About ToBusk
What is ToBusk?
ToBusk is an independent, advertising-supported site of free calculators and reference guides for street performers — busking, in other words. If you play music, juggle, do magic, or perform any other act for tips on a pavement, at a market, or on a subway platform, the tools here are built around the numbers and decisions that actually come up on a pitch: how long a setlist runs, what a night’s takings work out to per hour, whether new gear pays for itself, how to turn a tip-jar target into something achievable, whether a spot likely needs a permit, and how a pitch itself stacks up before you set up.
Who is it for?
Anyone who busks or is thinking about it — solo musicians, duos and bands, amplified and unamplified acts, circus and street-theatre performers, and anyone planning a first pitch or a touring run of them. The tools don’t assume a particular instrument, city, or level of experience.
What tools does ToBusk have?
Six, all free, all linked from the tools page:
- Setlist Duration Calculator — adds up every song in a set, plus the gaps between them, to give a total run time in minutes and seconds.
- Busking Earnings Calculator — estimates what a run of performances brings in from tips and merch, broken down per day and per performing hour.
- Performance ROI Calculator — weighs what a run or gig earned against what it cost to stage — equipment, transport, permits — and returns net profit and a return-on-investment percentage.
- Tip Jar Optimizer— works backwards from a takings goal to the average tip per person and the hourly rate needed to hit it.
- Busking Permit Checker — asks a few questions about where and how you plan to perform and gives general guidance on whether a permit is likely needed.
- Performance Pitch Analyzer — scores a spot on footfall, acoustics, competition, shelter, and space, and returns a weighted 0–100 rating so you can compare pitches.
How do the tools actually work?
They’re calculators, not lookups. You enter your own numbers — song lengths, hours played, tips collected, gear cost, or a pitch’s footfall and acoustics — and the tool runs straightforward arithmetic on what you put in: totals, hourly rates, cost-versus-return, and weighted scores. Nothing is pulled from a live database of real busking earnings or a national permit registry. The Busking Permit Checker in particular gives general, rule-of-thumb guidance based on common patterns — amplification, merch sales, public versus private land — not a lookup of your specific council’s current bylaw.
Where do the numbers and formulas come from?
They’re built from ordinary arithmetic and widely used busking conventions — the kind of back-of-envelope math working buskers already do for setlist timing, hourly takings, and cost-versus-return — rather than from any single official source or dataset.
Is any of this professional or legal advice?
No. Everything on ToBusk, including the Busking Permit Checker, is general informational content, not legal, financial, or licensing advice. Busking rules, permits, and licences vary a lot by city and country and change over time, so always confirm current requirements with your local council or venue before you set up and perform.
Is ToBusk free to use?
Yes. Every tool and guide is free, with no account or registration required. The site is supported by on-page advertising, which is how it stays free.
What’s the Performing Arts museum?
It’s a set of browsable galleries at /museum/covering buskers and street performers, the instruments that fill a street with sound, the stages and venues where performers meet a crowd, and the performing arts those all spring from. Every entry, image, and fact in it is drawn from Wikipedia and Wikimedia Commons — not written or verified by ToBusk itself.
Is ToBusk affiliated with any council, union, or busking body?
No. ToBusk is an independent site. It isn’t affiliated with, endorsed by, or run on behalf of any city council, licensing authority, musicians’ union, or busking organization it may mention or link to.
Where can I read more, or get in touch?
The blog and learn section cover busking topics in more depth alongside the tools above. If you have a question, a correction, or an idea for a tool, see Contact.