The Guide to Becoming a Successful Sidewalk Musician: A blog about the music industry from an artists perspective.
A few years ago, I was walking through Toronto and I came across a man playing the saxophone. He wasn’t just playing any song; he was playing my favorite song. If there is one thing I love it’s when someone approaches me to serenade me with my favorite song. What do you do? Do you continue to walk by or do you stop and listen? Most people would stop and listen, but why? Where does this curiosity come from? Why are we hard wired to stop and listen when someone is performing on the side of the street for no reason other than that they enjoy playing music?
I have always been interested in this topic as it plays into my own life as an aspiring musician. So, I decided to do some research on what really makes a sidewalk musician successful. First, I did some research on street performers in general and quickly learned that the majority of them (almost 70%) are buskers, according to buskercentral.com. According to Wikipedia, buskers are: “Street performers who perform publicly on city streets or in subways for gratuities.”
The next question was this:
People ask me all the time how they can become a successful sidewalk musician. It’s not an easy question to answer, and it’s certainly not rocket science – anyone who can play an instrument can do it. But there are a few things you need to know if you want to make some money while playing your music.
For starters, you need to figure out what instrument you want to play. I prefer guitar, but you could also play a banjo, harmonica, ukulele or even sing. If you’re just starting out, I would recommend one of the first three so that you don’t have people giving you dirty looks for being really loud or singing off key.
Next is location. This is important because different places have different kinds of people and different amounts of foot traffic. So far I’ve found that areas with art museums or parks tend to be good spots for playing street music. The amount of foot traffic is usually pretty high, so people will generally walk by and listen for a little bit, which means more money for you!
Once you’ve selected your spot and set up shop, you should choose some songs appropriate for the occasion. I like to start with something fairly fast
The following is a list of things you need to become a successful sidewalk musician. This list is based on my own experiences and recommendations from other musicians.
1) A good repertoire: As a guitarist, I recommend learning songs in various styles (rock, blues, jazz, classical, pop, gypsy jazz, etc). If you are not a guitarist, it’s still a good idea to have a wide variety of songs in your repertoire. Variety is key. Remember that people like to hear songs they know. You can also write your own songs and make money playing them on the street as well.
2) A good location: It all has to do with traffic. In general you want to be wherever there are lots of people passing by. Good spots include near tourist attractions and shopping areas where people have time to kill (not necessarily in front of the stores though). I’ve made up to $100 in one day just standing on the sidewalk strumming my guitar. The downside is that the police might ask you to leave because you don’t have a permit or because it’s “against city ordinance”. I’ve been kicked out of many locations for these reasons but it’s really not that big of a deal because there’s always another location around the corner.
We are very excited to share the brand new Sidewalk Musician website with you. The site has been redesigned with a fresh new look, and is now much easier to navigate. You will find all of the same great information as before, but now it is organized into different categories. We can’t wait for you to check it out!
We hope that you enjoy our new website. Feel free to contact us if you have any questions.
I remember walking to the bus stop from my apartment when I was in college. It was a rainy day and I was dreading the long ride ahead of me. The bus that usually came at that time didn’t come, so I had no choice but to walk through the rain. Half way to the next stop, I was approached by a man holding an accordion. He asked if I would like him to play me a song while I waited for the bus, and then proceeded to play me one of my favorite songs: “A day without rain” by Enya.
I was touched by his kindness, and even more touched by his talent. My mood completely changed from being upset about the rain and my long walk, to feeling inspired and happy that this man could make me feel this way in such a short amount of time.
I wrote a blog post about it, since it had such an impact on me, and it got passed around quite a bit. It made me realize that there is room for sidewalk musicians online. People want to hear them! Here are some suggestions for how you can build your fan base as a Sidewalk Musician:
Many people may think that being a musician means living in the spotlight. However, this is not always the case. One of the most rewarding, yet difficult jobs for musicians is performing on the streets. However, with a little bit of preparation and hard work, musicians can easily become successful sidewalk performers.
Before going out to perform on the street, it is important to have some sort of plan. It helps to know if you are just looking for some extra money, or if you are trying to get your name out there to promote yourself as an artist. You should also prepare by having different songs ready for different situations. This means that you should have sets ready for when it is crowded and sets that might be less popular with a smaller crowd. Another way to prepare before performing on the street is to figure out how much money you want to make in a day and set up goals. This will help keep you motivated while performing during less busy times and allow you to see how much money you had made at the end of each day.
Ideally, when performing on the street, it is good to play close enough so that people can hear you but far enough away that they do not feel obligated to donate money when they walk by. When playing in busier
The world of music is changing rapidly. I’ll admit, I don’t listen to the radio anymore. I don’t buy CDs anymore either. They are all unnecessary for me to get my music fix. Now that I can just YouTube any song I want to listen to or use Spotify/Pandora, why would I ever need a CD again? With the rise of social media and online access, the way we experience music is changing.
What does this mean for musicians? It means that they have to be a lot more interactive with their fans in order to get noticed. Fans are no longer going to spend time searching through radio stations and CD racks looking for new talent. They are going directly online to get their music. This generation wants instant gratification, constant connection and personalization above everything else. How do musicians adapt?
The most successful artists today aren’t necessarily the ones with the best songs or the most talent (for example, Justin Bieber). The ones that are succeeding are finding smart ways to promote themselves and reach out directly to their fans via social media outlets like Facebook and Twitter.
