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For years the English Blues
Guitarist Richard Smerin has been fighting for a licence to play music |
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Fürth - There are lots of people, who pay money to hear him play. He has released 20 LPs and four CDs, stood on stage with some international blues stars, but when guitarist Richard Smerin plucks the strings in Fürth's pedestrian precinct, it's regarded as an infringement of the rules. Because he cannot produce a permit for "undertaking street-music" the local custodians of the law have already forced him, several times, to vacate the pitch in front of Müller's drugstore where he was playing. In November the 38 year-old received notice of a 150 Marks penalty fine and was threatened with another by the legal department of the city of Fürth. This is because by playing the guitar, the musician, who comes from London, lived in Copenhagen for a long time and has been resident in Fürth since 1997 constitutes "contravention to §§ 1,2 II, No. 3 special-use-constitution of the city of Fürth". This passage sites as a kind of special-use "begging of any kind", and for that - as is fixed in § 3 of the statutes - one cannot get a licence on principle. Definite refusal Now Smerin doesn't regard himself as a beggar at all, but rather as a professional musician, who earns some of his money by playing in the street. He offers a service and even pays tax on the money he earns, as he'll tell you himself. Over and over again, he tried hard to get a licence from the responsible departure of structure and civil engineering, but every time he was told "there is no licence at all on principle" for street musicians in Fürth. Once, this definite denial was even sent to his home. After that, Smerin, who speaks hardly any German, asked the police of Fürth for co-operation. When they ordered him to pack up his guitar once again, he invited them to his home, to show them the letter from the city, in order to prove that he really had tried hard to get a licence. But these civil servants found no need to help this new citizen of Fürth. Chief of police Wilfried Dietsch, who during his time in Nürnberg got several complaints from irritated lawyers and doctors, has his own unwavering opinion on the subject: "These travelling musicians lead a jolly life and the others sit around in their offices and cannot think!!" Indeed, Fürth's "special-use-constitution of public streets" contains no rule regarding street music. But this doesn't mean - contrary to the information given by the officials of the department of structure and civil engineering - that appropriate authorisation is beyond the realms of possibility. Head of department, Manfred Pirkl, as well as the town clerk's expert Christoph Maier emphasise, that licences are sometimes issued, after all, but, as Maier says, "we handle it with great reservation; as a rule we say no." You have to take into consideration, as Maier says, the interests of the shop owners and the residents, and also Maier's department fears the "knock-on effect". Up till now, only qualified university music students were lucky enough to get the very sought-after licence. The flautist and the organ-grinder, who can sometimes be found by the former Quelle department-store, are exempted from the licence requirement, because their place under the canopy of the building is on private property. But regarding all musical performances on public terrain, providing that they're permitted at all, Maier says: "The art has to be to the fore, not the money-making." A somewhat dubious and hardly measurable criterion. 30 minute rotation Of course money-making plays a roll for Smerin, but equally the artistic quality of this finger-picking virtuoso is without question. Elsewhere, for example in Nürnberg, he probably would have had the licence in his pocket for a long time. Street musicians there are allowed to get three licences per week, on condition that they change position every 30 minutes. This kind of regulation, Pirkl now thinks could be conceivable for Smerin's performance in the old town of Fürth. "You have to weigh up the different interests and take into consideration that Fürth's pedestrian zone is much smaller than Nürnberg's. But we'll find a solution", says the department head, who, up to this point, knew nothing of the vain efforts of the guitarist - signalling willingness to compromise. He's immediately backed his words with deeds: This very morning he's arranged a meeting with Smerin. Regina Urban |
