S’pore Busker Laments Needing Physical Auditions To Renew Licence, NAC Says It’s To Maintain Fairness

Busker Flies Back To Singapore To Renew Permit, Bemoans ‘Outdated’ Process

The development of communications technology, like teleconferencing, has allowed processes to become more efficient. In some cases, procedures can be completely done remotely.

Thus, it can be frustrating when one is forced to physically travel despite such technological options being available.

Singaporean busker Jonathan Goh, who is currently based overseas, allegedly had to fly back for a five-minute audition to renew his busking license.

Dismayed by the “outdated” audition process that he had to go through in spite of his experience, he took to his social media platforms to air his grievances.

Singapore busker laments physical audition process to renew permit

In his post, Mr Goh shared that he had to spend close to S$2,000 on a flight ticket back to Singapore.

The purpose of his trip? To attend a physical audition to renew his busking licence.

Mr Goh divulged that the validity period of busking permits in Singapore for experienced buskers has been reduced since last year.

Mr Goh is a circus artist from Singapore, who has been busking since 2014.

He is currently based in London, England and performs at Covent Garden, a popular street performing location there.

To renew his Singapore busking licence, he had to fly back for a five-minute physical audition before a panel of judges from the National Arts Council (NAC).

This is despite him having almost 10 years of busking experience both locally and internationally.

Mr Goh also raised a point about the audition being in an indoor environment, which is not an accurate depiction of street conditions.

He added that being a good busker goes beyond just having good skills. It also requires having knowledge of crowd control and engagement.

As such, he questioned the judgement of the panellists in determining applicants’ “street worthiness”.

Mr Goh then pointed out that NAC allows teleconferencing arrangements for scholarship and grant applicants. This means they are clearly capable of holding remote auditions as well.

He added it would be difficult for him to continue showcasing his craft in Singapore if the process to renew his busker permit remains “outdated”.

NAC says physical process is to maintain fairness

Speaking to MS News, a spokesperson from NAC shared that the council believes in holding physical auditions for their busking scheme to allow for “fair and open opportunities for everyone”.

Elaborating, she shared that the council holds four auditions yearly.

During each cycle, they get approximately 300 aspiring buskers across different demographics. This includes children as young as nine all the way to seniors above the age of 80.

Taking into account how certain groups like seniors may not have the necessary equipment for video conferencing, the council noted that it would be fairer if all acts could “come into the same space and share their talents”.

Furthermore, physical auditions supposedly also provide a more consistent and conducive environment for applicants to share their acts.

Touching on the point about holding auditions indoors rather than on the streets, the spokesperson shared that this was mainly for practicality purposes.

It again boiled down to fairness as well, as the unpredictability of external conditions could affect the applicants’ acts.

For instance, it would be unreasonable if an applicant had to reschedule their audition just because of unforeseen weather conditions.

Additionally, having a large group of applicants wait outside on the streets for a five-minute-long audition would be far from ideal.

Judges selected across mix of expertise

The NAC spokesperson added that the council selects a panel of three judges for each cycle.

These panellists are made up of industry professionals with a mix of expertise, including music producers and venue partners.

Ultimately, the council hopes for the public to have interesting artistic encounters on the street, so the judges look out for buskers’ acts holistically.

They include multiple broad criteria, including performers’ competency and skills, audience engagement, confidence, and the innovativeness of their performances.

Judges also look out for whether the aspiring busker has a developed repertoire.

The spokesperson also emphasised that the busking team listens to their buskers’ views and takes their feedback into account.

For example, the team launched the busking e-service to promote equity.

Through the service, all performers now have access to all busking locations as long as they can get a slot.

In the past, the council would allocate each busker a location.

Hope differences can be resolved

It would surely be a pity if we lost local talent in an already niche sector simply due to differences over an audition.

Nevertheless, it is also important for the council to stick to their rules in the name of fairness.

We hope the differences can be resolved as the council further considers the suggestions made.

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Featured image adapted from @tranceonfire on Instagram and Jonathan Goh on Facebook.