Apologies to anyone who took offence to the heading of my last blog “You’re Crap!”.  It wasn’t a personal attack, but an opportunity to trigger some reactions which I hoped would help you to see how you may react to other people’s opinions.  From the emails I received – it worked!

And whilst I got a few angry emails, at the same time, many buskers who read it, contacted me to let me know just how beneficial my rant was. Some of them captured their sentiments in the comments section under the blog…. check them out – their words may help bring this message home.

I found it interesting seeing how many people reacted in a negative way – which gave me more ammo for this blog.  Of course, I can have a chuckle about it now, but once upon a time, I was just the same!

So how do you ignore all the negative shite?  Looking back, what I needed to do was let it go – instead of hanging on to other people’s words and letting their opinions slow me down.  So how do you let go when someone calls you ‘crap’ or throws some negative opinion at you? It can take time to find your own personal solution to this, but I find that the best way of letting go is to take every criticism as ‘constructive’. I’ve taught myself to accept that it is only an opinion based on their own set of circumstances which could be very different to the next person who walks on by.  I learn from it and move on as quick as possible.

When I was told “you’re crap” by my (ex) girlfriend many years ago, even though I was gutted by her comments, it made me more determined to prove her wrong. Thankfully I did exactly that and now I can say I’m grateful for her honesty.  Believe it or not, she’s a big fan now!

The tip that I wanted to emphasise here is – no matter what you do out on the street, or even on stage – let go of any negative comments – make it a personal goal not to react. Another thing that helped me – is reminding myself that I can never make EVERYONE happy – as the saying goes… You can never make all of the people happy, all of the time -  so I keep my focus on the ones who enjoy what I do and quickly forget about the ones who bitch, whinge and complain.

Once I mastered this – and it took a while – I really started to soar.  Pushing through those obstacles has brought me to a point where just about to launch my first solo album in a very different, quite rebellious way.  If I had listened to the opinions of others, I would have simply organised a well promoted gig in the city and maybe sold a couple of hundred cd’s on the night.  But I just can’t help myself…

I believe that worldwide success is possible – independently and I’m going to have a go at proving that anyone is capable of doing it – even a busker!  I want to show other unsigned artists that the big agents, managers, publishers, record companies don’t have to hold the key to your success.

It’s been a long journey for me to reach this mindset – this self belief – but I’m happy I’ve persisted because I’m now at a point in my career where my CD is in the hands of Billboard magazine, a few of the songs have been posted on the New York Times website and tomorrow I’ll be launching my album all over the world – not just at the nearest city venue. There’s no turning back now, but I tell ya, I wish someone had told me this stuff when I first started… I can safely say that things would have happened a hellova lot sooner.

So before I sign off, I should let you in on the big rebellion album launch.  And why not, I don’t have a record company doing it for me – this is something I need to promote myself and I’ve made sure that everyone who gets involved wins!

How?

I’ve talked to a bunch of great people and have put together a free gift package valued at over $5000 for everyone who buys an album.

I’ve also added in a great prize valued at $21,000

So the aim of my game from midnight Wednesday 19^th May thru to midnight Thursday 20^th May – is to get a quick sharp spike in album sales which will help it shoot up the Amazon and Billboard charts. This is no mean feat for an unsigned, independent Aussie artist, with sporadic radio play who is only playing occasional live stage shows.

Here’s how the Only Australian Music website put it,

You can visit my website where you can see the full story

Remember this online album launch runs from midnight Wed (tomorrow) through to midnight Thursday.

If you want to help spread the word about this great win-win opportunity and help make history for a fellow  busker whose more than happy to show you how to do the same, then please direct your friends to this link – www.johnniemac.com/album-launch

Until next time

Here’s to constructive criticism!Similar Posts:

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One of the hardest things a busker has to overcome is the set of limiting beliefs he/she carries – in other words – his/her ‘mindset’. Nothing in life holds us back more than ourselves, and of course our attachment to a set of beliefs.  (eg doubting your abilities; no faith that you can earn an income doing what you love to do… money doesn’t grow on trees, no such thing as a free lunch, etc, etc).

