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I just started busking

Rico Vandoren said:
So I suppose the lesson is that different places have different rules, and its always best to check first.
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I wonder how this is around where I live. I have many months of winter before I can go out and try so I have time to find out. I just would hate for a permit to cost more then I would hope to make. If it does I might need tips on low cost easy to move equipment if I want some backing tracks.
 
I can confirm, like Chris said, that it's different rules for different areas. I occasionally busk in Stratford upon Avon and you don't need permission or a licence during the week. Weekends and special days (such as Shakespeare's birthday) are a different matter and you have to submit your name which is then placed onto a rota. This depends on the amount of buskers in the area that day!
For Coventry, I needed to do an audition and I now have a licence. Northampton, you just turn up and play, but you're only allowed to play in certain areas. For Rugby, you have to contact the BID scheme who run the rangers. Again you just need permission and they will tell you where you can play. Once in the town, the rangers will monitor the shops in the area that you're in and if the shopkeepers are ok with you then you can stay for as long as you like.
 
Rico Vandoren said:
Prior to my recent busking in Haverfordwest ( see thread ' Busking- Third Attempt ) I sent this email to Pembrokeshire County Council....

Dear Sir,
During the week commencing 6th October I will be on holiday in St. Davids.
I am a keen saxophonist and would like to seek permission to busk in Haverfordwest. Can you tell me how I go about this, and if I would need a permit?
I play alto saxophone to a musical accompaniment played on my iPod via a small speaker. I play Beatles tunes, pop songs and jazz standards.
I always ensure that the volume is reasonable and is never too loud.

Thank you,

Tony Waine

And got this one back...

Dear Mr Waine
Thank you for your recent enquiry regarding busking in the Haverfordwest area. There is no permit required for busking as it is generally spontaneous and you are not guaranteed to be playing for the benefit of an audience in a specific location.

You will not require a street trading permit as you are not selling any products. When people have busked in the area previously we have received a number of complaints in relation to noise so, as stated in your e-mail, I would suggest keeping the music to a background level. Should any complaints be received you may be requested to move on.

Regards

Amanda Millard, Licensing Inspector (north)

However, I recently enquired about busking in Manchester over Christmas and was informed that I would have to pre-book a one hour slot in one of four pre-selected locations, and that I would not be allowed to use amplification of any kind.

So I suppose the lesson is that different places have different rules, and its always best to check first.
Click to expand...

Busking is generally tolerated - there are some areas like Covent Garden in London where you can actually gain your regular place after passing an examination and guarantee you a steady income.
In other areas you just have to adapt to what's available at the time...basic commons sense should give you no trouble.
Some artists rely on busking to earn a living and tend to be a bit too territorial - in that case I simply go somewhere else (I've learned that the best spot aren't the busiest sometimes)...keep an eye on some Big Issue sellers - they can be a real pain sometimes.
For pickpockets I'm trying to find a solution - basically I can put a sign saying: "no money thanks...I just play for fun" (ok, you don't get money but at least you aren't distracted by paranoid thoughts) - else I can put a sign on the bell of the sax saying: "drop coins (and notes) into here" that's guarantee to be a winner with kids too...I guess the most elegant solution would be to play a duet with a guitarist (they can monitor the situation better than sax players):)
 
zannad said:
... else I can put a sign on the bell of the sax saying: "drop coins (and notes) into here" that's guarantee to be a winner with kids too...
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That was my first thought - I'm sure, especially if you played a baritone, people would attempt to toss coins down the bell of your sax.

I had also contemplated busking at some point. I'd put up a sign with a price list, one euro buys you two minutes of silence. Could make 30 an hour, easy. :)
 
I am a busker and proud of it. I use backing tracks, but twice due to a dodgy amp have busked without and earned just as much. Last time I was halfway through girl from ipanema and the street was empty, so I just went for it with full blown rock and roll, blues, latin improvisation and back to the melody, loved it and by the time I had finished people came and donated. I have a sign that says thanks for the donation and available for functions. I have 5 gigs including weddings and parties booked for this year and another four already booked for next year.
I busked 3 times on holiday this year and came back with a decent supply of coins towards next years hols. I also took part in the Ventnor Fringe festival on the spur of the moment with an hours gig in a hotel.

I have a favourite spot in my local town, the staff from the air ambulance provide me with tea and biscuits while I am there.

2 weeks ago I was halfway through and it wasnt a brilliant earner but I was asked if I would play in a residential home for a fee. I said yes and asked when, the reply was in about 15 minutes. It was brilliant as my tunes suited them down to the ground, Blue moon, Summertime, smoke gets in your eyes etc. Some got up and danced, some clapped and some sang. One resident who was being visited by his wife, got straight up to dance. He was a bit wobbly on his feet but they had a good dance. I noticed that he kept his balance by grabbing her bum:thumb: still life in the old dog yet.
They have asked me to go back again as they enjoyed it so much. I loved that gig.
LAst week end I took part in a charity concert that came from busking. I was nervous as busking is completely different to playing to a crowd thats staring at you in a church hall,but it went really well and added to my confidence.
I feel my playing has improved greatly since busking as I am a lot freer with my rhythms and tone.
Give it a go its great fun
As someone has already said, it is very addictive
 
Rico Vandoren said:
Prior to my recent busking in Haverfordwest ( see thread ' Busking- Third Attempt ) I sent this email to Pembrokeshire County Council....

