'There's a war against buskers': Inside the crackdown on buskers – and why street artists are at risk

Love it or hate it, Christmas music is already everywhere. And if you head out shopping for presents, chances are you’ll be serenaded by a busker in a Santa hat.

Famous musicians like Ed Sheeran and Tracey Chapman got their start strumming tunes on street corners. And chart-toppers such as Tom Grennan, Paloma Faith and Keane frontman Tom Chaplin have even taken to the streets to busk and raise awareness for Big Issue.

But tough licensing rules and punitive legislation are putting the future of street performance at risk, a collective of performers and artists have warned – all year round.

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“As long as we’ve had streets, we’ve had buskers,” said Michael Walker, a director at Keep Streets Live. “But in some places, it’s becoming hostile.”

Most UK cities encourage buskers to sign up to a voluntary code of conduct. There have always been ways for local authorities to prosecute so-called ‘nuisance buskers’ – for example section 62 of the Control of Pollution Act 1974 prohibits amplified music after 9pm. Breaching this rule already carries an unlimited fine in the magistrates’ court.

Councils across the country also have the power to use public space protection orders (PSPOs) against buskers. PSPOs can be “sensible” when used against “nuisance buskers… who do not represent the traditional busking community”, Walker said – but they should not be used “disproportionately”.

“So for example, before someone started playing [they were served] a PSPO because of the potential of disturbance from music,” Walker said. 

But the real threat isn’t PSPOs – it’s licensing schemes.

In London, councils in Hillingdon, Westminster, Camden and Greenwich now require some or all buskers to operate with a licence – and performing without one is a prosecutable offence.  

Across the country, other councils are considering similar schemes. Norwich are mulling over limits on location, timing and volume. Glasgow City Council has erected signs with rules for buskers around the city centre, while Dundee City Council has started strictly enforcing one-hour time limits.  

Westminster – which presides over busking hotspots like the West End and Covent Garden – has perhaps the strictest rules in the country. 

According to the Westminster Street Performers Association (WSPA), the licensing scheme shuttered 90% of available performance spots. They claim that when the Christmas markets are on, just one playable amplified pitch is available (the council say there are always at least four).

“Buskers have been left with insufficient and often unusable spaces,” a WSPA spokesperson added.

The legal pitches are completely full, London busker Harry Marshall told the Big Issue.

“People who are playing outside of those pitches are just trying to survive. There’s a real war against buskers,” Marshall explained.

The Australian expatriate recently fell foul of the new rules after playing a Piccadilly Circus spot that was not included in the licensed pitch list.

“I continued to play it in protest,” Marshall said. “I felt they couldn’t take away a place I called the home of my art for so long. How on Earth can you criminalise art and self-expression?”

Westminster City Council served the busker a court notice, pursuing criminal charges and a £5,000 fine in the magistrate’s court. Ultimately, Marshall was only fined £420. But he now has eight charges on his criminal record – an outcome he fears could jeopardise his application for permanent residency.

“Criminal charges could mean I am sent back to Australia after jumping through hoops spending thousands of my own money on visas to call this country home,” he said.

The council claims that the licensing scheme cracks down on rogue buskers, minimising noise complaints.

“The licensing scheme looks to strike a balance so that residents and businesses are not adversely affected by performances, and those who share our open spaces are kept safe,” a spokesperson said.  

“The council will take enforcement action against those who disregard warnings and perform without a licence, or who disregard the conditions of licence.”

The local authority received 5,070 complaints between April 2021 and May 2023, and about half were noise related.

But Marshall claims that buskers are not responsible for the bulk of noise pollution.

“The pedal cab drivers, for example, just blast music. They can’t be policed. I think that the council gets a lot of noise complaints, and they are pursuing the easiest target: buskers.”

Corporations are often the loudest voices against buskers. Global Radio, for example – which boasts a headquarters in Leicester Square – is currently suing Westminster council over an alleged failure to crack down on noisy street performers.

But public space should be for everyone, Walker says – not just businesses.

“We truly believe in the public highway. Public space should be as free and as accessible as possible,” he said.

“We need to protect musicians and street artists, not only just for the musicians and artists themselves, but for the sake of our public spaces and our local communities. For us, that shared space is vitally important. We are, as a nation, more fractured than we’ve been in a long time, yet we’re losing communal spaces. We need to keep the streets live for everyone.”

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