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Thread: A Different Busking Question

  1. #26

    Default Re: A Different Busking Question

    Quote Originally Posted by Dan in NH View Post
    I would be hesitant to busk outside a grocery store or at a plaza or mall. Private property and all.
    the duo I am a part of have had success by asking the management for permission to play. We're careful not to obstruct the entrance/exit and not to play anything that's likely to offend anyone.

  2. #27
    Mando accumulator allenhopkins's Avatar
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    Default Re: A Different Busking Question

    Pre-COVID, I played a few farmers' markets where they put out a "tip basket" to supplement the (very low) guarantees from market management. Singles, generally, and coins (sometimes pennies -- go figure). Oddest think I got was a couple McDonald's coupons for free fries with your burger. Used 'em, unashamedly.
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  3. #28
    Registered User Bren's Avatar
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    Default Re: A Different Busking Question

    Back in 1979, I had arrived back in Australia with a new Scottish girlfriend in tow and seriously broke.

    I ran into a friend of a friend who used to play Hendrix-wannabe Strat stuff with my friend's band.

    He asked me to come busking with him at a city market (in Melbourne, Preston market if you know it).
    I thought, "Hendrix? how is this gonna work"
    But when I got to his house for a 10min practice he was playing Gram Parsons and Merle Haggard stuff on an acoustic - phew!

    His golden rules were:
    - 2 players better than one, you keep each other's energy up.
    - NEVER SIT DOWN while playing. Standing up makes you engage, and look engaged.
    - Take a break every 20 minutes whether you need it or not. Keep it fresh.
    - Use a guitar case with the lid as backboard rather than a tin. People are less likely to throw money if they think they might miss. Also they give money to kids to throw.
    - Salt the case with some big coins and notes. We would put an AUD$5 note in there which is $26 today.
    - don't be snobby, learn requests. Some stall holders would give us $5 or $10 for national favourites like O Sole Mio, Never On Sunday, 10 Guitars (Polynesian favourite), Danny Boy etc. We'd go away and learn them and come back fully loaded next week

    He would sing songs, I would croak along and play mando breaks and fiddle tunes in between. He used a nylon stringed guitar tune down a step to make it easier on his hands all afternoon (used to light strat strings I guess) Still played in easy keys for mandolin though.

    The first afternoon I came back with AUD$40 cash in my case, ($214.42 in today's money) my Scottish gf became my wife and the rest is history. Just like that.

    A decade or two later, when I got brave enough to venture out to sessions, after being ejected from the pub at closing time, sometimes I would join in with street buskers and (maybe) boost their takings a bit.
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  5. #29
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    Default Re: A Different Busking Question

    I busked 20 years ago as a juggler and could get 20’s during the Atlanta Arts Festival. Usually it was $1s & $5s with the occasional $10. I support the buskers at Pike Place Market when I go but I generally don’t carry much cash so that definitely limits the amount. Humor and a loud voice will usually increase your total but it’s gonna be a tough way to make anything substantial unless you’re in an ideal setting, ie. cash market or arts festival of some sort.

    I don’t know if the big downtown department stores still have musicians but I’d def drop some cash to see a mandolinist in Nordstrom’s
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  6. #30

    Default Re: A Different Busking Question

    I like a story of windfall riches as much as the next guy, but I think stories of people throwing $20's and $50's in a tip jar are rare and somewhat misleading. I mean, why would any musician have a "day job" if they can make $200 a day busking? I think ones and quarters might be more like it unless you are living in an affluent area. I agree that people mostly use debit cards and carry less cash than in past times. (not that it should be an excuse for being a cheapskate!)

    I think we tend to glorify our successes and downplay reality when it comes to recalling these memories. I remember delivering antique furniture 40 years ago and while most people didn't tip, one man gave me and my partner $60 each -- near lifechanging money considering my rent back then was probably $125 a month. However, I can still count on one hand the times this kind of thing happened.

    In closing, one of my college jobs was driving a cab for Yellow Cab. The flexible hours appealed to my schedule back then. The "training" consisted of a 2-hour safety classroom, where rumors were whispered of a cab driver just picking up a "sheik" at the airport and getting a $1000 tip.....needless to say, I'm still waiting for my $1000 tip............! I'm thinking those rumors were leaked by the cab company as a morale booster.....
    Last edited by Jeff Mando; Nov-02-2022 at 10:39am.

