By Roadjunky, Posted Sep 07, 2006
Sections: Busking Intro The Basics Which Instrument? Where to Play and When? Busking Tips International Busking Famous Buskers It's a Busker's Life Work Around the World
 Do this for eight hours a day and you'll earn your 40 quid. Photo courtesy of Brighton Images. |
Play a few warm up numbers and during your penultimate song have your preferably beautiful assistant head to the first table that applauds.
So you’re looking smart, you’ve chosen a good location to busk and you’ve got either an original act or you’re playing music people know and love – what now?
Now is when you want to make money. Most buskers use the empty carrying case of their instrument as a receptacle; the money is in full view and everyone gets the idea. You could use a hat for the same purpose but make sure everyone understands that’s where the money goes.
Make 'passing the hat' an entertaining experience in itself http://www.flickr.com/photos/yewenyi/
It’s crucial to remember that you’re not a statue playing behind an invisible wall of glass. You’re a live performer and an integral part of the ambience of the street. So look up and meet the eyes of people passing, tell jokes and start conversations between songs. A busker who’s also an entertainer will win the sympathy – and the change – of the public faster than an aloof musician who doesn’t say thank you or smile.
If you’re playing a crowd, such as an audience trying to have lunch over you wailing the blues, then it’s a good plan to have someone go round with the hat and hit people up. Play a few warm up numbers and during your penultimate song have your preferably beautiful assistant head to the first table that applauds.
If regular marketing tactics fail, you could always scare people into buying your CD http://www.flickr.com/photos/argos_t/
The person doing the ‘bottle’ (deriving from old Punch and Judy shows where a fly was kept in the bottle to make sure the assistant didn’t palm any of the money – if they did the fly would escape) needs to be loud and cheerful, shaking the coins about and never letting their smile drop for a moment. If people refuse to give any money, cry ‘thank you!’ loudly anyway and give people the idea generosity is the done thing.
CD’s
These days you can record a pretty good cut with just a mini-disc and a mike so you have no excuse for not having your own CD, really. Professional buskers will tend to make 50-60% of their money from coins and notes in the hat and the rest from the sale of their CD’s. It can be done very cheaply with the recording, printing and production of a CD in a case with a photo cover for around $3-5. Then you can sell them for at least $15 which is a pretty good mark up.
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