Busking Etiquette

The Unwritten Rules Amongst Street Performers

Performing on the street quite often requires courage and confidence to exhibit your art form in a public arena – without an official request to do so.

Confidence obviously comes from believing in your artistic ability enough to entertain the wider public and seek remuneration.

Knowing the basic legalities, both written and unwritten, about the location in which you are playing will boost your confidence ten fold as you become an informed performer who can confidently answer any questions from those who may challenge your right to perform on the street.

Once you understand and follow street performance rules, any fears of “making mistakes” will dramatically reduce, if not disappear, and instead, the performer will feel professional, self-assured, prepared and confident about handling any situation.

Aside from obtaining busking permission or licenses from the relevant local authorities, there are certain unwritten laws that many new street performers are not aware of. These unwritten rules and legalities fall into the category of busker etiquette that has been developed amongst street performers to ensure everyone has a fair and equal opportunity to perform successfully.

Busker etiquette is common in prime busking Hot Spots, locations, where there is a high demand to perform.

It is completely up to the amateur street performer to abide by any rules that have been set up by experienced buskers that have successfully established an enjoyable busking atmosphere in a particular location. Many novice buskers have learnt the hard way that busker etiquette must be followed and respected.

The most common consequences from not following busker etiquette are public confrontations, being blacklisted amongst street performers, heckled during performance or continually harrassed to buzz off when in or near the “etiquette zone”.