A particular mindset usually starts off with an experience or a comment from someone in a position of ‘authority’ (parents, teachers, aunts, uncles, etc) or from someone you respect or admire. And don’t ask me why, but if one of those comments happens to be negative, then we tend to get caught up on the doom and gloom and instead of moving forward with our dreams and desires, we usually change our course of direction – sometimes even come to a complete halt – according to what others say or think.

25 years ago, my first girlfriend asked me to shut up when I was singing because she didn’t like it. She just told me, point blank… “you’re crap”!

Take a moment to think about this one… have you ever been told something similar?  Has someone told you that they didn’t like your music, or the songs you write weren’t good enough or the way you play a popular song was all wrong, etc, etc. I’ve had people cover their ears as they walk past me, I’ve made 20 cents after singing for 2 hours on the street and I’ve had bad reviews about my songs! The good news is, this happens to 99% of performers – including the Beatles!

Here’s another example… when my songs hit number one on the Australian independent charts, 99% of the reviews were all positive with 4-5 star ratings, but the ones that jumped out at me were the negative comments that a couple of people made.

If I’d let any of these negatives play a part in my career choices, I would have stayed in my bedroom singing to myself and missed out on years of incredible experiences. Like singing in some of the world’s most stunning cities, meeting some of the most talented, fun and interesting people EVER (including my beautiful wife), playing alongside world class musicians, etc, etc, etc.  To think that my music wouldn’t have made it to my local press, let alone the New York Times is something I can hardly contemplate now.

And get this… when I first ventured out on the street I would play with an old guitar and repair my broken guitar strings.  I didn’t think I could make enough to buy new strings and thoughts of a new guitar were filed under totally impossible! Some of the old beliefs that used to hold me back could possibly be the same ones holding you back. For example “I’m a starving artist… if I make lots of money then I would be selling out!”, I haven’t worked hard enough to deserve that”, “I’m not good enough to be playing alongside other talented performers”, “there are so many more great musicians who are better than me who should be up here on this stage”,  “I’m only a busker so I don’t have enough money to buy (whatever) …new guitar, strings”, blah blah blah blah blah…

As soon as I started to question myself again and again about what I wanted, and got out of my comfort zone to make those things possible, I realised that I was living my life based on other peoples opinions and limiting beliefs.  It was only when I determinedly went for my dreams that all the obstacles and excuses started to fade away and my success started to flow.

Unfortunately most of us feel comfortable living a life according to traditions or a set of beliefs, and as soon as we step out and consider something new, all sorts of chaos occurs within our mind and we start making excuses like “ I’m not clever enough to make it work”, “I can’t afford to do this or buy that or take such a risk”, etc. What we should be doing is continually asking, “What do I want and what steps do I need to take to get it”.  Most people focus on why they can’t do, have or achieve something and usually end up living a tedious and repetitive existence.

I recently received an email from a musician called Christian Jones who lives in Western Australia. I’ve added it into the Busking Stories page because it’s a classic tale of breaking down limiting beliefs, following your dreams and making a great success happen against all odds. It can be hard to take a step like Christian has taken, especially when kids and family are involved, therefore all credit goes out to you Christian – Congratulations for stepping into the unknown and going for it! I’ve decided to make you our new Busker of the Month for setting such a great example!  And whilst I’m handing out accolades… even more credit to your wife and kids for giving you the freedom to play! Now that Christian has a taste of what can happen when a daily existence is filled with passion, I can’t wait to see part 2 of his story.  If he’s anything like me, it will include a family busk!

As for everyone else, I encourage you to get clear about what you want, then step out of your comfort zone and go for it!  What’s the worst that can happen… you’ll come back to doing what you’re doing now.  On the other hand, start thinking of all the things that can happen….!!!!!  My story is a perfect example and I’m not including it to brag or blow my own trumpet, but to show you that it IS possible to live the life of your dreams, no matter what anyone else says or thinks!Similar Posts:

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It’s happened again!  Another victory for buskers and the image of street performance thanks to Busker World and its rapidly growing network.

