Is it illegal to Busk in England? Because if it isn'tit would be cool to busk. "When the rich wage war, It's the poor who die." - Jean - Paul Sartre.
Yes, it would be. It's not illegal, but you usually need to obtain a license from the local council to busk in a particular town.
It's not begging...you're providing entertainment, and requesting money from it. That's a trade of goods and/or services, not begging. I know quite a few people who have busked, and you'd be surprised how many of the things people think are true, are not. I've read about buskers who are professional musicians, who busk because they know that supporting their music career with an office job would be...well...a bit silly. Why work 9 to 5 in an office when you can busk, earn as much or more (good buskers can earn something like £300 a week...and if I remember correctly, it's not taxed), get experience playing in front of people and basically get your name out there. Some buskers (once again, the good ones) have cards and merchendise and are "available for weddings and parties"...so it's an interesting method of advertisement, too. As for the illegal/legal situation...it varies from town to town. I've posted this before on the forums, so stop reading if I'm getting boring very quickly , but the only laws I know for certain are York's. You can busk without a licence if it's just one or two person(s) performing and you don't sell any merchendise (CDs, stuff like that). Any more and you need some sort of licence. You just need to be confident, find a good spot, and dress smart. Oh, and play some good songs
Dude, I was kidding. Besides, it depends how talented you are. I'd love to try busking myself, but I think in my town I'd need a license and I've never really looked into it.
Fair 'nuff I agree on the talent thing...though I'd add "how confident you are" too...busking isn't much use if the dude is so nervous and quiet that nobody knows he's there...trust me on that one
Busking would be really cool with an acoustic and bongo's or a tamborine or something like that, people would proberly notice you more than if you played in a pub. "When the rich wage war, It's the poor who die." - Jean - Paul Sartre.
you dont need a license to busk in winchester.. unless of course you've got some merchandise you r tring to sell as well... but just busking is fine.
After missing a coach last month i had a three hour wait for the next one, so i thought i'd make the most of my time and busk with my penny whistle. I'd been playing for about fifteen minutes, earnt about two pounds, when this woman in a suit came up to me and told me if I carried on playing I wasn't aloud to board on their coaches! She didn't own that bit of pavement... bitch! If I could've been bothered I might have attempted to argue my rights, but i didn't really see the point.
I busk regularly in Stratford-upon-avon. I guess it's expected there, being a tourist area and all that, but I find everyone's really friendly! People even come up and request stuff. I usually make £10 an hour too. Not bad when you're hard up! My hometown of Banbury turn a blind eye to buskers, too, so I used to play there a bit. I say go for it! Great for performance practise!
