Busking on the streets of Munich
“Here Comes the Sun” (doo doo da dai): after passing the third street entertainer performing his own cringingly off-key version of the busker’s favorite Beatles classic, it is refreshing finally to come across some talent. The young accordion player has drawn a huge crowd who are mesmerized by his energy and surprised to hear modern songs played on a traditional instrument. When the song ends, the onlookers applaud rapturously and fill the musician’s hat with coins. Busking indeed seems to be a good way to showcase one’s talent and to make a bit of pocket money. Even the less tuneful strummers reportedly make fairly good money in Munich, though perhaps in some cases people are paying them in the hope that they will pack up and go home. Just having talent and hitting the streets is not enough, however, if you want to be a street entertainer. In Germany a number of requirements have to be fulfilled and a list of regulations as long as the repertoire of most performers must be observed. Different rules apply for EU and non-EU citizens and two types of permit are issued: those for musicians and those for artists. If, for example, you are a street musician with an EU passport, you will need to begin by going to the City Information office in the Rathaus, Marienplatz, where the permits are issued. The office is open Monday to Friday 10 am to 7:30 pm and Saturday 10 am to 3:30 pm, but applications are processed on a first-come-first-serve basis, so budding Bob Dylans need to be patient. Five permits are issued to play in the pedestrian areas between 10 am and 1 pm, another five permits to play between 3 pm and 11 pm—and the location must be changed every hour. Musicians can obtain a permit for one day per week only upon presentation of an identity card or passport and payment of € 5. A group of musicians (maximum four) requires a joint (Kleinkappelle) permit, which bears the names of all group members. On Sundays and holidays no permit is required to perform, but if anyone is irritated by the noise, there is a good chance that you will be asked to move on. One of the rules laid down by Munich City Council for street musicians is causing trouble. Instruments that may be described as “particularly disturbing,” such as percussion and wind instruments, bagpipes, street organs, keyboards, electronic instruments and amplifiers, are prohibited. This seems fair at first glance; no one would like to be woken in the morning by a set of bagpipes outside their window, but who’s to decide whether the sweet, soulful sound of a saxophone is more offensive than a guitar, say? This distinction is, of course, made with an eye to keeping noise levels down, but a guitar or a didgeridoo can make as much racket as some of the “illegal” instruments. The ban has thus given rise to many an interesting if heated debate between musicians and the police on the exact nature of particular instruments. Let’s hope for the sake of street entertainers that Munich spectators remain more receptive—and generous—than audiences in London. Earlier this year Damon Gough, the British singer better known as Badly Drawn Boy, busked at Waterloo Station to promote his latest single. This man, whose debut album won the Mercury Music Prize and has since recorded the soundtrack to the film About a Boy, performed for more than an hour outside the crowded ticket office. When he counted his earnings, he had received the grand total of £ 1.60 (about € 2.30). Gough later said he felt sorry for “real buskers”, because most people are not interested in their music! Many well-known musicians and singers, notably Edith Piaf, Hank Williams Sr. and Bessie Smith, began their careers by busking. So, keep your eyes and ears peeled. Perhaps the street entertainer with the cheery voice and the unapologetic face whom you pass every day on your way to work is actually bound for stardom. And to any potential buskers, PLEASE no more “Here Comes the Sun.”