Busking etiquette

Subject: RE: Busking etiquette
From: Louisa
Date: 09 Jul 01 - 05:36 AM

I used to busk quite regularly. I live in Coventry, and although the city centre is a hole (not like York) you're still meant to get a licence. Have not done this yet. Anyway, thought your list was pretty good. I also object to being photographed, filmed, recorded etc and then them not giving me any money. This happened to me in Galway a few times - I think people thought I was an employee of the tourist board or something! I did have my case out though so...? Anyway, one time I was playing there and a man set up opposite me (solo fiddle) and started playing the Scottish bagpipes. Was not impressed.

Anyway the other hilarious thing that happened to me was when I was playing in Norwich, solo Irish/Scots fiddle tunes and someone came up to me and said 'Can you play the Bach double violin concerto?' to which I said 'well not on my own!' Not to mention that I wasn't even playing classical music!

Adding to list of guidelines - I would say passersby - don't come and peer in my case to see how much money I've got and then walk off once your curiousity has been satisfied! That really gets on my nerves, as does people staring at me. I think there's still a real 'you're begging' stigma attached to buskers - not everyone sees buskers as street entertainers as they ought to. Other buskers - amplification is one thing but blaring it out so loud that noone else can play anywhere in the vicinity is really unfair on other players, and probably causes a bit of a disturbance for shoppers as well.

Louisa

Anyway think that's it.

Subject: RE: Busking etiquette
From: Rt Revd Sir jOhn from Hull
Date: 09 Jul 01 - 02:37 AM

Nice thread, Does anybody know of any busking festivals in UK, preferably in or near yorkshire? (I am not a busker but I like them).I heard recently that if you want to busk in York, you have to pay the council for some kind of permit, I think this is bad.john

Subject: RE: Busking etiquette
From: Cappuccino
Date: 09 Jul 01 - 02:16 AM

I admire your guts for doing it, and I'll support any honest busker if I have some cash - there are some cracking good ones working the London Underground who put my own playing to shame. But I don't think I'd ever have the nerve to offer a note/bill and ask for change! Do people really do that? Is it discourteous, or is it perfectly reasonable to say 'I'll give you two, do you have change for a five'? All the best - Ian B, Oxford

Subject: RE: Busking etiquette
From: Clinton Hammond
Date: 09 Jul 01 - 01:49 AM

Ya marion.. push him into traffic!

Subject: RE: Busking etiquette
From: Marion
Date: 09 Jul 01 - 01:46 AM

Advice needed:

The other day when I was busking at a great spot (solo fiddle with no amplification) a panhandler who uses a wheelchair parked a couple of metres away from me and started playing a battery-operated stereo quite loudly - loudly enough that I couldn't play well or reasonably expect anyone to enjoy the sound of our competing sounds.

I was very angry, but took the only option that I could see: leaving the spot.

I've been thinking about this a lot. As I've mentioned, in Ottawa we buskers talk to each other about how long we want to stay, and negotiate to share the good spots. I'd be willing to negotiate with this character as if he were another busker, and let him have the spot after I've been there an hour; I do have some sympathy for panhandlers in wheelchairs. But I'm not willing to be bullied; it's not acceptable to me that he should be able to force a busker off a spot anytime he wants by twiddling his volume knob.

I have thought of an equally "guerilla" tactic that I could use to encourage him to leave, if he tries pulling this on me again... but I'm hoping somebody here will have a better idea, before it comes to that.

Marion

Subject: RE: Busking etiquette
From: Marion
Date: 09 Jul 01 - 01:28 AM

Larry, regarding giving up spots to other buskers when they ask: that's the way that I found things to be working in Ottawa, and I like it. But I guess it's the kind of system that only works when everybody honours it; if you're the only nice guy, it wouldn't work for you.

As for never accepting a licence... I don't like the licence idea much either, and I'm grateful to live near a free city. But for people living in places where licences are required, I don't understand what the alternative is (short of not busking there). If you go the outlaw route, what kind of hassles do you expect, and what impact do they have on your ability to make a living? Do you have to change spots every half an hour because cops keep making you leave? I would imagine that you could sometimes say that you didn't know you needed a licence, but what happens when the same cop confronts you more than once? Could you be arrested, or have your money or instrument confiscated? Or are these risks you're willing to take? I'm not trying to be snarky - I really want to know how viable it is to be an outlaw busker (partly because I'm contemplating a move to Toronto).

Thanks Larry,

Marion

Subject: RE: Busking etiquette
From: InOBU
Date: 03 Jul 01 - 02:47 PM

Well said Jim!
We are unfortunately judged by the behavior of the worst of us. There was a sax player who used to show up just before curtain in the theatre district and play loud, ruining the performance of folks who had the corner first. When some of us tried to explain the customs to him, he got aggressive. All the buskers got kicked of the theatre district streets for the rest of the season! Keep it clean and keep it polite! The only exception is in districts where there is more expectation of profanity. In Washington Square park, there was a gay sword swallower who used to make some double-entendre jokes in his patter. It went over the heads of most kids in the audience, and in the west village, (New York) it is an environment which is more tolerant of that sort of joke.
Cheers, Larry

Subject: RE: Busking etiquette
From: Jim Dixon
Date: 03 Jul 01 - 08:35 AM

I'd like to add one rule: Keep it clean. Remember there are likely to be kids present, and parents with kids. I don't want to have to stop in a public place and explain a dirty joke to my kid.

