MBTA ban to restrict amplified music in T stations

Over the years the Boston subway stations have given a start to many artists, including Tufts alumna Tracy Chapman, who got her start performing at the Harvard Square T station to earn money for trips home.

However, new guidelines for subway performers will be limiting the equipment they can use, as well as charging them for permits. The stricter Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) guidelines, passed last month, start on Dec. 8.

According to MBTA spokesman Joe Pestauro, amplifiers and amplified instruments, as well as any horn instrument - from recorders to trumpets - will not be allowed.

The general response from T riders and even train operators seems to be negative; many feel that the musicians make waiting for the T a more enjoyable experience. However MBTA officials claim that they have received numerous complaints from T riders about loud and offensive music.

Boston musician activists Dave Falk and Lisa Houseman feel that this description of the new policy is an attempt to hide the MBTA's true intent. "All electronic instruments from the bass to guitars to microphones, keyboards, electric guitars, or anything that requires a power source will now not be allowed; woodwinds are also on the list," Falk said.

The last MBTA policy on T stop musicians was developed by the state legislature developed 18 years ago. The policy currently requires musicians to renew permits yearly so that the MBTA knows how many people are playing music in the T.

However, with the new policy not only technical but also administrative changes are being implemented.

Implementation of the new policy has already been delayed to the Dec. 8th date due to controversy.

In the past, acquiring permits was free, but now musicians will have to pay 25 dollars each year in order to play at any of the stops. In addition, for the first time an application must also be submitted, according to Falk and Houseman.

"The application asks for recommendations and musical education, which will completely alienate people who didn't go to school to study music," Falk said.

Along with the permits, musicians will be required to wear photo IDs while performing, something Falk and Houseman said will inhibit artistic expression.

Pestauro said that reforming musical performances at T-stops has been an issue since Sept. 11, 2001 for safety reasons. "There have been numerous complaints from T users that musicians play too loudly and muffle the announcements made by the MBTA," he said. "There have also been complaints about musicians blocking platforms."

Houseman, however, disagreed with this view. "There have been several incidents where musicians, through the use of their mikes, have been able to help people using the T," she said. "Also the PA systems used in the T stops are inaudible. That's where the change needs to occur."

According to Houseman and Falk, musicians have been able to reunite missing children with their parents and help stop gang fights with their microphones. Houseman said she recently alerted people about a blind man who was about to step off the platform and onto the track, allowing people to stop the man.

Sophomore Amaya Wilhelm, a Bay Area resident, suggested that "instead of stopping the music, the T could look at using the system they use on the BART (Bay Area Rapid Transit)." That system, she said, "includes posting announcements on a screen near the platform," which could prove more efficient since the T's PA systems are unreliable.

Subway musician Steven Barret conducted an experiment measuring the decibel level of musicians at five different T stops. He found that the musicians were quieter than the fans and escalators running at the stops, and that the decibel levels were about the same as the conversations being held by T riders. He also found that the musicians were far quieter than the trains.

Falk and Houseman say MBTA officials have not substantiated the claims of rider complaints. Many riders feel that if there are complaints, individual musicians should be reprimanded rather than all 650 who have MBTA permits.

"If people find certain musicians offensive or loud then there can be changes made concerning how loud music can be played; they shouldn't completely end the music," Somerville resident Jake Cummings, a T-rider for over 30 years, said.

In other major cities, including New York City, Chicago, and San Francisco, musicians are allowed to play with amplified instruments. Many T stop musicians said that they came to Boston specifically to play music because of the local arts scene.

Although MBTA officials maintain that musicians are not being banned, many musicians and riders feel that with the lack of amplification, it will be impossible to hear the music being played.

"The policy completely forbids a whole range of artists and instruments from being able to play," Falk said. "There will be no point to musicians without any means of amplification; no one will be able to hear us, and that's the bottom line."