​Berlin Street Music

Welcome to the place where we try to make any sense of the current laws regarding street music in Berlin! 

THE RULES

Un-amplified street music is allowed in general though you can not play in:
 

• Public parks and green areas (with a recent law change it is however allowed to play live music in designated areas.)

• On private property. For this you need a permission. The public transportation BVG hands out their permits through their website (keep in mind that it is never allowed inside the subway or on the platforms).

• Within 60 m from vulnerable buildings such as hospitals or senior homes

• Within 20 m from residential buildings - in front of schools during the time of classes

• In front of churches during mass

• Some districts excluded for some reason ANY form of music amplified of unamplified for some areas (so called red-zones):

 

In Friedrichshain-Kreuzberg: im Boxhagener Kiez, umgrenzt durch die Warschauer Str., Grünberger Str., Boxhagener Str., Revaler Str., Neue Bahnhofstr., Modersohnbrücke, Simon-Dach -Kiez, Warschauer Str. zwischen Revaler Str., Mühlenstr., Straße der Pariser Kommune einschließlich Warschauer Brücke, Admiralbrücke, Bergmannstraßenkiez, zwischen Mehringdamm, Schleiermacher Str. sowie rund um den Chamissoplatz, Oberbaumbrücke, Schlesische Str. , rund um den U-Bhf. Schlesische Str..

 

• The times of street music is restricted to 8-13 and 15-20 and it is not allowed on Sundays and other holidays

• Maximum playing time is 60 min, in pedestrian areas you can only play 15 min until you need to change the location by a minimum of 100 m. If a spot has been played on so far you also need to set up at least 100 m from that spot.

• Playback is only allowed as a discreet background music. Within the permit of each district there will be further restrictions on the time and space of playing.

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THE PERMITS
 

1. You can get a permit aka "Ausnahmezulassung" from each district separately for playing with an amplifier. There is no guarantee however you will get any permit as the officials can decide according to the district's demands. It takes about 4 weeks for the application to be processed. The Ordnungsamt is the responsible authority for applications, in some districts it's the Umwelt- und Naturschutzamt § 10 LImSchG Bln.  Describe to them what you want and what you're planning to do and they can be quite helpful in the application process!

2. In addition to the permit to play with amplification you may also need a permit for using the public street according to the Straßengesetz, in particular for placing amplifiers or guitar bags on the streets. The Ordnungsamt of each district is the responsible authority.

3. Sometimes they claim that one needs a registered business "Gewerbeschein" or "Reisegewerbeschein" to sell merchandise but somehow every tax office has a slightly different view on this.

4. GEMA - well... In theory you as an organizer of your busking concert, you could register the event with GEMA and hand in your setlist. We've never heard of anyone actually doing this but if you'd play only originals for 4 hours a day it might turn out to be actually really  profitable. In the previous years street music was not considered as a relevant event by GEMA and it has not come to our attention that GEMA would try to get buskers to pay their fees. That would be absurd, but then again, they are already effectively making organizers of house concerts pay their fees.

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But the best part: EACH permit can cost from 35 to 180 €.

Kreuzberg-Friedrichshain:

The permit in Kreuzberg-Friedrichshain would only allow amplified music on 24 occasions within 6 months from 01.04-30.09 (allowing street music only one time per week) for one hour at a time. While applying you already need to know the dates, times and places for each of your 24 performances. EACH permit can cost from 35 to 180 €.

Schöneberg:

On Wittenbergplatz you may only play for 30 min at a time on the same spot. A performance of multiple street musicians, also individual musicians of bands or other loud participants is not allowed.

 

Pankow-Weißensee (also Prenzlauerberg):

Kollwitzplatz and Oderberger Straße are excluded from the permit. Mauerpark is a park so it is also excluded from the permit for playing on the street.

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MAUERPARK

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Though a park, because of effective lobbying and demonstrations from our community in 2018, we managed to make busking with amplifiers allowed in Mauerpark. For more information please read here and in case you need more official information to convince an official show them this website from the city of Berlin.

