We recently spoke to Arif, a member of the Covent Garden Street Performers Association (SPA), about the busking situation in London. In his emailed response, he detailed the problems they’ve had with authorities, tells of why street performers are capable of regulating themselves, and suggests that new licensed pitches should be opened up. It’s makes an interesting read, hearing a street performer arguing for licensed spaces.

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ARIF: We are setting up the already existing SPA as a not-for-profit company.

Currently, it would be fair to say that the reputation of buskers/street performers in general is one of great skill and creativity but with a background level of unprofessionalism and a lack of organisation and control.

We want to be seen as a collective of professionals who are capable of managing ourselves, the pitches we use and our shows in the moment as such. Using this as a format we hope to put together a proposal to open up more pitches in London. As the biggest city in Europe, we find it disappointing that there is only really one regulated and licensed pitch to work – namely Covent Garden (CG).

We, as an organisation, and in conjunction with the management, have been running that pitch safely and effectively for a number of years and would like to be given the opportunity to continue that good work on other pitches in London and beyond.

NICK: It sounds like the SPA vouching for performers could lead to problems. What if the chainsaw drops on someone? What if you cause a heart attack with your surprises?

ARIF: There is a certain risk of injury involved in any live performance. You can never get it down to a round “zero” but you can be responsible in the way you work. Effective crowd management, reliable and decent equipment and training all contribute to safety. If a show needs to be stopped because it is unsafe to continue or someone is at risk then so be it. All of the performers in CG are also fully Public Liability insured.

The truth of the matter is that it is in a performer’s best interests to keep a tight edge and not be too loud, etc. If the overall experience is better for audience members, the better the atmosphere, the better the show and the better the hat.

NICK: Will your non-profit review people to see if they’re worthy of a self-regulated spot? Will there be a permit card?

ARIF: Membership of the SPA currently requires these things:

  • Insurance – Most of us use Equity (the Union for the Performing Arts) or the Musicians Union in the case of the Musical Performers. But Public Liability can also be purchased privately and this will continue to be a requirement.
  • Vetting/Audition – You must either be recommended by a Rep or have passed one of the monthly open auditions. Once this has happened you are issued with a temporary license, to be reviewed at a later date.
  • Code of Conduct and Risk Assessment – The Performer is required to sign a code of conduct agreement and submit a risk assessment. Certain things such as volume and language are covered here. The Risk Assessment identifies risks and states how the performer will manage them.

NICK: What happens at other pitches in London?

ARIF: Trafalgar Square is under the jurisdiction of Westminster Council who are not interested in opening it up as an official pitch. Performers are regularly stopped from working there and, in some cases, given noise abatement orders or even arrested. We as an organisation approached them with a proposal to manage the pitch under the umbrella of the SPA but were quickly turned down.

The Southbank by Waterloo Station is workable but totally unrestricted and has no organisation. This means that it essentially becomes an amp-war and any even slightly gentler shows are immediately drowned out. There are also significant numbers of performers who are willing to threaten and intimidate. These performers usually have no insurance and no respect for any kind of queuing system. It is for this reason that any pitch we manage will be licensed.