Thread: Musicians: Have you ever Busked? (Perform in Public)

My friend does this, but he doesn't put any cash in hes case when he starts to play. He's a metalhead, but he appreciates all kinds of music (that has talent). He makes $100-$200/day in summer. He usually plays popular tunes like stuff from Beatles, all mighty Hendrix etc..

Let me prove to you why I know people who "perform" in public make a crap ton of money:

OK when I used to live near UCLA, I used to always come off the exit of the 405 on Wilshire ave. For those of you in SoCal you will know this area VERY well. It is massive traffic, a big "audience" if you will.

I would ALWAYS see this same guy day after day holding his "need food, will work for food" sign.. but he has a little box that had some random money in it, always looked to be around 10 bucks and some change.

Anyway, one day I was feeling extra giving and I had just come from the grocery store heading home off my same exit and I see him. I actually decided to give him food. I put on my hazards and moved into the emergency vehicle lane and jumped out to give him the food where I got the shock of my life!

I said, "hey man I see you out here almost everyday I thought I would bring you some food" handing the man the bag of groceries. He says, "are you fucking kidding me man, I am not homeless, I don't want food (he is now throwing my groceries on the ground), standing out here collecting money is my JOB" he says. "Being at this off-ramp I make almost $900 a DAY, I live over on Wilshire and Barrington in the Plaza, I'm basically an actor man, and acting pays me well"

So that is the reason I ..

A) Never give money to homeless people
B) Know that street performers make a lot of money

I got blackhatted by a bum actor!

Hehe nice story Cadkins, although you have to admit $900,- / day seems a bit exaggerated, but yeah sure I believe that some ''bums'' are making a nice living begging for money. It's still a pathetic job though, and I wouldn't feel all that good doing it, but hey if you have no shame.. go for it.

Oh and if I had any musical talent whatsoever I'd definitely go out ''busking'' in the Summer with a few mates, sounds like fun to me

cadkins I never give money to seemingly "legit" bums/homeless for this reason as well. Either they are conning you, or your handout will be spent on booze or something else destructive. I'd rather give to a structured organization where I can be somewhat certain that the money will be going to a good cause.

Sorry, I never give money to street performers either (unless its at a street performers festival or something). If you can play the violin like Paganini you can go get a job at McDonalds.

Deviance, I wouldn't be surprised if he was being honest about the amount. Even if he converted a dollar from 1 out of 100 cars that pass that off-ramp.... he would be lookin at a minimum of $500, I would say between 60,000 - 75,00 cars hit that on and off ramp every single day and it's CONSTANTLY jammed so people don't just "drive by" he has a captive audience during all hours.

His business definitely has traffic! HAHA. As far as his location goes it would be the equivalent of top ranked on Google, super high bum ranking!

After it happened to me I actually thought about it for a long time, he might be a horrible person, but he may also be a genius.

@ entrepreneur513
My wife considered "street performing" (as its called in USA)
We go to Santa Monica a lot, and most "buskers" are on 3rd street promenade.
They are licensed ($10 a year) and not allowed to perform any music / lyrics that are covered by form of song license.
*Tip* If you need an amplifier, get a small hand cart, add 12Volt batteries and a power inverter to run your rig for a few hours.
Basically, anything goes, as long as its entertaining. I have seen gays, flutes, violins, guitar duos, 6 piece bands, jugglers, acrobats, magicians,and card tricks....and that just in one day!!

Some musicians ended up on CNN, breakfast Tv shows and Youtube only last year, due to a local TV producer who saw their talent.

As for street bums (tramps in England) I once was living in Cleveland, Ohio and bought a fresh, hot coffee for a tramp outside a shopping mall as he was freezing in the Winter Snow...His response, "Coffee!! No thanks man!..I wanted Hot Chocolate!!" JEEZ!!! Looks like the old saying "beggars can't be choosers" has gone out the window