Johnnie Mac, right, plays the Didgeridoo while busking with a local musician in Prague

This success came from a most unlikely source – mainstream media being the ally this time. And not just your average daily newspaper, I might add.   A couple of weeks ago Matt Gross from the New York Times contacted me and asked if I would do an interview.  I almost fell off my chair!   Since then everyone has been saying… “how the heck did you manage that”.  My answer… “I didn’t do anything… he contacted me!” After hearing that excited and enthusiastic question so many times over the last couple of weeks, it got me thinking.  Why did the New York Times contact ME??? And my conclusion is very exciting for you and me both.

Busking is fast becoming a respected, appreciated and even a (who would’ve thought) desired career choice. Career being the key word! From the emails and comments I receive (just take a look at the comments at the end of the NY Times article to see what I mean), people are actually starting to value the gift that a busker offers.  More and more people are appreciating the creative and artistic side of busking. Some people are even understanding just how much courage it takes for a busker to put himself/herself out there in front of a crowd who haven’t specifically come out to watch them.  Until now, (a time when a widespread change of attitude is developing – and about time to I reckon), a busker had to face judgement from the masses who were presuming that this person is begging or most certainly, down and out.  The artistic skills were overlooked 99% of the time.  What a relief it is that the mindset is changing so positively… and so rapidly.  Bring it on I say!  Street performers… get excited and gear yourself up for a surge of opportunities.

About the interview… it includes some great info on busking and a part of my story that you haven’t heard before. I also talk about how I found success playing mostly my own original music. This is a debatable subject for buskers who think the only way to become successful on the street is to play cover songs.  Matt also covered how busking tied in with my on-stage music career.  He even added a few of my songs to the article. How cool is that!  So when someone tells you that you’re crazy to get out there and busk – that it will dampen your image, you can smile and let that comment slide like water off a ducks back!

Here’s the link to the New York Times Busking Story

So what next? To put this into perspective – for an unknown, independent Aussie musician, let alone a busker (for goodness sake!!!), to get their name and music into a major US newspaper is practically unheard of. So now I have to capitalise on this moment… put my promoters cap on and do the job that the record company would do… that is send a press release out (highlighting the NY Times interview of course) to every newspaper, radio and TV station I can think of. Stay tuned to see what evolves next.Similar Posts:

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As you can see from some of the blogs I have been posting one of the great things about performing on the street is that when you get out and start busking classic events seem to pop up out of nowhere. Here is another special event for me  I experienced that only came about as a result of busking. This story begins with a street performance in the Smith St Mall in Darwin’s city center. It was late in the evening when this event occurred and it could really have only happened in a place such as the Northern Territory in Tropical Australia. As I sang, a couple of indigenous folk came up to have a listen and asked if they could play a song or two. (See photo, Eric and Mary come to have a yarn, listen to my music and play a few songs)

Now I’ve had many buskers voice their opinion on the topic of should you or should u not encourage the passerby to have a bash on YOUR guitar. Some buskers are dead set against it as they don’t want just any TOM Cruise, DICK Smith or HARRY Potter playing THEIR instrument. I’ve never had a problem with it, and not a single difficulty even if people happen to be a bit drunk. In fact my experience is that I earn more money when they play than if I play as they usually have a heap of friends with them who egg them on. I’ve found that people respect your pitch and your instrument and after a few songs give it back and rejoin the crowd. I generally tell buskers that if they are worried about their instrument then they should use an old guitar or instrument that can handle a bit of rough stuff. This allows the performer to feel comfortable and at ease instead of nervous or concerned that the instrument is going to get damaged because everyone’s having a good time and people are fighting to play a song. If your relaxed about it then so too will be your audience and the end result is that everyone has a great time.

Busking with the local Larakia folk was no different on this occasion but it was special because Eric from the Darwin mob sang in his own language and told me his own story and that of his girl, Mary. There is something haunting about an acoustic guitar and the indigenous vocal put together on a barmy evening on a city bench in Darwin. It kind of fits in totally with the local vibe and makes great sense when you hear it. The pathos in the vocal, tinged with the sadness of their people is prevalent, so too is the simplicity of the song structure and message, yet together at that moment regardless of the quality of musicianship or performance it hits straight through to your heart and you suddenly connect with the story/struggle of indigenous Australia.

