Music Under New York. The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on self-concepts and wellbeing of buskers in the MUNY program

• Applicant: Dr. Melanie Ptatscheck
• Subject Area: Musicology
• Term: since 2022
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 499369423

Busking, street performance in public spaces for donations, has been associated with cultural activities and urban life for centuries. While some buskers play for fun, acknowledgment, practice purposes, creative self-fulfillment and/or the realization of an alternative and romanticized lifestyle, others are in constant struggle for survival. For them, the most lucrative places, the attention of the fleeting public, and ultimately the ability to earn their living through busking are of existential importance. The COVID-19 pandemic has changed the situation for buskers drastically: current measures imposed by the governments to prevent the rapid spread of the virus have (had) an immediate effect on street musicians, whose occupation is heavily dependent on public performance. The extensive shutdown of public life and the associated restrictions for buskers are particularly noticeable in metropolitan areas such as New York City. Performing in New York's subway system, one of the most popular and most frequented locations for buskers, was temporarily completely suspended. This ban on playing affects the many freelance musicians, in particular the performers who have been specifically cast to busk in the underground as part of the Music Under New York program (MUNY). Following the hypothesis that the COVID-19 pandemic comes with (new) challenges for busking, and therefore has an impact on the buskers’ self-concepts and wellbeing, the study aims to analyze the (post-)pandemic situation of buskers in the MUNY program. By using first-person accounts based on narrative-biographic interviews accompanied by participant observation and expert interviews, the study looks into the current live environments of MUNY members, with an overall focus on their self-concepts and wellbeing. This approach allows for deep and detailed insights into subjective realities of buskers and forms the basis for an effective debate on the deficits and challenges musical life is currently facing.

• DFG Programme: WBP Position