Melbourne buskers will be forced to ‘audition’ for a spot surrounding the coveted Bourke Street Mall and many will lose their permits.
Portrait artists, caricaturists, balloon art sculptors and vinyl record painters are just some of the talented tradesmen who won’t see their licenses updated.
Under the Melbourne city council’s new rules buskers will need to perform in front of a judge and panel made up of members of the public to determine whether their sound is good enough to be in ‘premium’ spots like Bourke St Mall, Southbank Promenade and parts of Swanston St and Elizabeth St.
Melbourne buskers will be forced to ‘audition’ for a spot surrounding the coveted Bourke Street Mall and many will lose their permits
These auditions will likely be held in January 2018 to decide who is worthy enough to be situated in the city centre (pictured Bourke St Mall)
These auditions will likely be held in January 2018 to decide who is worthy enough to be situated in the city centre.
Lord Mayor Robert Doyle said the council had received numerous reports about busker’s giving poor performances and being too loud.
The new system hopes to rectify this situation.
‘We’d love the public to be aware that our auditions are taking place in the Bourke St Mall and have them be a part of it,’ Cr Doyle said.
‘If you gather a crowd and if there is applause and if we talk to people and they say yes we think that’s great and it’s interesting, then we would be prepared to give them a permit for these premium locations’
‘But if you want to be in one of the premium locations, then there will be an evaluation of your abilities’
‘If you gather a crowd and if there is applause and if we talk to people and they say yes we think that’s great and it’s interesting, then we would be prepared to give them a permit for these premium locations.
‘The general feeling was busking added to the life of the city, but the two biggest complaints we got were about poor quality of performance and noise.
‘If you want a general busking permit, you just have to show us that you can do an act of some kind.
‘But if you want to be in one of the premium locations, then there will be an evaluation of your abilities.
‘We use talented buskers themselves to help us decide that.’