Subject: RE: Busking etiquette
From: InOBU
Date: 03 Jul 01 - 08:11 AM

One more DON't LURK! When someone has one of my great spots, I wait, out of her or his view, where I can hear that they have finnished and left, so I am not appearing to be waiting for the spot, that is VERY offsetting to a busker. I always assume they are doing it cause they need to. AND always give support and advice to young buskers. - Larry

Subject: RE: Busking etiquette
From: InOBU
Date: 03 Jul 01 - 08:09 AM

As a 30 year busker... there are rules and coustoms out there. As to giving up a good spot, well, that is a nice idea, but it can't really work in a city like New York or London. You have to really work a spot in order to pay your rent. In New York, rents can be - for a working class one room flat, 800 bucks and up. So, most buskers have to work like mules to just keep a room. We who busk for a living can't give up a spot to a casual busker. On the other hand, I always share information on 1. How to find a good spot (working class corners, not completely poor neighborhoods, parks, subways, the rich parts of town, both where they live and work, you will not get a dime, find a place where people either slow down or have to stop, or they just listen as they pass by, smile at you and stiff ya). 2. I tell folks where the good spots are, 3. Who ever gets there first has it, but, eventually everyone has to go to the jacks. I have built up a very patient bladder, so I can hold a spot long enough to make enough money. 4. NEVER NEVER NEVER take a licence from the government. If you do you are a scab. You are giving control of our ancient tradition to a government who gives you nothing but abuse in return. We are the inheritors of the freedom of the roads.
Keep the music alive and the streets ours.
Larry

Subject: RE: Busking etiquette
From: alanabit
Date: 03 Jul 01 - 12:31 AM

A lot of good sense there Marion. I don't mind folks photographing or filming me, but I really do get pissed off when they treat me simply as a thing rather than a person. I play as a one man band and I really resent those who do not listen to a note I play, snap one picture of the exciting drum (God they must have dull lives!) and then disappear as if the thing on the other side of it which actually makes the noise - me - was just a stand for the bloody drum! I also loathe those people who are completely uninterested in what I'm doing and use me (unasked) as a prop to stand beside in their holiday snaps. I tell them very clearly what I think of their manners. Otherwise I'm in full agreement with your comments about an obligation to be friendly and courteous to the punters and other buskers. Alan.

Subject: RE: Busking etiquette
From: Sorcha
Date: 02 Jul 01 - 11:15 PM

It is to me too! I have never actually "busked", but we have often had babies just learning to walk crawl up our legs, hold on and dance. We love it!! (Their mothers are usually embarrased--for not cause that we can see.)

Subject: RE: Busking etiquette
From: Jon Freeman
Date: 02 Jul 01 - 11:09 PM

I've not tried my hand at busking in a few years but a kid dancing along the street to the music was worth £1 in the hat to me!

Jon

Subject: Busking etiquette
From: Marion
Date: 02 Jul 01 - 11:00 PM

I'd like to propose the following rules of etiquette for busking, based on my own experiences and intuition.

RELATING TO OTHER BUSKERS

1. Share the best locations. If another busker indicates that they'd like your spot, agree on a time for them to come and take it over (at most one hour later) and then don't leave until they arrive. Conversely, if another busker has the spot you want, ask them how long they plan to be there. And if they're really on a roll when you get back to claim the place, i.e., they have a crowd built up, give them a few extra minutes so their roll isn't broken.

2. Share information. If somebody has harassed you or tried to steal your tips, warn buskers taking over your spot. If a passerby compliments your show, tell them they should come back in an hour and hear the other busker, too.

3. Keep a respectful distance, especially between musical acts. A musical act and a non-musical one can be closer together, but should be careful not to interfere with each other's visibility/traffic flow.

RELATING TO THE PUBLIC

1. Respect a captive audience. If your location is such that everyone who hears you is just passing by, then you can be as repetitious as you want. But if you are close to market vendors or an outdoor cafe or such, don't play the same tune for 10 minutes or sing the same song five times an hour.

2. If you're amplifying your music, keep it at a decent volume.

3. Be careful not to block traffic flow, along the sidewalks or especially access to vendors or stores.

FOR PASSERSBY, ON RELATING TO BUSKERS

1. I've been photographed, filmed, and tape recorded while busking; none of which I minded particularly, but I think it would be reasonable to expect a tip for it.

2. I've had people want to tip me by giving me a two or five and taking back a smaller amount, or just want to change bills for coins; again, I don't mind this, but the person should wait until I finish a tune then ask for permission. Until then, hands out of the case!

3. If you like the music but can't give much or anything for a tip, it's still OK to respond to it (by stopping to listen, letting the kids dance, talking to the busker between tunes etc.). Perhaps some buskers will disagree with this, and be annoyed if someone tips 5 cents or stops to listen without tipping at all. But personally I find that small tips or people responding to the music provides a lot of encouragement. When busking is a crucial part of your income, and you go for a stretch of time without any tips, it can get really discouraging; a kid dancing or someone smiling at me can give me the energy to keep going.

Additions, arguments?

Marion