any time but if you pulled people from another show, performers would have harsh words with you, seldom worse.
There was an honour system, in that almost no one used any amplifiers, certainly in Covent Garden in early days they were really frowned on. The presence of a large crowd focusing on a show in quiet concentration was usually enough to quiet, even passers by and performer either projected their voices or worked without words.
Of course there was noisy street acts, Pookiesnackenburger springs to mind, the precursors to Stomp, and they were a force of nature against which no one could or would try to compete but somehow unamplified music (and speech) doesn’t seem to penetrate the brain and dominate in quite the same way.
Large groups of percussion or even solo drummers can dominate public spaces but usually in the end they seem to find their own time and place where they don’t annoy other people.
I’m against regulation in general, I’m against insurance, I think it encourages people to take more risk because they think because they are insured they are somehow above normal clear thinking and common sense.
I’ve seen crazy shit on the street and witnessed accidents, I’ve suffered injury too but people in public spaces are subject to all the normal laws governing behaviour in whatever country they are in and any system of permit, vetting and risk assessment doesn’t make people safer, in fact I would argue the opposite is true.
I performed for several years in theatres around the world and would usually have to submit to an demonstration / inspection by a fire official. I found that this face to face talk and demonstration of the equipment in a relaxed and honest way would always result in the issue of a permit to use fire on stage in the theatre. I don’t recall ever being refused a permit.
I’m not sure if that would still hold good but in London at least there was a provision that the use of fire had to be ‘integral to the action’ of the show. In other words if the act was based on using fire and it would really not exist without it, the authorities would at least have to consider issuing a licence.
So no, for all the reasons outlined and factoring in the list of ‘cons’ at the top of the page i would say no, no and a thousand time no to licences, insurance requirements and permits.
Read the small print on your insurance policy if you have one, the bit about ‘limits of liability’ and see if there is a section about ‘negligent behaviour’, yes I thought so.
If you are negligent and cause an accident because you acted negligently you will no longer covered. You can bet more than the money you paid to the company they will try and prove you were acting negligently by even using fire in a public place – so where does that leave you, yes exactly, with no insurance cover.
Be happy, be safe, be well and keep in free.
PS I’m considering issuing a ‘Universal ‘Licensed To Perform’ Permit’ with ‘Access All Areas’ on the reverse. It will be valid at all times for any area in the world. Available for the cost of me making it + postage Anyone interested? Contact me at Davesp at eircom dot net
Ciao,
I’m a busker from Rome, Italy. I guess an audition system could seem a good idea to a spectator, but from the point of view of a busker it really has mor cons than the ones you listed upon.
I basically grew up in Piazza Navona: after a first period in which I used to performe silently and continuosly in a corner, I bought an amplifier so I added music to what I was doing. But mine still wasn’t really a show with a beginning and an end, there wasn’t a narration, and at last I chose a single song, and I made out of that my story to tell. Then I developed more abilities and skills, and my show got ever bigger and different. Every single idea and expereince changes you and your show, and the street teaches you more than anyone.
An audition system is not funtional with this fact. Even someone who is not able to do anything should be legitimized to performe. Street will tell him things don’t work and he will have to get better, and grow up as a street artist. And if an audition system should legitimize anybody, that would be just a bureacratic inconvenience.
Besides the philosophy of street art, which makes the different between busking and begging, is being a free offer of a free art in a free space.
Where people freely meet, there you want to tell your story to anybody who would like to ear what you have to say. Anyone has the right to speak, don’t matter who he is or what he does.
Legal restrictions may however be necessary in order to avoid problems both ways. My suggestion to you is just to create a space in your website where all the countries you visited are listed, and for each country write down what the law currently says about street art, and link the official websites to check possible updatings.
In order to find what system works better, in that webpage you could place a poll between all countries, that we anyone could vote once. At least that way you would discover which system is more appreciated by everybody.
in my country there are no opportunities. or laws for the jugglers, cultural mind is not very good seen by society. want to see it as an art and a cultural exprecion, which was valued as the other arts ………
Also, having pitches regulated already by the government, means that the busking community would not have to come together in cooperation and a great sense of community would quickly be lost. Much of the spontaneous nature of life itself which busking often embodies might also be lost as well. God forbid that day.
