The Idea Behind The Guide
This tool is supposed to support street performers with grassroots campaigning. We are hoping it can help stem the tide of anti-busking legislation that seems to be affecting buskers all over the world.
It's also intended as an alternative to the hundreds of disassociated groups on the corporate beast that is Facebook. This means no ads, no sponsorships, we’re not selling your data, and we’re not trying to get you addicted.
It's just a community space that could radically improve the lives of buskers worldwide.
How Does It Work?
Buskers create articles, just like how we all can write stuff on Wikipedia. They can report where and when they were fined, or promote a petition, or suggest what equipment is the best for the street. Or, maybe they’ll ask for help fighting a council trying to pass a new law.
There will also be "edutainment" for non-buskers, like the surprising array of celebrities who began their careers as street performers, or the historical impact of busking dating back millennia.
We are trying to transform the way people see street performance, dispelling myths and revealing truths, while helping buskers to organise, earn, busk, and defend their rights. With your help, it's going to be huge.
The guide’s website is now live, funded, and already has a lot of good content on it. Here are some of the various sections of the site:
Museum: A fun, comprehensive archive of how buskers have influenced the world, in our historical events and media.
Tools: All the stuff that helps you in your day to day lives, including equipment and guides.
Legal: Arrests, court cases, legislation, campaigners and licences – all in the name of helping defend your rights to busk.
General: Chit chat, news, tips and anything that doesn’t fit in elsewhere.
Support: Organisations who work with buskers, photographers, videographers, and anyone else offering you a service.
Our Motivation
Busking is more culturally important now than ever before.
Busking is a great, viable way for independent artists to make a living, but they're facing increasing criminalisation and a world that's simply not carrying cash anymore. Covid has had a staggering effect, but it has only accelerated what started years ago.
Put simply: our high streets are dying, live music venues are closing, arts funding is down and commercialism has permeated almost every part of the music industry.
In other words, busking is more at risk – and more important – than it ever has been.
That’s what motivates us. We are here to save busking from further decline.
So again, please create a profile on buskers.guide, and add your voice to the community.