The Art of Busking

Many artist don't actually understand the power of busking. Busking can be a very powerful promotional tool than you think. For those that don't know busking is nothing but a public performance for gratuities. We live in an age of transparency where people want to know who you are. They want to be able to touch you they want you to be tangible and acessible. Believe of not busking can actually be profitable than you think.  I used to take the e train to high school everyday. I once knew a guy who would sing cover tunes on subway platforms. Everyday I would walk pass him and here him sing "I miss you" by Harold Melvin and the blue notes. I would see people of all different ethnicities give his different amounts of gratuities. One day out of curiosity I said "hey man not to be intrusive but you down here alot man do you make alot of money doing this?" He then explained to me "it was slow at first but people start to get familiar with your face they start to leave tips everyday next thing you know you might make $4 to $500 dollars in one month which is not bad for extra income." I said to my self wow I would of never guess that amount. There are several success stories of people that have garnered attention from busking. You have the eastside crackhead who freestyled for a young gentleman in a car the video eventually went viral, You had a homeless man who sang and ended up meeting his idol Busta Rhymes, etc. That same guy I told you about that was possibly making 500 dollars a month also was  promoting his CD's which people also purchased. So Playing underground suprisingly can become very lucrative do not be scared to hustle to get what you want. Carry business cards when you see people gather around you and clap or attentive to your performance give them out. You never know you might be giving them to an label exec. It attracts pr opportunities imagine playing on the platform on the  E train and the next thing you know you are getting booked for a high end gig or appear on a television show. The possiblities are endless!