Well, it seems the odd squeaky wheel gets the oil. A small number of shop owners at Wesfield Westlakes have put an end to the live entertainment myself and other buskers have been supplying (free) there.
Whilst I’ve had nothing but positive feedback from passers-by and shop owners alike, it seems that a couple of those who would rather have canned doof-doof blasting their customers have taken it upon themselves to shut the live stuff down. You see, people don’t pass on the good comments to management. There’s no need to. Only those who want to complain and whinge will go to the trouble. And they have.
The management themselves have expressed regret at having to take the action of shutting us down, they said they enjoyed the ambiance live music added to the centre, but that they must keep their paying leaseholders happy, and that they’ve had word from national HQ that the busking must stop, citing legal concerns. Seems the whingers have gone right to the top. There should be no legal concerns. Even though when busking I am just a ‘beggar with a permit’, I have a $20million legal liability policy just in case some litigious bastard trips on my guitar case and wants to sue.
Anyhow, seems not much can be done, though I am thinking of a well-worded letter of complaint to Westfield HQ myself… stay tuned!