Yet in spite of this kind of “tragic” connection I also felt the awesome power of their ancient culture and a wisdom for the way they continue to practice it. We work our guts out 9-5, 5,6,7 days a week and watch them sitting around and shake our heads saying “ why don’t they do more”!! They watch us and think “ why don’t they stop for a bit”!!! Eric told me that he sings about what they do, ….sitting with family, cousins and relatives talking smoking and drinking, passing on stories about their culture. Eric was saying “ it ain’t no different now to what it’s always been. We are here, now, and we’re just enjoying our nature and environment by the river bed or near the sea as we have done for thousands of years. People say we ain’t got culture anymore but this is our culture, we collect the bush tucker and paint our stories as well and sing our songs, nowadays with a guitar.

It ain’t no different johnnie, it ain’t no different. We watch you fellas and think …don’t you guys ever learn, you movin around so fast doin your business u never see nothing, u so busy u never hear nothing and then u gotta die and what have you experienced……you can’t tell cause it was too fast, you forgot your story you fellas and now your runnin around like a mad emu tryin ta find it, where’s it gone? What is it…your story…..your identity….Im still waiting for one of you mad fellas to slow down long enough so I can bloody well see who you are , meet you, hear what it is you are doin and simply get to know and understand you……then maybe we can get along a bit better eh, then maybe we can understand each other. You singin a different tune to most white fellas Johnnie. I ain’t heard many fellas sing like what you do and do it out here, on the street, I think your doin a good thing. Now sing me that Nicotine Dreaming one again while I try and find a smoke to humour you ”.

Eric and Mary taught me more about myself and Australia in half an hour than I had learned in all my history subjects at school or university. I was blown away by this lesson, a lesson that has come to me from many indigenous people I’ve met over the years yet so few of us experience or understand it. The message is clear for me and if it wasn’t for busking I would have missed this treasured experience again. Each indigenous person I hear it from tells it slightly differently but with the same fundamental story line. It has often been the case that my songs that reflect my experience with indigenous Australia have been able to connect me to Australia’s indigenous people. They said “we don’t often come up to white fellas and do this but we heard you singing about Namatjira and felt you, johnnie, must be an OK bloke to talk with”.

Eric tells me his story

Throughout my travels I’ve found that music breaks down cultural barriers and helps heal the wounds of the past. On that barmy night in Darwin it was music again through busking that connected myself, wife and kids with this indigenous couple and helped us to see and hear their story.

If only other Aussies could stop for long enough to do this perhaps we could overcome some of the negatives that we are currently facing with indigenous Australia and its people at present and maybe….just maybe have a little bit more understanding for the present situation we are all facing in this country regarding these issues.

Photo Below shows Eric singing his emotive stories. Smith Street Mall, Darwin 2009

Similar Posts:

• Busking in Darwin Capter 1
• The Perks of Busking-Chapter Two
• The Perks of Busking – Chapter One
• The Busking Recession Buster!
• First the Song!

Busking in Darwin Chapter 1

Hi folks

Its been a crazy ride for me over the year as you have seen with my best friend dying and me breaking my leg just as I hit number one with a few of my songs. Since then it’s been a whole lot more crazy with press (this week I did an interview with The New York Times), gigs and radio ect. So a little while ago Mikey and I decided the family had to get away to one of our favourite bush hiding places about 3 hours south of Darwin to help us rejuvenate and recover from some of the things us and the kids have been through. Now….how does this relate to busking.

Well…..Darwin is a great place to go to do a bit of street performance in the Australian winter as its warm and dry and has some amazing cultural history and natural environments. As we are heading towards that time of the year again it’s a good time for you to be planning to go to Darwin now. From a busking perspective Darwin also has heaps of tourists and tourism drawcards that create great potential for the everyday street performer. Of great interest to my wife in the Northern Territory is its many hot springs. Coincidently, these are what my broken leg desired to help it heal.

