Cops and rockers

IN THE wee hours one weekend last autumn, a cop tried to evict Andrew Kalleen from his favourite busking spot in the subway. He refused to budge, citing a transit rule that allows “artistic performances, including the acceptance of donations”. The cop read the rule off a mobile phone, but interpreted it differently. More police arrived. They took Mr Kalleen’s guitar, pushed him against a wall and collared him. A video of the arrest went viral. The charges were eventually dropped. Mr Kalleen is suing.

Busking has not been a crime on New York city’s streets since 1970. In 1985 a New York court ruled that banning subway music was unconstitutional, too. Yet some police still think buskers need a permit. Matthew Christian, a violinist, started a group called BuskNY after he was arrested, in the hope of stopping future wrongful arrests of buskers. Since early 2014 buskers have seen an uptick in harassment by police, Mr Christian says.

Another problem for them is that people are carrying less cash. “People actually apologise for not having money,” says Bryan Wilson, a cellist with “You Bred Raptors?”, a “prehistoric post-rock” busking band. This may be about to change. The Busking Project, an advocacy group, has created a digital toolkit to let performers accept cashless payments. It is early days, but people are donating between $3 and $20 and—crucially—staying in touch afterwards. The project is also developing an app that would allow customers to buy a performer’s music from their phones. (This may not work in the subway until it has better Wi-Fi.) Above ground, one enthusiastic listener at Grand Central Station recently gave $100 to “You Bred Raptors?”. He also bought some CDs, which he shared with fellow straphangers. The music rocked.