In this blog post I will show you how to make money busking as a guitarist, which is essentially a way of playing music on the street and asking for money.
I have been playing guitar since I was 15 years old, and playing it on the street– busking– since I was 19. I am 24 now, and in that time I have played over 2000 hours of guitar at the train station.
Busking is one of the most fun things I have ever done in my life. It is also a great way to make some money, to promote your music, and even to get yourself a record deal if you’re lucky enough!
It’s a good time to be a guitarist. The most popular guitarists in the world aren’t just making noise: they’re making money, too. More and more, you’ll find them playing at train stations and cafes.
If you want to make money as a guitarist and promote your music, there’s no better place to start than your local train station or bus stop.
“I started out playing at the train station,” says Matt Palmieri, who now plays in a group called the Travelers. “It was a great way to get my name out.”
What makes busking so appealing? For one thing, it’s fun! You can earn extra cash doing what you love, and you’ll meet new people too.
Busking is also a great way to promote your music and build up your fan base. If you play at local venues, or if you play at events like weddings or birthday parties, you’re bound to meet people who are interested in hearing more from you. But how do you know if they’ll come back for more? How do you know if they’re really interested in your music? Busking is the perfect way to test out songs on an audience of people who are likely to appreciate them. Even if they don’t
Guitar players who want to make money busking on the street need to market themselves effectively. The first rule is, choose a good spot. This means an area where you have permission to play and where there is enough pedestrian traffic to give you the opportunity of collecting money from a large number of people. A train station is a good example of such a location.
Train stations are busy places with lots of foot traffic. Also, most train stations will allow buskers and musicians to perform there if they obtain permission first. Finally, if you are playing at a train station, you can easily move on when needed as long as you keep your guitar in its case while traveling by trains.
So, how do you get permission to play at a train station? For instance, if you want to play at the Union Square subway station in New York City, contact the Music Under New York office at least six months in advance and submit a demo tape of yourself playing guitar music to them (see the Resources section for information on how to reach this office). The Music Under New York organization then schedules auditions for performers and chooses the ones that they judge will be most effective at making money busking based on their musical skills and ability to draw crowds.
If you are chosen
I’ve been a street musician in Boston, playing guitar at the train station for the past four years. I do it for fun, for money and for practice. It’s an awesome way to keep my skills up and meet people who are interested in what I’m doing.
If you’re able to play songs that people know, you’ll make more money. Even if they aren’t fans of yours, they’ll be fans of the song. If you’re playing a bunch of songs that sound alike, people won’t know what you’re playing half the time. Some will walk right by; others will stop if they recognize it. They won’t throw any money in unless they know what it is.
The best buskers have a strong stage presence with a good hook: something to draw people in and keep them interested– like a costume, or playing songs that are familiar to most people walking by. A lot of people go out of town on weekends; Friday afternoons are usually pretty good because most folks are getting off work.
On average I make about $100/day but I’ve made as much as $500 on a weekend day (I’d say about 40% of that is from tips).
I played guitar at the train station for about 8 months. I worked there for about 1 hour each day and on a good day I would make $10, sometimes more.
I wanted to share my experiences about this job in order to help anyone who wants to play guitar at the train station or busk in general.
I will also share some of my observations from my time there and give you tips how to make more money while having fun playing music.
There are not many professions that are more fun than playing guitar at the train station. Even if you don’t make a lot of money, you will enjoy spending time with your friends and talking to people who stop by to talk to you.
There are some things that you need to know, though, before you go out and start playing your guitar at the train station. You have to have a good location and you have to be able to get in touch with the right people to help you get started. If you do these two things, then there is no reason why you can’t be successful as a guitarist at the train station.
HISTORY
Busking is a form of street performing and has been around for hundreds of years. The first mentions of the word “busker” were in the early 19th century and it comes from the Spanish root word “buscar” which means “to seek”. It probably originated in Spain where street musicians are called “buzkashka”. Buskers were also known as “blind harpers”, referring to itinerant minstrels in medieval France.
Modern busking started in the 1960s when many street performers began to earn money by entertaining people on the streets. Some perform music, while others juggle, perform magic tricks, mime or sketch portraits. You will find a lot of people who do all these things at once. In fact, a lot of people have made their careers by busking; Sting, Paul McCartney, Rod Stewart and Rolf Harris are famous names that started out on the streets as buskers.