My tip for you today comes in response to the many buskers who have made a comment to me recently about some of my Aussie busking video tips. I have heard regular remarks such as “hey it’s so easy for  you in Australia, nice climate, friendly people, quiet country towns etc, but over here in the real world we’ve got beggars, bobbies, pimps and muggers and people who hate us with a passion, busking ain’t that easy”. Well I know that’s a common occurrence, I’ve also experienced that all over the world. However I’ve chosen to raise my kids in a country that has a great standard of living so it’s been easy for me to live and perform in Australia most of my life. However, when I am overseas I now head for the areas in amongst the cities and towns that aren’t such a struggle. But this wasn’t always the case for me. I performed in some weird and way out places when I first began performing both on the street and on stage (Outer Mongolia, The Gobi Dessert, Siberia, Moscow and  Eastern Europe at a time when Perestroika had only just begun its period of influence. Due to my experiences I now ask the questions “why make it hard for yourself”?  and surely, if you are wanting to make a living from Busking, then why go to areas where people don’t appear to have that much money to give?.

It can be a huge mindset hurdle to lift yourself out of a difficult environment particularly if it’s where you were born or where you have made a home with your kids and family, However, if you can make the break and get out of your difficult environment then go for it. I did have to leave my home town and family to find my way when I was starting out and I now live away from my home city of Sydney because of lifestyle choice. And I have had to shift home and move across country with my kids to follow my rock n roll dream. It’s hard to make that decision to break free but once you do its fantastic to finally find yourself where you want to be.

Now where am I ….OH .most importantly Darwin….it has by chance some impressive busking spots and a great system that rewards the genuine and/or dedicated busker. Add to this the great weather in the middle seasons of the year which makes it ideal all day for street performance. You can busk early in the morning and late into the evening in total comfort. The early bird is rewarded through the local tourist information service where you can pick up one of only 3 busking licences that are available each day. Once 3 have been issued then that’s it for that day, so you have to be one of the first 3 to apply on any given day or you miss out on the licence. It costs you a paltry $2.50 for the licence, which is only valid for that day of issue, so you’d better make sure you get out of bed before all the other buskers. This sets you up to busk all day if you want in Smith St Mall in the heart of town, which is very small and hard to get lost in. You can also busk outside the tourist drawcard Crocosaurus after it closes at around 7pm. It’s a great main street locality with restaurants, pubs, shops and bars up and down this strip. It has a big enclave off the street with plenty of room for you to belt it out well out of the way of the passers by. I found that after 9pm was a good time here when everyone going past was a bit tipsy and had a full belly so the mood was Party time.

Another great locality in Darwin is the Mindle Markets. The markets run from the last week in April until the end of October. The market is open on Thursday from 5pm-10 pm and Sunday 4pm – 9pm and is a real mecca for the locals and the tourists alike with many interesting indigenous performers as well as other busking acts from all over the world. The markets are located within a 15-20min walk from the city, Shuttle buses pick up at a regular basis from major hotels, A taxi from the city will cost approx $10.00. Public buses connect the markets to the City and Northern Suburbs. Bus number 4 goes directly to Mindil Market. Call 08 89813454 to enquire about how you can get a busking spot. Stay tuned now folks as next blog will be Darwin part two and a wonderful story of some more great things that can happen when you take on life as a street performer.

Similar Posts:

• Busking In Darwin-Chapter Two
• The Perks of Busking-Chapter Two
• The Perks of Busking – Chapter One

Chapter two-The Perks of Busking!

In chapter one of “ The Perks of Busking” we left you in the beautiful city of Prague, in the recording studio of one of the Cities leading musicians. We were pondering the outcome of one of my fans desire to get her hands on some of my music and how to promote George from Prague’s music around the rest of the world.

My time in that studio turned out to be one of the most fortuitous sessions of my performance career – it amped my confidence, confirmed my calling and encouraged me to push through some ‘roadblocks’ that were holding me back… and all this happened because I was busking.   Six songs later, I waved goodbye, smiling from ear to ear, cassette tapes in hand, knowing that everyone – was very happy with the results.

Those tapes wore thin as I played them constantly on my travels, both my recordings and Georges. Then tragedy struck when I was robbed in Amsterdam and all but one of George’s songs disappeared from my collection.  His music was gone, along with all his contact details. Miraculously, one song stayed with me through thick and thin.  It survived years of travels and address changes before a recording engineer friend put George’s remaining song onto CD, then DAT and finally onto hard drive.  15 years later… the song is still with me and even though it sounds a little rough – scratchy, like an old vinyl recording, it does have a unique rustic charm that seems to match the story.

