Street Musicians Could Now Face The Death Penalty

Berlin, Germany-

I am writing this article because today a video surfaced online of a violin player getting forcefully restrained for making music in the city of Berlin. According to reports, the particular police officers involved are known for harassing and intimidating the street musicians that play in that particular spot. On this day, the musicians were making music and asked to stop. These particular police decided to also seize these musicians equipment and when the artists became verbally upset they were attacked and beaten.

This kind of attitude from the government against street music spans worldwide. Germany is not the only country where music and art face constant oppression not only on the streets but also in the classrooms and city centres. They focus on the old art and don't allow new art to take its place or continue to allow it to grow.

The city of street culture and good vibes has recently taken a turn for the worst. For years the electronic music capital of the world has provided tourists and residents alike with a multitude of street art. From murals on the sides of buildings, to music on the street corners and parks throughout the city, Berlin has always has a fresh cultural vibe that attracts people to the city and puts smiles on the faces of Berliners on a daily basis.

As much as you want to think street music is allowed and legal in most places around the world it is forbidden. Street music with amplification comes with a hefty penalty and there are no rules or laws governing the use of amplification on city streets. Some cities are better than others, providing designated areas, sign up sheets, and more for the artists wanting to perform or display their work on the streets. However many cities on the same note are also progressively behind with how to deal with art and music on the streets.

One of those cities is Berlin, Germany who over the past years has been taking a more aggressive position on silencing their streets. The constant sounds of sirens blaring up and down the streets is not the issue of where the noise comes from. The noise they want to control comes from the violinist inside of the train station, or the street guitarist on Warschauer Str.

Recently they have been swarming into the parks in groups on 10 or 20, issuing fines and seizing equipment and supplies from the artists. Taking an artists equipment is essentially making them unable to produce income and never again afford the equipment they once had.

In Amsterdam I personally watched a cello play get his 10k euro instrument taken by the police. He was devastated. The fine to get the cello out was too expensive for the man to ever pay and he had to sit there and watch what he loved to do get put into the back of a police car. This man was concerned he could not feed himself or his his wife since he no longer had a way of making income. The government state of anti art essentially just sentenced this man to his death.

On a personal note I just want to tell every artist reading this to not stop making their art. I want to tell ever supporter reading this to keep supporting art. Talk to your local government about what can be done to keep street music alive and also keep it respectful to rules and regulations regarding noise and earning income. I have personally faced police brutality and oppression for making my music. Around the world I have been threatened and intimidated by police and government for being a street artist. This needs to change and it needs to change right now.

With all the problems in the world, why do we have to make street music one of them? Out of all the criminals in the world, why do artists have to be considered among those ranks?

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