Busker shares heated video of confrontation with fellow musician who tried to “bully” her out of her spot

THIS is the moment a busker gets into a heated confrontation with a fellow musician who attempts to “bully” her out of her spot mid-performance.

Ami Alex was performing in King’s Square in York, Yorkshire on Saturday when she was approached by two men.

The 24-year-old was standing in her spot with all of her equipment set up when the two strangers attempted to persuade her to move on so that they could perform there.

Video shows Ami from Blackburn, Lancashire seemingly mid-argument as one of the men off-camera says: “Is that fair is it? Is that fair or not?”

Ami bemusedly replies: “Sorry?”

He says: “Are you nearly done? Why don’t you want to share it?”

She responds: “Because I’ve got money to make, I’ve got hostels to pay for.”

“So does everyone,” he replies.

Ami reasons: “If you wanted the spot you should have got here earlier.”

The man’s accomplice then chips in, claiming: “These guys work here every day over the summer and almost every day of the year.”

She replies to the two men saying: “Personally I would never go up to another busker and ask for their spot.”

The other performers then cheekily reply: “Well you should, kinda selfish of you personally.”

The clip then cuts to a short time later as the man sets up his equipment right beside Ami. who talks into camera saying: “And now just like the fella last time he’s started setting up in front as well.”

The video then skips to a later conversation with the man who is still trying to plead his case.

Ami attempts to ignore him as he says: “You’re not even wanting to compromise, you’re just doing what you want to do, you’re saying ‘I want to be here all day.’

Ami then snaps round and says: “When did I ever say I was gonna be here all day?”

“Well how long are you going to be here for?” the man asks.

She retorts: “I’ve no idea, until I’ve made enough money.”

The man then says “Well I just don’t think it’s very fair,” to which Ami replies: “Well I don’t think it’s fair that you’ve come and basically demanded the spot.”

The man then claims he didn’t demand the spot as Ami questions why he didn’t take the other spot further up in the high street.

She asks: “Is it because you think this spot’s better?” which the man confirms is true.

Ami then blasts him, saying: “You think this spot’s better so you’re gonna try and push me out of this spot that’s better because you don’t want to take the one that’s free.

“You want me to go in the s**ter spot on the high street.”

The man replies: “No, because we had a queue. Do you understand why I’m annoyed though? I’m not being hostile, I’m talking about it.”

Ami reasons: “Honestly no because I wouldn’t be annoyed if I turned up and somebody was in a spot, I’d find a different spot.”

The man then moans that Ami will be in the spot all day, to which she again explains that she doesn’t know how long she will be as she is trying to earn a certain amount of money.”

The man’s friend then rejoins the conversation saying: “But it shouldn’t be aimed for like ‘I need to make this amount’ – if you chase the money you’re not going to…”

She interrupts him saying: “When you do it full time you do.”

He replies: “I do it full time and I’m not chasing the money.”

The other artist then says again: “I just wanna share the pitch, sharing is the way of doing it.”

Ami says: “It feels to me as though you’re not going to be happy or leave this conversation until you get what you want.”

The man then says: “Well no, that’s not entirely fair I just wanna share the pitch – I’ll help you pack up, you’re not listening.”

Ami tells the man that he is not going to convince or bully her out of the spot, to which he replies: “I’m not trying to bully you out of the spot.”

She says: “I’m more than happy to give you my details so that when I’m finished I can message you and tell you when I’m done and I’m out of the spot.”

The man then appears to finally give up, saying: “Yeah that’s fine, I’ll be around, that’s fine”

Ami uploaded the confrontation to social media yesterday with the caption: “York busking scene, never happens anywhere else.”

The video has since received over 175,000 likes and more than 6,800 comments from users left shocked at the man’s attempts to move Ami on.

One user wrote: “Just saying, would he have done that to another guy?”

Another replied : “Just embarrassing that two men try to bully a young woman on her own. They need to take a long look in the mirror.”

A third said: “Haha the audacity of turning up late and being mad that someone is in the spot they want, reality check needed. Handled it perfectly.”

Another commented: “Stand your ground, you’re doing amazing.”

A fifth replied: “Kings Square in York has always been monopolised by selfish street theatre acts who intimidate other buskers into leaving. Well done for staying.”

Speaking today Ami said: “I had been performing with a friend in King’s Square for just under two hours. The two men were standing waiting for the pitch.

“At around the two hour mark they began insisting that there was a time rule and it should be their turn.

“I was not ready to give up the pitch yet as I had not made enough money to fund my accommodation or travel. I told them this but they continued to apply pressure.

“I felt intimidated and outnumbered, I felt as though they would not leave me alone until I moved.

“I explained numerous times why I had to stay in the pitch for now, but that I could let them know when I was done.

“They eventually stopped asking me but hung around behind me for the next hour or so until I had finished.

“I’ve been busking as my full time job for two years. I started it as a hobby when I was at university and Covid hit the UK.

“My degree moved online and it felt pointless.

“Like a lot of the UK, my mental health was suffering tremendously from being inside all the time so when we finally could go out, I would ‘socially distance’ busk.

“I think it was nice for everyone, including myself, to have some life and music injected back into the world after such a dark period.

“When the social restrictions ended, I started to travel to new cities and towns, using my profits to fund the travel/accommodation and whatever I had left would go back into writing and producing my own music.

“Travelling can get a little lonely so I also started live-streaming my busks and posting my positive and negative interactions online to give people an insight into the ‘life of a travelling busker’.”