The weird thing is…  who would have thought, 15 years later – when  working on a video for my charity – www.TreeLovers.org.au  which encourages people all over the world to adopt an Aussie tree to help environmental education, reforestation and global cooling, I realised that the missing ingredient was a powerful and emotive piece of music to back the visual story.  George’s song came to mind.  At last I had found a way to promote his music in the west!

So who would have thought that my busk on the Charles Bridge would have led to free studio time and a 6 track recording which gave me a product to sell on the street and scored me many gigs – even an interview and live performance on Irish TV.  And who would have thought that my busking and tree planting endeavours would help me accomplish George’s lifelong dream.  And who would’ve thought that I would fulfil his request a decade or so later and find myself trying to track down Prague’s very own Nick Cave ( at least in attitude and appearance) – to show him that his dream for international recognition was coming true.

Surely in this era of instant global connections and videos that go viral, somebody out there will help me reunite with this incredible musician.  I’m putting our TreeLovers video – with music by George from Prague – out into cyberspace in the hope that it will ‘get around’ quickly and someone will recognise the song and lead me back to George. And if many trees get adopted in the process, then I’ll be one very happy chappy! If you click on the Treelovers link below it should take you straight to the Treelovers website and the video with Georges wonderful music behind it.

treelovers.org.auSimilar Posts:

• The Perks of Busking – Chapter One
• Busking In Darwin-Chapter Two
• Busking in Darwin Capter 1

The Perks of Busking! Chapter One.

I thought I’d share a busking story that not only has a few gold nuggets (excellent tips) in between the lines, plus a weird ending that could become an irresistible challenge for you, but it also confirms that there are some amazing perks that come from street performance which are rarely talked about or promoted.

It all starts in one of Europe’s most intriguing cities – Prague.  Mysterious and pretty, cold, yet inviting.  On the stunning Charles Bridge, known by the locals as ‘Karoloy Most’ is one of the most sensational busking locations I have had the pleasure to perform at.  This place provided the backdrop for another busking adventure which proved yet again, that buskers can find themselves in the most fortunate of situations. I guess it’s the payoff from having the guts to ‘put ourselves out there’.

So here I was busking on the Charles Bridge in Prague, when a woman came up to me and demanded to buy my music. Yes… demanded!  I was thrilled to meet such an enthusiastic fan, but soon discovered that this woman was quick to develop an obsessive compulsive Johnnie Mac disorder (let’s not go there right now!)  At this point in my career, I had no music to sell – which didn’t please her at all and it didn’t matter how much I tried to explain, this determined woman wanted my music. She came back a couple of days later and insisted that I help her find someone to record my songs.

Now because I had been unforgivingly slack about recording my music this far, I simply wasn’t going to knock back a sponsored recording session, so I went along for the ride. I watched as she called a long list of musician friends. And just as she was about to give up the game, another lady who was waiting to use the phone, overheard the story and instantly got involved.  She said her boyfriend was one of the most respected musicians in Prague and that he would be happy to record my songs.

George was a tall, skinny, pony-tailed dude with dark, Nick Cave like features and demeanour. He lived and breathed music every waking hour and had performed with the biggest names in Prague. His house was beautifully set up as a studio, rehearsal space and instrument museum.   I played him some of my songs and he listened expressionless. Finally, his poker face gave way to an enormous smile as he announced that he’d be honoured to record my songs.  But, could I return him one favour  “ I would like for you Johnnie to be promoting my music in the west”.  He then played the most incredible piece of music.  All instruments were played by George and the music was composed and arranged by him as well. “Of course I’ll help promote your music in the west – I love it! ”.

Well you’ll have to wait for chapter two of ‘The Perks of Busking’ in a few days to find out what happened in Prague that month but for now here’s another video of a song I wrote recently ( sorry this will be posted asap ) – inspired by busking in the magical city of Prague.Similar Posts:

• The Perks of Busking-Chapter Two
• Busking In Darwin-Chapter Two
• Busking in Darwin Capter 1

Here’s your opportunity to get 2 lots of income from 1 busk!

I’ve had 2 calls this week from large corporations looking for buskers!  And they want to pay them!

