A Wollongong musician and professional busker is calling on the council to allow more than one busking permit in Crown Street Mall and wants buskers to be allowed to use a speaker to amplify their music.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Eris Bel, who performs regularly as part of the markets in the mall, said she had busked all over the world and found no other city to be as strict as Wollongong.
She said improving rules for buskers at other times of the week would add vibrancy to the mall, but that Wollongong City Council's current policies were deterring serious musicians.
"The way that Wollongong has busking set up isn't really good for the city, and it's not good for the buskers," she said.
"You can't play music un-amplified and as a professional singer you're basically screaming because no one can hear you."
She also said there was only one busking permit available in the mall, under the bridge near H&M, and that buskers can only apply for half-day permits rather than long term residencies.
"I busk in Sydney, at Circular Quay and it's so well done," she said.
"They've got special spots for busking, you've got timeframes for every area and the licence covers rules, so the city has what it needs but also the buskers can entertain. We just follow the commonsense rules and the crowd is happy, people are eating, and enjoying the city and it adds so much life to the city."
Ms Bel has started a petition calling for the council to change its rules.
Wollongong council is currently running a promotion for buskers, in an effort to "contribute to vibrancy in our city", where it will waive the fees for buskers to apply for a half day permit.
However, a spokesperson said there were "no plans to increase the number of busking allocations in Crown Street Mall at this time", allow amplified music or allow busking permits outside of the mall.
"Wollongong City Council values the rich diversity and experiences that street entertainment can bring to the Mall," they said.
"It's a delicate balance and, for this reason, we have a structured framework in the Crown Street Mall Activity Policy that allows us to promote budding musicians, facilitate activities and activations that encourage visitation to the mall and support business owners.
"In this precinct, amplified sound travels and this can impact on neighbouring businesses and tenants. For this reason we do not allow buskers to use amplifiers in the mall."
Ms Bel's partner Vince Serra said the current promotion would make little difference to the mall's vibrancy and ability to attract artists without a change of the other rules.
"They're trying to attract artists but they don't understand, you're better off giving artists a three-month, a six-month or a yearly licence [rather] than half a day because that's really hard because you have to go into the council building to get the licence," he said.
Ms Bel added that there were many spots where it would be possible to attract quality performers that are not close to residents.
"You could put a time frame for any kind of buskers to busk there - even on a Saturday at 8pm when the [mall] starts to get empty because there's nothing going on down there," she said.
"It's not going to disturb anyone because the sound goes towards the sea. My partner and I are really passionate about Wollongong, and it's just like you've got one busking spot, under the bridge and you can't be amplified.
"They're never going to get any serious musicians playing there - anyone that's quality."
She said other councils used an audition process, where performers send a video or Youtube link "so they know the quality of your act is good and it's not going to be disturbing the peace".
"If you tick all the boxes, you get a licence," she said.
Our news app has had a makeover, making it faster and giving you access to even more great content. Download The Illawarra Mercury news app in the Apple Store and Google Play.
Tareyn Varley
For the past 15 years I've been toiling away behind the scenes on story ideas, web production, headline writing, home page editing and social media management. I'm passionate about passing the mic to Illawarra residents who find themselves with no power and no voice.
For the past 15 years I've been toiling away behind the scenes on story ideas, web production, headline writing, home page editing and social media management. I'm passionate about passing the mic to Illawarra residents who find themselves with no power and no voice.
Kate McIlwain
For more than a decade, I've helped the Illawarra Mercury set the news agenda across the region. Currently I'm the paper's health reporter - covering the stories of Illawarra workers and residents in the wake of a global pandemic and at a time where our health systems are stretched to the limit.
For more than a decade, I've helped the Illawarra Mercury set the news agenda across the region. Currently I'm the paper's health reporter - covering the stories of Illawarra workers and residents in the wake of a global pandemic and at a time where our health systems are stretched to the limit.
