Auditioning for the Underground

Marta has played her violin at the bottom of a long escalator in central London for six years. Commuters rush past, a few drop coins or tap a card reader, and once in a while someone stops to listen. What most of them don't know is that she had to pass an audition to stand there. Busking on the London Underground has been officially licensed since 2003. Performers may only play at approved spots, each marked on the floor with a painted semicircle.

Getting a licence isn't easy. Hundreds of musicians apply when new places open, and only a small number get through. 'I was more nervous than at my music school exams,' Marta says. The judges care about more than technique. A station is loud and everyone is in a hurry, so a busker has to catch people's attention within seconds and make the place feel friendlier. 'You're not giving a concert,' she says. 'You're changing someone's mood on the way to work.'

For the musicians, a licence makes life simpler. Instead of fighting over space or being moved on by station staff, they book their slots online and know exactly where and when they'll play. Some earn a modest income. Others use the time as practice in front of a real audience. A few have even been spotted by record labels after a passenger filmed them on a phone.

Not everyone likes the system. Critics say street music should be free and spontaneous, and that auditions turn a rebellious tradition into something tidy and controlled. The best buskers, they argue, are often a little rough around the edges. A cracked voice full of feeling can move people more than a perfect performance. Marta half agrees. 'Some of my favourite musicians would never pass,' she admits.

Most passengers seem glad of the music. Plenty say it makes their journey less stressful, and some admit that a song has stopped them in their tracks on a bad day. Marta remembers a man in a suit who stood through three songs without moving. 'He left without saying a word, then came back the next morning with a coffee for me,' she says. 'Londoners don't talk to strangers on the Tube. That was his way of talking.'