It seems that more and more people are realising that street performers can enhance any atmosphere and the corporates are now getting in on the act!  This kind of ‘street promo’ has been happening in Europe for quite some time (which I talk about in my ebook) – in fact it’s the reason busking originated and now the trend seems to be coming back again… which is great news for buskers!

The first call I received was from a major football club (whose name I cannot reveal just yet) who called to ask what they needed to do to employ buskers to play along the streets that lead their supporters from the train station to the sports ground.  They want buskers to create a vibe before the game!  And by the way… this could be a great idea to present to other football clubs in your area – if you wanna get proactive about increasing your income that is.

A few days later, I got another call from an advertising agency who want to pay buskers to create a buzz for the launch of their new ‘rocket fast’ broadband product.  There was a request for the buskers to sing a few ‘rocket’ songs in amongst their repertoire  (I guess that would be songs like ‘Rocket Man’ by Elton John, ‘Curbside Prophet’ by Jason Mraz, etc, etc, etc.)

They want to select 5 buskers who can sing and play guitar (or any other instrument), to perform at various points around the Melbourne CBD on Mon 30th November and Tues 1st December.

If you live in, or close to Melbourne, Australia (or need an excuse to visit that amazing city) then here’s your opportunity for  you to busk in some prime city locations for a set fee and have the bonus of keeping your hat out as well.

That’s guaranteed double income – surely an offer to good to refuse!

If you’re interested, the next step is to shoot me an email before this Wednesday, 11th November so these guys can look you up and book you in.

So, if getting 2 lots of income from 1 busk in Melbourne excites you, then get back to me at admin ‘at’ buskerworld ‘dot’ com asap!

Cheers
Johnnie MacSimilar Posts:

• Buskers Shock and Wow!!!
• Busker Tops The Rock Charts
• How to Busk for Profit
• Busking and Street Performing
• The Busking Recession Buster!

Recently a number of Buskerworld fans have sent me some pretty alarming stories about being harassed by people who dominate profitable busking pitches and threaten street performers who dare to move in on “their” territory. Obviously this is totally outta line and should be bought to the notice of any council or authority who has control over that community sector. Not everyone enjoys having to get a busking licence however one of its benefits is that it enables the authorities to keep an eye on what is going on and keep a reasonably level playing field for all of us who love to perform on the street.

The following excerpt is taken from my busking book and lets you in on what my experiences have been with this subject. I would love to hear more stories from buskers out there about this annoying….“Ring of Fire”

Understanding The Busking Mafia

There are certain places where street performance is very competitive or the hot spot is so HOT, that the allocation of busking time has been taken over by an unofficial authority (to put it nicely) who usually demand a fee for allowing you to busk there.

My Experience: Busking in Amsterdam is very competitive which left me with a few obstacles to overcome before I could start performing at popular busking hot spots. I was keen to busk in a particular museum that had an incredible acoustic atmosphere and lots of pedestrian traffic, due to tourist popularity. I attempted to follow busker etiquette without success on a number of occasions. I was baffled by the same answer each busker gave me – “someone had already asked to go next and that I should be quicker”. I tried different strategies and still received the same answer. As I was a particularly determined busker, I decided to hang around, watch closely and ask the new busker if I could perform next.

My newly devised fail proof strategy meant that I would know if anyone else had asked before me, yet I received the same answer “I should be quicker, someone else had already asked”. I replied that this was not possible as he had only just arrived and I was the first to ask to perform after him. Reluctantly and somewhat nervously (looking around as if he was expecting someone) he agreed to follow busker etiquette and allowed me to perform next. At last, I had scored my classic pitch but there was something about the experience that didn’t make sense. I was intrigued and wanted to solve this mystery as other buskers had told me of similar experiences with other hot spots in the area.

All too soon everything became much clearer when an angry ‘performer’ interrupted me and said he was due to start busking now. I told him what had occurred and advised him that I had secured this spot fairly. His anger flared and he threatened to bring the mob around if I insisted on staying. He told me that this was a protected pitch that was controlled by his network and only certain people (those who paid him a percentage) could perform here. Of course I wasn’t one of them.