  7. #31

    Default Re: A Different Busking Question

    Super strange day. I was walking down the sidewalk and found a whole hat full of money! It was awesome.


    Then I got chased several blocks by a crazy guy with a guitar.


    Strange times.

  8. #32
    small instrument, big fun Dan in NH's Avatar
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    Default Re: A Different Busking Question

    Mary Spender is a British singer/songwriter/ YouTube blogger. Young, cute, posh accent. While she studied viola at university she plays guitar now.

    One of her videos is of her & a friend busking for the first time in New York City. They went out, tried a couple of different locations, interacted with other performers, and after three hours had collected fourteen dollars in tips.

    Not encouraging.

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  10. #33
    Registered User Jill McAuley's Avatar
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    Default Re: A Different Busking Question

    Quote Originally Posted by Jeff Mando View Post
    I like a story of windfall riches as much as the next guy, but I think stories of people throwing $20's and $50's in a tip jar are rare and somewhat misleading. I mean, why would any musician have a "day job" if they can make $200 a day busking? I think ones and quarters might be more like it unless you are living in an affluent area. I agree that people mostly use debit cards and carry less cash than in past times. (not that it should be an excuse for being a cheapskate!)

    I think we tend to glorify our successes and downplay reality when it comes to recalling these memories. I remember delivering antique furniture 40 years ago and while most people didn't tip, one man gave me and my partner $60 each -- near lifechanging money considering my rent back then was probably $125 a month. However, I can still count on one hand the times this kind of thing happened.

    In closing, one of my college jobs was driving a cab for Yellow Cab. The flexible hours appealed to my schedule back then. The "training" consisted of a 2-hour safety classroom, where rumors were whispered of a cab driver just picking up a "sheik" at the airport and getting a $1000 tip.....needless to say, I'm still waiting for my $1000 tip............! I'm thinking those rumors were leaked by the cab company as a morale booster.....
    Why would one give up busking for a day job? In my case it was the lure of health insurance, paid holidays and sick days and working a predictable 5 days a week vs. 7 days a week busking. But busking served me well and literally saved me from being homeless when I lost my job back in 2011.
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  12. #34
    Registered User Eric Platt's Avatar
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    Default Re: A Different Busking Question

    Like everyone else, mostly $1's, with the occasional $5 or higher. And quite often a few quarters from children. That's in summer. When we play a few indoor market gigs in winter, it's very spare in the tip category. Belive a lot of the customers think we're being paid to do this and so don't feel obliged to tip. (As there are some markets around here that do that, I can see the point.)

    We usually "seed" the tip jar with $4. And we don't take any of the on-line payments. My friends who do use Venmo or one of the other services always seem to do better. Then again, they busk in different areas and often have higher foot traffic.

    Knew a few folks who made a living busking (or street singing) around here in the 1980's. Don't think that would be possible anymore.
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  14. #35
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    Default Re: A Different Busking Question

    Quote Originally Posted by milli857 View Post
    I've been seeing buskers with Venmo or Cashapp links and QR codes more often lately - seems like a good work around for the "nobody carries cash any more" problem.
    Yes, quite a few UK buskers now have the little square contactless payment boxes. I assume they have Bluetooth connections to their smartphones?

  15. #36

    Default Re: A Different Busking Question

    Quote Originally Posted by maxr View Post
    Yes, quite a few UK buskers now have the little square contactless payment boxes. I assume they have Bluetooth connections to their smartphones?
    I'm very confused. Are you saying the busker stops playing and gets out their phone to accept a tip, then starts back playing? Doesn't sound like it would be good for the musicality, stopping and starting, IMHO?

    Granted, I'm challenged by technology. I was recently in a college town where all the parking meters only accepted debit cards....no coins! (I am smart enough to keep a few coins in the console...) Even though I was in front of the business I wanted to visit, I didn't feel like sticking my debit card in an anonymous unmanned box, so I drove a few blocks away and parked on the street and walked. Pretty much ruined the start of an otherwise nice day. I've noticed the "air" machines at gas stations now accept plastic as well -- and I never really got used to the idea of "paying" for air! My dear departed mother would often say, "I'm getting too old to keep up with all this stuff!" I know what she meant. I think technology is supposed to help us, not make life worse.

    I should add this forum is a wonderful exception and something I can participate in from my 18-year old laptop.