My 2¢
To me, there are many busking communities that attain the ideal of freedom independently and sovereign of whatever the political system may be. That is, when there is not a permit system, the busking community comes together and works cooperatively. It is very similar to the “anarcho-syndicalism” that Noam Chomsky promotes. Not only does it allow maximum autonomy but it can at times create a support system greater than the sum of its parts, even if it’s only knowing there’s always a couch.
Yes, there may be places where douchebag buskers can make that ideal hard to attain but it is up to the autonomous busking community to fix that wherever it occurs. It requires people coming together in self determination (something which all people deserve the chance to experience) and conquering the situation with their higher conscious. But once you have the government stepping in to try to fix it, it may be fixed for a short while but it will quickly devolve into something much worse and then the busking community is HELPLESS to do anything about it because governments don’t give up control voluntarily and there aren’t many voters concerned about buskers.
Also, without a permit system, people who stay up late at night need not get up at the crack of dawn to draw a number =P
If a busking community decides to have their own voluntary number drawing system to create a structured system around which they can cooperate, that’s up to them. They can quit if they don’t like it or change it to meet their needs. But if the government does it instead it can not be reversed and there is much potential for abuse of buskers’ rights.
It seems it would be much better to have to face the occasional unpredictable problem with finding a pitch (real life) than to forever have to submit oneself to the government’s regulations and force (rigid and artificial).
In general to everyone reading this:
I have been given A LOT to think about so far concerning this issue. Perhaps two-dozen people have gotten involved in this conversation.
In five days I’m going to accumulate the sentiments of the comments left here and on our FB event, and roll out some kind of permit system. It is then that I expect to get the full brunt of your dissatisfaction, and I’m looking forward to it.
However, I’m very much interested in getting more views. 20-odd people are here representing 20 thousand. If you know other buskers who would have something to say on this issue — or permit administrators, or public planners, or anthropologists, economists, lawyers, mayors, whomever — I would really appreciate you asking them to add their voices to the conversation.
Thank you, and heavy hats,
Nick
Thanks Arif. To add to your comments, I think that the individualism of certain performers gives their act their unique and bizarre nature. Some would not feel the motivation to do what they do if they were not roaming free.
I see the coming together as a group of people that are so inclined to do so, acting on behalf of and in the best interests of all buskers in a location. And in return for their participation in the permit, they would get member benefits — those would be the rewards.
Judith, thanks for the comments. I agree with your sentiments, that safety has to be addressed. But part of the fun of street performance — and here I’m including the musicians, dancers and all the other performers — being an itinerant part of society, on the fringe, is something that is important for that society. They give us a different way of life, and their art is often inspired by that lifestyle.
So, I don’t believe the world is ever going to get street performers to play ball. And perhaps they shouldn’t. That’s where I see the beauty of a non-mandatory permit system: those who would like to remain on the outskirts can do so freely. Unfortunately, that wouldn’t address the safety issues.
Perhaps an international standard certificate (like a degree, not like a permit) of safety, in the way of ACAPTA, would be best, a globally recognised and peer-assessed badge. It could be just another feather in a performer’s hat.
Hi Deadly,
There have been a few buskers who’ve told me they enjoy the regulated pitches at Ed. Again, they told me no names, but certain performers would put their equipment next to more than one pitch, and then claim that they had reserved a spot at whichever one came first. They like the lack of scheduling issues, and some even believe that the system means more buskers can perform nowadays, instead of less, as the shows don’t run on so long and everyone is guaranteed at least one show per day.
I guess other benefits would be publicity through the website, perhaps gigs that are gotten through them, the press… Now, I’m not saying that these positives outweigh the negatives, I’d have no idea. But some people seem to believe they do. If the Ed Fringe hadn’t stepped in with a system, it sounds like the government would have cracked down on street performers. Would that have been better?