I remained calm and simply repeated what had happened, adding that some more of my friends were also going to play here, but he was free to go next and I’d see him in an hour. He didn’t come back, so I continued to busk for a few hours before finally handing the pitch over to the next performer, someone who had no knowledge or connection with the controlled network. Normally, I wouldn’t have taken such a risk but persistence and blind stupidity kept me determined and thankfully my audacity paid off. I later found out that I had broken the controlled cycle in that location. I returned to that very special busking location a number of times and played successfully without incident and each time I played, not only did I receive encouraging support from the public but also from many other buskers who had also wanted to perform in that location but had been warned off by the ‘busking mafia’ that had controlled such a fantastic busking hot spot for way too long!

Now I realize that this is probably not the best way to solve this dilemma and is of course a somewhat risky approach. It just isn’t worth your life or perhaps fingers (some of the threats aimed at me that day) however I was young, naive and rebellious back then. These days when this problem occurs I take the issue up with the local council or governing authority and have someone else take on the busking mafia.

It’s just an annoying obstacle that some street performers have to overcome because there are always street performers who don’t care about following busking etiquette and unfortunately, you just have to work with this. My tip here comes from what has worked for me. I‘ve found that, if someone is dominating a pitch and you can’t be bothered with fighting it, then why not take the approach of scouting around for a better spot that no one has thought of or tried out.

From my experience I know you’ll be totally surprised with what you may find. Look forward to hearing from anyone out there with any experiences related to this subject. We would be happy to post anything that can help all street performers.

Cheers

Johnnie MacSimilar Posts:

• Is There a Busker Etiquette?

As most of you know, I recently ran my first 3 day workshop to help independent musicians learn how to use the power of technology to move forward with their careers rather than waiting to be ‘discovered’.

The most inspiring experience from workshop, was having a few BuskerWorld members in the audience – one guy flew from interstate to attend.

So the first thing I noticed was that the buskers were the first to create atmosphere in the room. Jason Temple asked a question shortly after we started and threw in a joke as well. Instantly the room relaxed, he broke the ice and from that moment on we all felt comfortable. Thanks Jason!

Then it was the buskers who put their hands up first for any challenge. We discovered that it was the buskers who were staying in the ritzy hotels just down the road. The buskers were quick to take part in anything that was going to move their careers forward… whilst the others um’d and ah’d, there was no hesitation from the buskers.

It was the incredible Stanmore Pheonix, busker extraordinaire who came and asked me to play his music video during the breaks and here’s what we watched…

WOW! Everyone in the room was more than impressed to say the least. By the end of the 3 days, the buskers stood out as the most outgoing, most persistent, most inquisitive and most willing to take the biggest risks. These guys totally blew me away!

Then to top it all off, all of them joined my inner circle coaching program and will be working closely with me for the next 12 months. We’ve been having lots of fun nutting out some new concepts and ideas and I’m excited with what these guys are going to achieve. Watch this space for updates on their success stories.

So you might have noticed that the RISE workshop in July was supposed to be the only one on the Gold Coast (Australia) for 2009. However, since then we’ve received a flood of phone calls and countless emails asking “will there be another Gold Coast workshop this year?”  I’ve gotta say, it’s really inspiring to know that there are many muso’s (much more than expected), who want to learn how to take control of their indie music careers.

So I’ve given in!  I’m pleased to let you know that the final Gold Coast 2009 “RISE” 3 Day Workshop will be held on 9-11 October – at the same venue – Quality Hotel in Mermaid Waters. Unfortunately we have a limit on numbers in the room and tickets are selling fast, so if you want to join me, then I strongly suggest to go check out the website for all the details.  Address is below.

There will be workshops in Sydney, Melbourne and Perth later this year, but if you live in Queensland then this is your last chance to learn how to take the reins or your music career and find out for yourself what all the buzz is about.

We will be putting 1 lucky musician on the hotseat again this time round and will also be having some inspiring guest speakers who will be sharing their music biz knowledge, experience and tips to help you make music your full time career

Check out www.MusicSuccessExplained.com for more info.

I’d LOVE to see more buskers again at the next one.

Cheers

Johnnie MacSimilar Posts:

• An Busking Opportunity To Make Double Income – Guaranteed!
• The Busking Recession Buster!
• Busking and Street Performing
• Busker Tops The Rock Charts
• How to Busk for Profit