Dear Sir,
During the week commencing 6th October I will be on holiday in St. Davids.
I am a keen saxophonist and would like to seek permission to busk in Haverfordwest. Can you tell me how I go about this, and if I would need a permit?
I play alto saxophone to a musical accompaniment played on my iPod via a small speaker. I play Beatles tunes, pop songs and jazz standards.
I always ensure that the volume is reasonable and is never too loud.

Thank you,

Tony Waine.

And got this one back...

Dear Mr Waine
Thank you for your recent enquiry regarding busking in the Haverfordwest area. There is no permit required for busking as it is generally spontaneous and you are not guaranteed to be playing for the benefit of an audience in a specific location.

You will not require a street trading permit as you are not selling any products. When people have busked in the area previously we have received a number of complaints in relation to noise so, as stated in your e-mail, I would suggest keeping the music to a background level. Should any complaints be received you may be requested to move on.

Regards

Amanda Millard, Licensing Inspector (north)

However, I recently enquired about busking in Manchester over Christmas and was informed that I would have to pre-book a one hour slot in one of four pre-selected locations, and that I would not be allowed to use amplification of any kind.

So I suppose the lesson is that different places have different rules, and its always best to check first.
Click to expand...

Interesting point made here by the Council regarding not needing a licence as you are not selling anything. Having been asked a few times if I had any cd's to sell, I enquired with the council about the need for a street trading licence in Leicester, they very kindly quoted me a price of £2174 per year to sell one or two cd's a week! They said it was the same licence for buskers as it was for a burger van 24 hours a day 7 days a week.
They also disallowed any variation on selling like giving it away and asking for a donation!
Has anyone else had to get a licence to sell their cd's and if so was it as expensive as Leicester?
 
littleplum said:
Interesting point made here by the Council regarding not needing a licence as you are not selling anything. Having been asked a few times if I had any cd's to sell, I enquired with the council about the need for a street trading licence in Leicester, they very kindly quoted me a price of £2174 per year to sell one or two cd's a week! They said it was the same licence for buskers as it was for a burger van 24 hours a day 7 days a week.
They also disallowed any variation on selling like giving it away and asking for a donation!
Has anyone else had to get a licence to sell their cd's and if so was it as expensive as Leicester?
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Never bothered to find out but I expect other councils to use similar policies - in theory we aren't supposed to solicit any money....and as you are probably aware; there are plenty of buskers out there selling their CD's "illegally" - as Ive mentioned already; busking is just tolerated...better not to push your luck too far.
When I found out someone nicked some of my coins, I was tempted to contact the police...with all those cameras peppered around it should be easy to get a snapshot of the bxxxxxd/s; but then I figured out that maybe I would land myself into more troubles....simply because I'm not supposed to get any money from it - the police might decide to be on my side but it would be a difficult position for them as well...
Still scammers who takes money from buskers wouldn't mind to take advantages of others (e.g. elderly or vulnerable individuals), so there might be a case for the police to use us buskers as a sort of vigilantes/informers - a far fetched idea perhaps but not as dumb as it looks (let's start a petition ;} ).
 
I just thought that I'd resurrect this thread as it discusses licencing in some detail. As I spend the majority of my time busking, I thought it would be sensible to research the law regarding licences. This is how it stands. As of 2003, busking became an unregulated activity. You do not need a licence to busk in the UK. However, Hillingdon and now Camden have gone to court and have made it illegal to busk without a licence. Camden rushed the law through so quickly that they didn't have time to think about what they were doing and as a result, it's now illegal to sing, whistle and even humm on the streets of Camden.

The rules that you should follow are these,

Make sure that you are playing on public or council owned property. Private shopping centers and precincts will have their own rules as it's private property. They will often have their own security too.

Keep your volume to a reasonable level. This only really applies to those of us that use backing tracks. Think about it this way, if you were working in a shop (or an office above a shop) would you want to be forced to listen to hours of some busker....... busking?

Don't take up too much space. You can be moved on for causing an obstruction so don't dump your kit all over the pavement. Think of it like this, take up as much space as two people holding a conversation and you won't go far wrong.

If a "Jobsworth" does try to move you on and you don't want to, then stand your ground. Always be polite and if you can, film the discussion. Tell them that you are filming for both your and their security. If I can find it I'll post a PDF file that I have from Buskers Unregulated (You can find and join them on facebook) it gives you all the information you need.
 
One small town round me requires a permit to be bought. It's the same one for charity collectors and includes 3rd party insurance. It's £10 for the day but in the slot for the date I wrote "Daily", and that covers me for the year. I think it was introduced after a punch up between a flute player and an accordianist.
 
Colin they a breaking the law by telling you to buy this permit. You can busk for free wherever you like (except the places stated above)
 
I think it comes under the market regulations and for £10 for the year it's very nice to say to any one who asks, " Yes I have a council permit" Not every one who wants one , gets one. The guy who flashed his warrant card looked very disappointed when I showed it to him.


trimmy said:
Who won
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Me. One got arrested and the other couldn't play with a fat lip. I had the place to myself for ages.
 
Colin the Bear said:
I think it comes under the market regulations and for £10 for the year it's very nice to say to any one who asks, " Yes I have a council permit" Not every one who wants one , gets one. The guy who flashed his warrant card looked very disappointed when I showed it to him.




Me. One got arrested and the other couldn't play with a fat lip. I had the place to myself for ages.
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Why was he playing the accordian with his lips?
 

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