I’m in favour. The idea isn’t that it’s set up to restrict – if it was internally managed and edited, then why would it? Unfortunately we live in a world where these things are necessary. Instead of seeing it as a set of rules, it should more be looked at as a sign that we are standing together and supporting each other. If we ARE the permitter, then who else is it supposed to serve? No-one said it had to be paid for or enforced by anything other than the agreement of a group of people. From the outside it looks like a permit but from the inside you can call it a membership, whatever. And no, that doesn’t mean exclusivity either. I, personally, would love something to “unite behind” as Nick puts it and I’m trying to make something like that happen in London. It’s a slow process because, as we know, Streetperformers are, inherently, a group of individuals. We don’t have to be though.
The sad fact remains, that in certain places in the present day, control is needed to maintain fairness and a good working environment for people to do shows and to have the space to learn to do better shows. It’s idealistic to think otherwise. It’d be great if the law of the land were sufficient – it isn’t. And relying on that only demonstrates one thing – that we can’t work things out for ourselves.
Dear Judith
I was just answering Nick’s question as to why a permit system was introduced to the Edinburgh Fringe. (I don’t believe you were there in 1999 when it was introduced). Yes I agree ” I think an internationally recognised standard permit which involves safety standards, a code of practise, and a clearly stated Duty Of Care.. is an EXCELLENT idea” aswell. As you may be aware some of us are working with ACAPTA with the idea of a national permit system here in Oz. The fire accident at Surfers Paradise was along time ago and has and still does affect many, regardless of insurance and permits. I left theatre many years ago to work the steets so as to avoid the politics and so on, and my aim has always been to entertain.
Thanks Deadly
I think an internationally recognised standard permit which involves safety standards, a code of practise, and a clearly stated Duty Of Care.. is an EXCELLENT idea. Street theatre and buskign shows may be about political action and stuff for some people, but for a lot of us it is about entertaining people, earning a living and using our unusual skills as part of the world not against the world. Safety standards are about making sure innocent bystanders dont get hurt by careless safety.. for example in Australia it is illegal to use fire in some places because a busker was careless with his gear and and a member of the audience got burnt.
It is the actions of buskers and street performers that have led to councils and organisations requiring public liability insurance and permits. Its a reality. That means that even those of us who are professional, have to obey that system and be limited by it. It means we cant just ccatch a plane to a decent pitch and do some shows because we have to go through a permit system each time.
An international standard permit would ease this. We can set our safety standards. Its not about what time should shows stop. That is covered by the Duty of Care.
I think the permit is ok and that street perfomers should hae the right to perfom any where in the world.
Street theatre should disturb and take over, and not be permitted. It is free art.
Yes, I too was at the Fringe this year, I was also there in 1999 when the permit system was introduced; and several Fringes’ before and after. I have been performing the Fringe since 1992. Back in 92 we only had the one formal pitch on the mound, run by the Covent Garden Crew. It was however posible to find other pitches in Ed, hence myself and a few others would wander up to Parliment Square; there were no stalls and the road was open to traffic. In 95 or 96 the High street was closed to traffic between 9am to 9pm; this was amazing, 5 pitches, plenty of shows for all. In 1998 a few ambitious, dare I say greedy performers (I won’t mention names, some of us know who they are), thought it cool to perform later then 9pm, stopping cars trying to enter the open street. The council turn to the Fringe, and threatend to close the whole thing down unless the Fringe did something, hence the introduction of the Covent Garden style permit system we know today. There was protest then and still is today to a degree: the international acts turned up with no warning, had to find insurance somehow, while the Covent boys laughed at us. Sorry this is so longwinded but there is so much more to the story, I have tried to keep this as concise as possible. BTW what are the benefits Nick?
Warm regards Deadly
Un-1, thanks for the comment. I have a couple of questions:
The hours thing seems so contentious. How would the latest time for performance in a residential area be worked out? By popular vote? When would you set the time?
Amplification, for me, is obvious. That classical guitarists can’t be amplified is ridiculous. Some sort of decibel limit I could understand.
As for the 2hr slot, I think that’s probably ambitious. I’m not disagreeing with you on this, but I wonder whether all street performers would feel the same way about allocating that amount of time.
Thanks!
