making money!

soo.. well this wasn't intentional.. but today Sunburst and I were playing some tuines on the guitar at a park and a whole unch of peopl were walkign by.. so we made a lil bit of money.. lol has this ever happend to you?

 

Yeah, it's called busking. I've actually made $20 or $30 before, through it.

 

i've made some good money doing that, not so much at a park, but downtown you can make some good money.

 

often times buskers who look poor/homeless make hundreds of dollars a day, if theyre in a good enough location (busy downtown areas, etc.)

 

Are there any laws about just playing in the street, even if your not askin for money.

 

i think it depends on the state or area you play in.

Once i was playing during the saturday market, and i made really good money, but apparently i was not allowed to play their because i have to "sign up" in order to play there, it just depends on location.

 

ha ha yeah... You need a busking liscence up here in Canada.. or you'l be paying the government instead of being paid... lol But we had no intention of making money.. but i guess we did.. lol

 

in order to be allowed to play at one of the popular locations, you would probably need to audition with whoever organizes those things

but otherwise, I dont think theres anything wrong with playing in the street, unless youre causing a commotion

 

The laws are much more lenient in Europe.... They even encourage busking to a degree.

On a good day 200euro can be made in about 5hours....

The thing is, you need to be good.... like I mean with nice harmonies and popular songs if your to make decent bucks....

 

Most people think that busking is soliciting, and that is illegal... however, pop-up ads, telemarketers, and other contractual and political means of solicitation are legal. So, what's the rule here? If you have the funds to do it, then pan-handling is A-Okay! I personally think this just goes to show how determined the U.S. media/government is to tell us what's cool by cutting off our exposure to performers mirroring the figure of Lynyrd Skynyrd's "Curtis Lowe." Although "Curtis" never existed, the idea behind the song is sadly illegal in most states and individual counties here.

However, since I'm not a typical law abiding citizen, and because I have a strong distaste for bogus laws like that, I'll say that the worse I dress, the more money I typically make if I'm in the mood to play. One time I played on a sidewalk on top of a small dam at Montreat College right outside of Asheville, NC. I was just playing harmonica by myself and I got a total of about $10 in five minutes. I've never been able to find a real job that competes with that rate of pay, so I'm kinda unemployed right now... I guess I was spoiled at an early age that way. I just wanted enough money to buy a coke, so I sold my soul to the devil in exchange for learnin' how to play the harmonica real good... like Tommy Johnson in O' Brother Where Art Thou. Anyways, I digress... all of you should come to my festival that I'm gonna have... every single one of you. I dunno if it'll pay much... or anything, but it'll get people like us noticed... only if there's enough of us to make sure that we can't be ignored though... so please come and let's at least get this bullshit law done away with...

 

I don't think the fuzz really enforces busking laws. I was in a crowded NYC subway and I saw one guy playing...I gave him a buck.

 

chances are that guy had to audition in order to play there

 

Yeah thats what they did in Londons underground. There is so much buskers there I guess they had to regulate it.