Live music or digital advertising? What would you rather see on your journey? 

On 28th January 2019, London Underground will close Leicester Square’s (Piccadilly line) busking pitch, the first in a move to replace live music with digital boards. Defending the decision as a means to make up the ‘£1bn deficit’, London Underground have installed digital boards behind well known locations established by buskers and performed at for decades. Complaints from advertisers that the live music is ‘blocking their new board’ will see a huge hit to the licensed buskers of the London Underground Scheme who entertain West End customers from 8am every day. 

With the closure of music venues and rising living costs in London, an assault on busking is the final straw in a series of corporate shutdowns of live music in the capital.

The scheme’s buskers have no objection to the boards and are bemused as to why advertisers have a problem. Each day hundreds of tourists and commuters stop to film buskers, often sharing the footage on SnapChat, Instagram and Facebook giving the adverts a greater chance of being seen by more consumers. The attack on performers simply doesn’t make sense. 

If you enjoy seeing busking on your journey, please sign this petition to tell advertisers and London Underground to reinstate the busking pitch at Leicester Square (Piccadilly line) and prevent advertising from ending live music.