A permit that allowed for amplification and later hours in louder parts of the city would be a huge asset. Having a permit that was free, but had some for. Of audition I think would be great. The audition process should be for nothing more than to check if the performer can keep rhythms and pitch. The perfect permit would allow me to play in the same spot for 90 mins with 15 minutes on either side for setup and take down. Permits should be able to be altered by everyone who has a permit via a vote
BTW, Deadly, we were recently at the Fringe, and saw the time and effort they put into the system there. It seems there are benefits as well as problems.
A couple of questions for clarification (I’m not doubting you!):
What do you think the motivations were for putting in a permit system at the Fringe?
Are there any positives that you see to it?
Nice responses. And I totally get the resistance to their being ANY permit system. But Gio (and I’m only asking you because we’ve met), would you get rid of MUNY? I understand that it might alter the nature of busking for the performers who are members of MUNY, but do you think it affects your time on the streets or subways?
I feel that a non-mandatory permit system, if made well, could have positive benefits for non-members and members alike. Maybe I’m wrong!
Anyway, so here’s a tally of points made so far…
Some requirements for a fair system
It doesn’t really matter to me whether there is a good, fair, or just permit system. Once busking becomes institutionalized, we are simply tools of the state, we amount to little more than imperial rome’s bread and circuses. Street artists are subversive not only because of the text, context, and/or subtext of their work, but because of the very medium. Institutionalizing busking (and submitting to such systems) means taking the brush, guitar, and juggling clubs out of OUR hands and putting them instead in the hands of the state. I’m sure there are many street artists who don’t view the state this way.. But I do. And I would never get “the best permit,” even if it did exist. Why must I be permitted to express myself?! Finally, I understand that not all artists live in so-called ‘free’ countries like the US, where I live. Perhaps in other countries there are real consequences to sharing one’s life, love, and art on the streets. Wherever that’s the case, an artist has worse problems than a lame permit system. They ought to be fighting ever harder to create art and culture that values liberty, peace, justice, and responsibility so that their art is not just ‘permitted’ by governments but rather DEMANDED by the people. Peace friends.
ps.Stree performing at the Edinburgh Festival was much better before the Fringe was involved. All those little Fringe stages were once street performing pitches; yes there were 5 or more pitches on the High street and the quality of street act was also better.
From Joe Mangrum, New York’s increasingly famous street sand painter: “In the USA it is unconstitutional to require permits…although most municipalities, if not challenged, would like to believe otherwise. Like most local police they want their cut. No permits…just common sense… no banging on drums in the middle of residence communities at midnight…Keep it simple… we all can agree on that!”
I have been Busking for almost 30 years now; both as a musician and street performer, worldwide. The perfect buskers permit did exist, many years ago, it was no permit! I have watched many a buskers pitch destroyed over the years by permit systems. Permit or no permit; legitimate or illegitimate, at the end of the day you can still have a permit revoked or pitch taken off of you at the whim of the authorities involved. eg. I pay two different authorities to play on the one pitch (yes double dipping) and still I may turn up and there is a stall or charity or some other event organised on the pitch by one of the afore-mentioned aurthorities. Go figure.
The Permit system…Oi. So I think that the permit system is ok. But it should be free to get one. No tryouts. First come first serve lineup. 1 hour limit if people are waiting. Amps ok but not loud enough to disturb other acts or the people who live and work in the area. Fire is ok too if you are not an idiot about it. Other performers should police this. Also not to block off pedestrian traffic choose a spot that fits your crowd. People should not have to walk into the street to get around your audience. Mabee just at the end its ok.
I know many people do not like the permit systems. But it does help to make people work together and not just to have the breakdancers go back to back.
if we are legalize the busking system , corruption will take over, so the same musicians will be playing best spots all the time, Furthermore, they will exchange with each other the best spots, this is a real fact, this is happening in London in Covent Garden, on the underground, also in Barcelona and in many others parts of the world, i have been busking full time for the past 10 years, and this is my point of view, is real, listen to the real buskers please, the only Issue is to stop the Police mooving real musicians from the streets,
Okay, leave your comments below — what’s missing or wrong in the above list?