Don't Censor Buskers

20th Jul 2013

Councillor Kenneth O’Flynn recently proposed that his fellow councillors implement new laws on buskers in the city centre. The proposals refer to imposing restrictions like ensuring buskers have more than 20 songs, limits on amplifier power, a total ban on drum kits and, believe it or not, a dress code.

Pot Kettle Black
If buskers are allegedly polluting the city with excessive noise then businesses on the streets of our city should be examined with the exact same set of apparently sensitive ears.

By his own admission Councillor O’Flynn brought the proposals to city council having been lobbied by local business owners - it is unclear if he consulted the people in his constituency that he represents on the matter.  
 

The gorgeously groomed Cllr. Ken O'Flynn

Walk down any of our main thoroughfares and for years the same businesses have been blasting loud music into the street all day and every day. If you bump into someone you know outside them you have to move away so you’re not getting an ear full of some horrifically annoying pop song while you try to discuss Hoggie’s red card against Limerick or how long more the heatwave is going to last.

One shop on Patrick Street that tries to attract tourists has been playing the same compilation CD into the street over and over for over five years in quite a torturous manner that wouldn’t be out of place in Guantanamo Bay.

There are also a few shops in the city centre who play radio stations through tannoys into the street. Not only are the public subjected to offensively loud, and often awful, chart music as they pass by but they’re also being blasted with annoying radio ads too. Other stores boom special offers in mid-Atlantic accents at punters as they stroll by.

Just Ask
How many people or business owners have actually politely asked a busker to turn their amp down a little? Chances are they won’t take offence if you word it right.

‘Listen, I’m enjoying the music, fair play to you. It’s just that I’m trying to have a coffee here and I can’t hear what my friend is saying. Is there any chance you’d turn it down a touch and here’s a few coppers.’
 

Taking the piss or earning a crust? These lads play deafeningly  loudly on Pana but it hardly requires changing the law.

Irish people are notorious for complaining about something but doing nothing about it. Yes, there are around a dozen regular buskers in the city centre who could be rightly accused of playing too loudly. Do we really need to go as far as bringing in laws to deal with a handful of creative people who, if approached sensitively, would oblige?

Hand to Mouth
Councillor O’Flynn and his Fianna Fáil cohorts may not be aware of the near impossibility of getting employment for many young buskers – lots have hard-earned diplomas and degrees under their belts but, like so many of their peers, they check their inboxes for job offers every day and are perpetually disappointed.
 

Daaaahd, is that man blowing bubbles?

They might be young but they don’t need to be reminded that Mr. O’Flynn’s party were in charge of the tuning pegs when our economy went badly out of tune. The bum notes from Fianna Fáil’s tenure in government are still echoing in our ears so honking unnecessary dictats at artists trying to turn a few bob is plucking all the wrong strings.

Sound Out
On the national busking circuit Cork is known as the most lucrative town to busk in – that’s because we appreciate being entertained and because we’re sound! Ask local buskers about playing on Grafton Street above in Dublin and they’ll all tell you that the Dubs don’t donate half as readily as Corkonians do.
 

Sound out

You’ll often see Cork people in a hurry flying past buskers yet still stopping off to make a quick donation despite hearing only a couple of bars of a tune while they’re still in earshot. It’s like we’re impressed by anyone who has both the confidence to perform in public and who has made an effort to learn an instrument so we put our money where their mouths are.  

While the standard of busking in general is high, there are a few regular buskers in town who, and let’s put this politely, are never going to make the big time. But instead of proposing to censor the buskers just let ‘the market’ decide how good they are.

If you’re awful you won’t make much money and eventually the proverbial penny will drop. Besides, the idea of censoring anyone performing in public is not just silly but dangerously undemocratic.
 

Mildly amped guitars may be banned but bagpipes would be free to  inflict.

Imagine a busker being dragged away to a Paddywagon because he can only play nineteen songs but refuses to move on? The frustration of already hard-pressed Gardaí being called out to such trivial incidents would be rightly infuriating.

These proposals have more holes in them than the Irish economy – Councillor O’Flynn’s party wrote the swan song - and the very notion of censoring musicians and artists itself is quite De Valera-esque. His party tried to ban jazz in the 1930’s because the Church, another unelected body, believed it to be “satanic”.

Given the last few years and the historic lack of regulation on bankers under their tenure, musicians might be forgiven for feeling an overwhelming sense of irony when it comes to Fianna Fáil suggesting anything should be banned.