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Busking is the practice of performing in public places to receive donations of money. Those engaging in this practice are called '''buskers'''. The word ''busk'' comes from the root word ''buscar'', which means "to seek" in Spanish – buskers are literally seeking fortune and fame. Busking performances can be just about anything that people find entertaining. Performers may play music, clown, Twist Balloons , dance, juggle, do Mime , acrobatics, magic tricks, comedy acts, or simply stand still as Statues (very popular in Europe currently). In the United States , the term ''busker'' is not as widely known; buskers in the United States are commonly called Street Performers . , Australia ]] HISTORY Minstrels and troubadours From the Renaissance to the early 1900s, busking was called Minstrel sy in Europe and English-speaking lands. Before that, itinerant musicians were called Troubadour s. This art form was the most widely used method of employment for entertainers before the advent of recording and personal electronics. Prior to that a living human being had to produce any music or entetainment, save for a few mechanical devices such as the Barrel Organ , the Music Box , and the Piano Roll . Talented street performers were treated very well indeed. Every major culture in the world has had street performers, dating all the way back to antiquity. Mariachies Some Mariachi groups can be considered a Mexican equivalent of the busker. They may perform for gratuities as strolling minstrels traveling through streets and plazas, as well as in restaurants and bars. Folk singers From the Thirties until the Sixties folk singers were a domininant presence in the busking scene. One of the most famous of these was Woody Guthrie Hippies The Counterculture of the Hippies of the 1960s occasionally staged "be-ins", which resemble some present-day busker festivals. Bands and performers would gather at public places and perform for free, passing the hat to make money. The San Francisco Bay Area was at the epicenter of this movement — be-ins were staged at Golden Gate Park and San Jose 's Bee Stadium. Some of the bands that performed in this manner were Janis Joplin with Big Brother And The Holding Company , The Grateful Dead , Jefferson Airplane , Quicksilver Messenger Service , Country Joe And The Fish , Moby Grape , and Jimi Hendrix . The sex and drugs, hedonistic persuites of the hippies tainted the image of busking especially among the religous right. It is only recently that busking has been able to overcome that stigma. State of the art The new millennium has experienced a divergence with both a rebirth and an oppression of this art form occurring in the U.S. Many cities are encouraging buskers because they provide a form of entertainment and are considered a tonic to the stresses of shopping and commuting, an influence which is favourable for shopkeepers. In the early 90's PBS affiliated stations aired a program called "Street People". It revealed some very interesting information on studies done from local universities around New York and Boston. They studied street people of all sorts; buskers, street vendors, panhandlers, beggers and the homeless, cops, cabbies and maintenance workers. The studies showed that crime rates tend to decrease around areas in which buskers routinely perform. The old adage "Music Soothes the Savage Beast" was found to be true. The studies also showed that buskers attract and are supported by a better educated, more intelligent, wealthier class of people. This video and those studies were one of the motivating factors in New York's decision to allow buskers to perform in the subway system. MOTIVATION People perform on the street for a variety of reasons. Some do it for the love of their art. Some to practice their talent in front of an audience. Some do it for the money. Some do it for the attention and to meet people. Some do it for fun. Some do it because they have to in order to survive. Currently children are rarely found busking, but this was not always the case. Professional buskers make a full-time living performing on the streets. Some buskers get paid for professional entertainment gigs as well as working the streets. Some buskers do it only part-time and work regular jobs. Some buskers are disabled and do it to to supplement their welfare payments. A busker's income often varies widely from day to day, depending on the kind and quality of the performance, the time and place, the traffic volume, and the kind of audience. An act that might make money for one spot (or ''pitch'') may not work at all in another. An act that does well during the day may not do as well at night, or conversely an act may thrive during the night and fail in daylight. Some people manage only pocket change from busking, while others can amass substantial incomes. PLACES Popular busking spots tend to be public places with large volumes of foot traffic. Good locations include tourist spots; restaurant, theater and entertainment districts; Shopping Mall s, Strip Mall s, and outside of Supermarket s (although permission is usually required from management); subway and bus stops; and outside the entrances to large concerts and sporting events. Some cities reserve certain high-traffic areas for "approved" buskers and even publish schedules of performances. 's Central Park .]] Some well-known busking spots are:
Busking festivals Many buskers travel the world, performing at various festivals.
BUSKERS' CODE OF CONDUCT While there is no universal Code Of Conduct for buskers, there are common practices to which many buskers conform.
BUSKING AND THE LAW In the United States and under most European Common Law , the protection of artistic Free Speech extends to busking. In some jurisdictions the designated places for free speech behavior are the public parks, streets, sidewalks, thoroughfares and civic squares or plazas. Some places may require a business license or a permit to busk. In the US, multiple court decisions have ruled that permits and laws regulating artistic free speech must not be judgmental or so restrictive, complex, difficult or expensive to obtain that they inhibit free speech. Under certain circumstances even private property may be open to buskers, particularly if it is open to the general public and busking does not interfere with its function. Most places require special permits to use electronicly amplified sound and have limits on the volume of amplified sound. Some cities have tried to ban or outlaw busking altogether, but in most of these cases in the United States, the laws have been found to be Unconstitutional when challenged. The city of Saint Augustine, FL is curently engaged in a battle to prohibit busking. Legal battles Some buskers are in a constant fight with authorities, seeing themselves as trying to keep free speech alive. Related to this, there have been a number of lawsuits and other legal cases in regard to the extent of the rights of buskers to perform in public, constituting an ongoing controversy:
PITFALLS Buskers are not Panhandler s or Beggers , but it is not unheard of for these groups to be confused. Buskers consider it Defamatory for people to refer to them in this way. Beggars have been known to congregate around buskers trying to intercept those patrons who want to pay the busker for their services and convert the donation to themselves. Beggars may also try to extort money from buskers by being obnoxious and harassing people until the busker pays them to go away. Many buskers have spent years developing and honing their talents in order to provide an entertaining act, repertoire, or shtick. Some people, described as "spongers" or "posers", will attempt to imitate buskers without having any talent or real act or shtick. Buskers may find themselves targeted by thieves due to the very open and public nature of their craft. Buskers may have their earnings, their instruments or even their props stolen. One particular technique that thieves use against buskers is to pretend to make a donation while actually taking money out instead, a practice known as "dipping" or "skimming". It is debatable if law enforcement officials in some jurisdictions are as interested in protecting buskers from theft in public spaces as they are for other members of the public. See Gypsy for another group that sometimes receives similar treatment. FAMOUS STREET PERFORMERS/BUSKERS Some buskers have become local legends. Noted examples include: NOTED PRACTITIONERS Some buskers made it into mainstream entertainment and later rose to greater prominence. Noted examples include the following. Individuals
Duos
Groups
SEE ALSO EXTERNAL LINKS
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