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Which says in clear German:

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"Beim Musizieren gilt es, auf die Anlagenbesucher:innen und Anwohner:innen Rücksicht zu nehmen. Die Parkbesucher:innen sind aufgefordert, ausschließlich in den auf der beigefügten Karte gekennzeichneten Bereichen zu musizieren. Auch hier darf der Rahmen nicht überschritten werden, dass andere Parkbesucher:innen und die Anwohner:innen unzumutbar gestört werden.

Deshalb soll sich das Musizieren auf den Bereich entlang der Schwedter Straße (Pflasterstraße) östlich in Richtung Stadion sowie bis zu 10 m westlich der Schwedter Straße beschränken. Das Musizieren ist möglich von Montag bis Donnerstag zwischen 11.00 Uhr und 19.30 Uhr sowie freitags, an Wochenenden und Feiertagen zwischen 11.00 Uhr und 20.30 Uhr. Es soll aus Rücksicht auf die Anwohner:innen nicht in Richtung Wohnbebauung, sondern ausschließlich in östliche Richtung hin zum Stadion musiziert werden. Beim Musizieren gilt es, dass die Künstler:innen nicht versuchen einander zu übertönen und damit die Lautstärke in die Höhe zu treiben. Eine Verwendung von Generatoren ist nicht gestattet.

Außerhalb der vorgenannten Zeiten soll vom Musizieren abgesehen werden.

Kommerzielle Veranstaltungen sind grundsätzlich nicht gestattet und bedürfen einer Ausnahmegenehmigung des Straßen- und Grünflächenamts (SGA) des Bezirks Pankow, die beim SGA Pankow beantragt werden kann."

 

Good news: playing non commercial music is allowed in the designated areas as the § 6 GrünAnlG states:

(2) Tätigkeiten wie Rad-, Skateboardfahren, Ballspielen, Baden, Bootfahren, Reiten, Grillen und nicht kommerzielle Kunst- oder Kulturveranstaltungen, auch mit Live-Musik, sowie andere nicht kommerzielle Veranstaltungen sind nur auf den dafür besonders ausgewiesenen Flächen gestattet. Die Bezirke sind verpflichtet, Flächen für entsprechende Nutzungen in angemessenem Umfang auszuweisen, soweit dies unter Berücksichtigung stadträumlicher und stadtgestalterischer Belange, unter Abwägung der unterschiedlichen Benutzungsansprüche sowie unter Einbeziehung des Gesundheits- und Umweltschutzes möglich ist.

 

Please note: The rules listed above are valid for the aforementioned districts alone. Each district of Berlin has its own set of rules one needs to get informed about. Each district requires its own permit. Each permit has its own fee – meaning that if you want to play in several districts, you will need to apply for several permits and pay several fees. There is no permit on the city level.

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CONSEQUENSES

Be aware that for breaking the rules you may be fined up to 50.000 € §15 II LImSchG.  The fines we've heard of vary between 30-1000 € and there has been an increase in confiscations of gear according to § 15 Nr. 1, 2 and 3 LimSchG Bln especially around Warschauer Straße. Unfortunately the law is not clear on what happens to the confiscated goods, we've heard of people getting them back for a penalty, though it is also possible that you will never see them again... If the confiscated gear was nor yours the owner can claim their right of having their possessions returned. If that happened to you, use your voice so others in the community can hear and help you.

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BE THE CHANGE

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One of the visions for this association is to create a fund for legal consultations and representation so you won't have to fight alone. There are essentially two ways to change the laws: change the way they're interpreted or change the actual law. We have been trying to make the administration understand how arbitrary and unfair the system and their interpretation is and came quite far. Another way is by winning a court case. Then the other way is changing the words of the laws would take a very long time, it took 2 years to change this law here:  § 6  II GrünAnlG.

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STILL UNDER CONSTRUCTION: Pilotprojekt Straßenmusik am Alexanderplatz

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We did a study about how street music is perceived on Alexanderplatz. Read it here. Through this pilot project which would allow street music to take place legally on Alexanderplatz we were intending to conduct further scientific studies in collaboration with TU.

 

If you want to help us collect more data that can give us leverage for making a change, please get in touch!

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4berlinstreetmusic@gmail.com

Thanks!

Berlin Street Music provides this site as a service to the public since 2014.