  16. #37
    Registered User Bren's Avatar
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    Default Re: A Different Busking Question

    Quote Originally Posted by Jeff Mando View Post
    I'm very confused. Are you saying the busker stops playing and gets out their phone to accept a tip, then starts back playing? Doesn't sound like it would be good for the musicality, stopping and starting, IMHO?

    Granted, I'm challenged by technology. I was recently in a college town where all the parking meters only accepted debit cards....no coins! (I am smart enough to keep a few coins in the console...) Even though I was in front of the business I wanted to visit, I didn't feel like sticking my debit card in an anonymous unmanned box, so I drove a few blocks away and parked on the street and walked. Pretty much ruined the start of an otherwise nice day. I've noticed the "air" machines at gas stations now accept plastic as well -- and I never really got used to the idea of "paying" for air! My dear departed mother would often say, "I'm getting too old to keep up with all this stuff!" I know what she meant. I think technology is supposed to help us, not make life worse.

    I should add this forum is a wonderful exception and something I can participate in from my 18-year old laptop.
    All the city parking in Aberdeen now, and most Scottish cities, is paid through an app. You don't really need to go near the meter. The app sends you an SMS when your time is running out and offers a chance to extend, which you can do from wherever you are.

    There are a few things that I think have effectively killed busking , since the days 40+ years ago that I described in my post above:

    1. The ubiquity of music in public spaces. There's just too much of it. Once live music was a treat, a novelty, and people would gather to hear a performer, but now they'll seek out quietness, which is rarer.

    2. Amplification. This has pretty much doubled, tripled, quadrupled the effective distance between performers, meaning fewer performers can fit in a given area.

    3. City ordnances, which are probably a response to 1 & 2. It was much easier, back in the day, just to put your case down near a crowd, and start playing.

    4. related to #1, the ubiquity of loud recorded music in bars, cafes, restaurants, stores, sports grounds etc etc, karaoke, autotune, backing tracks etc means raw live acoustic music is perhaps less appealing to modern ears

    5. the whole baby-boomer population bulge meant that the performers of the 50s and 60s had a ready market, and many of that audience went and learned to play instruments, thus flooding the market. That baby boom (like me) is now in old age.
    Bren

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  18. #38
    The Amateur Mandolinist Mark Gunter's Avatar
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    Default Re: A Different Busking Question

    Interesting … but remember this: The traveling bard or troubadour is known from ancient times and I believe there is plenty of room for them still.

    Regarding your number 5, perhaps that may have been a “golden age” for buskers. I don’t know. It’s possible. But it doesn’t matter, I still busk even today when I feel like it, and I often get paid a decent amount in tips. And always enjoy it even when the tips are nothing to get excited about. The practice of busking is alive and well in my little world.
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  20. #39
    Registered User Mandobart's Avatar
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    Default Re: A Different Busking Question

    My bluegrass club has put together a band that has been playing one local farmers market for the past few years. We get paid $200 for a two-hour set. The last two times we've played there we got about $100 in tips too.

    Busking at a street corner, park, strip mall, etc. is a different scene entirely.

  21. #40
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    Default Re: A Different Busking Question

    I spend a lot of time in a university town (Falmouth UK) that has lots of musicians, lots of music venues and quite a number of street people. It's unusual to go into the center of town in daylight without seeing one of more buskers. They tend to work the busy shopping/tourist streets. Most are guitarist singers but I've also seen classical guitarists, fiddlers, instrumental duos, a harpist , a hurdy gurdy player, a flautist, accordionists, pipers, a mermaid style 'green lady' who also plays Celtic harp, and a well knoqn local guy who sings with a 'music minus one' ghetto blaster setup. Some are full time music students 'paying their dues', some finished their courses and can't leave the place, some are just trying to get by, and the standard varies from fully professional to truly appalling. I think they all add greatly to the atmosphere of the place. It might only be 'the times they are a-changing' for the 200th time, but it's truly different from canned music.

  22. #41
    The Amateur Mandolinist Mark Gunter's Avatar
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    Default Re: A Different Busking Question

    Yes it’s a different scene than gigging.

    my Buddy and I do a monthly gig at a hamburger joint, house pays $100 - $150 depending on the number of patrons. That means house pays $100 but sometimes throws in an extra $50. They also comp drinks and a meal.

    The tip jar brings in between $45 - $250. The tip jar is impossible to predict but averages around $150. Three hour gig.

