The Barcelona Metro welcomes musicians to play on its platforms and corridors to enhance the commuting experience for passengers. However, the management also strives to ensure the delivery of high-quality artistic performances. For this reason, TMB (the Metro operator) and the Association of Street Musicians (Amuc BCN) organized a selection test on 17 March to evaluate aspiring musicians who wish to perform at any of the more than 40 designated locations within the metro network, says themayor.com.
This casting has become a tradition and regular practice for the urban transit system, and last week’s event was not the first of its kind. Over 50 candidates participated, and each of them was required to perform a few songs selected at random by the jury members from the 20 to 30 songs in the repertoire presented by each musician. The jury evaluated the interpretive quality, repertoire variety, originality, creative richness, cultural, stylistic, and instrumental diversity of each performance.
TMB has declared that the evaluation results will soon be disclosed on the Amuc website. Successful candidates will be granted membership of Amuc BCN and will be allowed to participate in the association’s initiatives. They will also have the privilege of performing in the metro as long as they abide by the project’s regulations.
The project to regulate musicians in the Barcelona metro is a groundbreaking initiative in Europe and the world. Its purpose is to ensure the quality of the music provided to metro passengers and to facilitate preventive control functions for the metro’s smooth operation.