Members Terry Allan Hall Posted June 8, 2011 Members Share Posted June 8, 2011 I just checked with the City of Ann Arbor, MI regarding busking. Hey, it's legal. They have an 8-page document. You have to submit: 1. Permit Form 2. Notification Form 3. Insurance Form and then pay a fee (which amounts to about $2.00 depending on how many days you want to buy, and how many square feet you will occupy on the sidewalk.) Then you have to seek permission from the stores/businesses around you and keep a copy of all these documents with you when you perform. Insurance? For what, your B string going flat mid-tune? Capo coming loose and going into a passer-by's forehead like a ninja's throwing star? The pandemonium/terror that would come from just one more chorus of "Achy Breaky Heart"? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members OldGuitarPlayer Posted June 9, 2011 Members Share Posted June 9, 2011 OGP, do you have any experience with these (with regard to an amplifier)? No Q, not me personally but I'd like to one day. I have seen one guy use a 12 volt car battery and AC power inverter to run a Fender Deluxe though. To me it seems like the same idea but in a compact user friendly form. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members OldGuitarPlayer Posted June 9, 2011 Members Share Posted June 9, 2011 I just checked with the City of Ann Arbor, MI regarding busking. Hey, it's legal. They have an 8-page document. You have to submit: 1. Permit Form 2. Notification Form 3. Insurance Form and then pay a fee (which amounts to about $2.00 depending on how many days you want to buy, and how many square feet you will occupy on the sidewalk.) Then you have to seek permission from the stores/businesses around you and keep a copy of all these documents with you when you perform. That seems reasonable. Were I busk there is lots of room for people to walk and I am not really close enough to any shops to annoy them. There was no insurance since you are basically "at your own risk". I didn't busk today since I had a job interview this afternoon in a different part of town. Of course I was offered the job... That's ok because in the previous 4 days I made $100 for a few hours of busking and paid off the $50 permit.My new job is in the evening too so I will still be able to continue busking. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Terry Allan Hall Posted June 9, 2011 Members Share Posted June 9, 2011 That seems reasonable. Were I busk there is lots of room for people to walk and I am not really close enough to any shops to annoy them. There was no insurance since you are basically "at your own risk". I didn't busk today since I had a job interview this afternoon in a different part of town. Of course I was offered the job... That's ok because in the previous 4 days I made $100 for a few hours of busking and paid off the $50 permit. My new job is in the evening too so I will still be able to continue busking. Excellent! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Christhee68 Posted June 10, 2011 Members Share Posted June 10, 2011 If you don't want to buy an extra battery powered amp and want to use your exisiting acoustic or electric amp you could get a power/inverter battery pack. Duracell sells them. Here's one for $90: http://www.amazon.com/Duracell-DPP-300EP-Powerpack-300-watt-Compressor/dp/B000TKBLHM I use setup very similar to that to play beach weddings. I plug my 60 watt Crate acoustic amp into it. Last week I played three weddings (each about 30 minutes of live music and 20 minutes of ipod music) without recharging. I'm sure I could play over two hours straight with it, but I haven't tried.This is what I use. I can also pump up my tires and jumpstart my car with it.I use this one: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Terry Allan Hall Posted June 12, 2011 Members Share Posted June 12, 2011 Just got back from busking at a flea market not too far from here...my buddy Johnny came out to play bass (through my spare Limo) and we treated it as a very well-paying rehearsel. Had a lot of interesting requests, due to a senior church group handging out from about noon 'til almost 2pm...they wanted songs like Blue Spanish Eyes, Georgia On My Mind, Ramblin' Rose, Somewhere My Love, and other Oldies from the 30s, 40s 50s and 60s, along with our other mix of acoustic rock, blues, countru, folk and kiddie tunes. Recently bought a 12v solar power unit to plug both Limos into, and that worked out pretty well...didn't seem to draw much, if any, power from the Limos' internal batteries...I'm going to drain one Limo's battery down to nesxt-to-nothing, and then use it tomorrow to plug my iPod into it while I'm building a couple of new pens, so as to see how well the power unit works in a worst case scenario. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Queequeg Posted June 14, 2011 Members Share Posted June 14, 2011 Making progress. I can't find a Limo (Daddy's never replied to my inquiry when I said the photo didn't look like a Limo, Terry) so I ordered the Duracell inverter as mentioned in a previous post, except the next size up (Duracell DPP-600HD Powerpack 600). And I cleared the insurance hurdle this morning. My agent confirmed that my homeowners policy covers me to the City's satisfaction. Finally I stopped in to the AmTrak station and they said no problem. Interestingly, the City's form requires that I submit a photograph of the place where I intend to set up. While I was at the Amtrak station I was looking around for a schedule and I found a notice stating that I needed permission from the Stain Master to take any pictures there. I told them why I wanted to take some pictures and they gave me said permission. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Chordchunker Posted June 14, 2011 Members Share Posted June 14, 2011 They sure make you jump through hoops just to busk Q.. Sort of reminds me of my San Diego/Balboa park busking days.. San Diego was the only place I`ve ever received a ticket in 30+ years of busking. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members masterbuilt Posted June 14, 2011 Members Share Posted June 14, 2011 Do you need a permit to busk? I was thinking about trying it this summer in the city square. Don't want to break the law. You do in many municipalities. Local law enforcement also is in the area of buskers when cities require permits. You can typically find out from your local city hall. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members masterbuilt Posted June 14, 2011 Members Share Posted June 14, 2011 Regarding insurance.... it is liability... in case someone trips over your guitar case, a cord, or something similar. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Queequeg Posted June 14, 2011 Members Share Posted June 14, 2011 Regarding insurance.... it is liability... in case someone trips over your guitar case, a cord, or something similar. or as the city employee put it to my insurance agent, "you know, if some kid runs across the street to put a dollar in your case and gets hit by a car on the way over". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members guitarist21 Posted June 14, 2011 Members Share Posted June 14, 2011 So many great buskers around here. This place is a wealth of helpful information on this topic. Don't have too much to add here but I just wanted to point out that I think the biggest thing is to just not be a jerk. Too many times I meet folks that busk that are pushy towards their audience, and on top of that they might not be very well-groomed or too loud or whatever. It's those kind of folks that are going to get in trouble faster and make way less money. Just be kind to your audience and to the authorities especially. If a police officer or a store owner asks you to move, don't fight them. If you've got permits, that's awesome, but if you don't, don't push it. (Consider yourself warned!) This has been on my mind in particular lately because I have been busking with someone (a drummer, of course) who has been driving me bonkers. Once, we were stopped by police without permits in a particular town. As the police car drove away, while the car was in ear shot, this drummer began to click off the next song on his sticks! I nearly killed him. There's nothing worse in the busking world -or, rather, in the music world in general- than bad relationships, and one way to have a bad relationship with store owners, police officers, and audience members is to piss them off. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members benpwilliams Posted February 2, 2013 Members Share Posted February 2, 2013 http://fretdetective.blogspot.co.uk/2012/05/busking-tips.html here are some busking tips Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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