    We sometimes get $100 bills in the tip jar. I’ve never gotten larger than $20s busking on the street.
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  23. #42
    Registered User Simon DS's Avatar
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    Default Re: A Different Busking Question

    Quote Originally Posted by Mark Gunter View Post
    …my Buddy and I do a monthly gig at a hamburger joint, house pays $100 - $150 depending on the number of patrons. That means house pays $100 but sometimes throws in an extra $50. They also comp drinks and a meal...
    No vid, didn’t happen!

  24. #43
    Mando accumulator allenhopkins's Avatar
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    Default Re: A Different Busking Question

    If you want bigger tips, play someplace where the clientele is drinking.
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  26. #44

    Default Re: A Different Busking Question

    Quote Originally Posted by allenhopkins View Post
    If you want bigger tips, play someplace where the clientele is drinking.
    We were playing an upscale bar about an hour from closing time and a wedding party comes in complete with bride, the dress, tuxedos, and the whole group was quite drunk. The most vocal of the bunch (close to falling-down drunk) comes up to me with five $20 bills in his hand and has a request, we happen to know it, he hands us a twenty and we do the song, thinking we are done. By then the wedding party is dancing, falling down, and taking up most of the available floor space. The ringleader stands about two feet in front of my mic the whole time, looking at me and is starting to annoy us. Granted, he was just having a really good time. We never did get any more of his $20's and at some point I kind of felt more like a trained seal act than an artist. Of course, that comes with the territory, since our "art" is performed in beer joints, not museums, after all....

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  28. #45
    Registered User Charlie Bernstein's Avatar
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    Default Re: A Different Busking Question

    I don't do it often, but a buck is the usual.
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  29. #46
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    Default Re: A Different Busking Question

    I’ve been shot at.

  30. #47
    small instrument, big fun Dan in NH's Avatar
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    Default Re: A Different Busking Question

    Quote Originally Posted by lowtone2 View Post
    I’ve been shot at.
    You must play very badly

  31. #48

    Default Re: A Different Busking Question

    Quote Originally Posted by Dan in NH View Post
    I would be hesitant to busk outside a grocery store or at a plaza or mall. Private property and all.
    They either allow it or they don’t. You find out pretty quick.Just dont argue if a storekeeper, security or cop suggests you leave. Even if you have spectators supporting you, they won’t be there when you have to pay the ticket.
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  32. #49

    Default Re: A Different Busking Question

    I spent summer and fall doing a lot of busking in a Canadian seaport, target audience being cruise ship passengers, at least 60% of them American. There is no way to average out the contributions unless you have an assistant standing by you counting the contributions. Doesn’t matter anyway! You just go to where the tourists are going to be walking, you’re allowed to play, and there’s not too much noise (musical or traffic).

    I dress casual-jaunty and play mostly tenor banjo and octave mando, largely nautical themed ballads plus a few classics and fiddle tunes. (No Wagon Wheel, but I do Galway Girl.) I concentrate on playing the music that fits the setting, doesn’t matter if they know the songs as long as they are lively ones.

    Just checked my records: I was out 14 days, averaged 151.60 (Cdn) each day. Worst day $80, (only sub-100 day), best day $273 which was my alltime record. Probably an average 3.5 hr playing. Was my best season of busking ever.

    Yes people are likely to donate if they stop, listen to a full song, and engage you in conversation. Meeting people is the most fun part.

    If you are spending some time near a cruise-ship port, there is generally a ship schedule website kept by the port authority or municipality. These are goldmines of info, detailing arrival and departure times, passenger and crew numbers (got friendly with many crew members, many are there every week or two), and best of all, what days there are multiple ships arriving. Those get highlighted on the calendar! Generally I would start at 1030 am or so, play 2-3 hr, take a lunch break (I pack my own). Might go see if my buddies are up at the pub playing a ship time matinee. Then maybe play another 60-90 min as the passengers are heading back onboard. (Many appreciate that you’re still at it, and reward you. Guilt money;/= )

    About half my earnings come in US dollars. I have a tip jar in the banjo case that keeps the paper from blowing away. Canadian loonies and toonies ($1 and $2 coins) don’t blow away so they are very convenient! Cruise ship passengers are an older cash-carrying demographic. I have no idea why they tour through five or six Canadian ports with a huge supply of US singles, but it works for me.

    Glad you asked…
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