The Busking Mafia

Yes they do exist in various cities, mostly in Europe as I’ve begun to discover.

The busking mafia is basically a group of buskers who take over all the best busking spots and don‘t let anyone else play. Gasp, horror, the evils of society finally come to light!

Apparently since Romania became part of the EU, tons of Romanians have made there way to the richer European countries where they form organised busking and begging communities.

My friend Michael, a local Hamburger, had suspected something was up about these buskers for a while. In the 5 days I spent in Hamburg, I saw about 20 different people playing the accordion.

If you want to busk somewhere and there’s already a busker there, you should ask the current busker how long they will be and suggest swapping on an hourly basis. That’s pretty common busker etiquette.

Most cities have busking laws stating that a busker can’t occupy a pitch for more than an hour or two,

This is where the mafia come in.

The accordion players in Hamburg didn’t stay in the same place all day, rather swapped every few hours, so you could never get a good spot.

Bergen, Norway did not have such a strong busking presence, but was rife with beggars. Rumour has it, beggars and accordion players are in cahoots, controlling the scene on the street and making a fortune.

I played in a spot in Bergen where I’d seen an accordion player the day before. I had a good set. Then the accordion player came up to me.

“I play here” he said “you go, I play here”.

My non confrontational nature really came to light. I said OK and walked away.
For more on the beggar/busking mafia in Bergen, read this article.

Gothenburg in Sweden had a similar system but with a begging mafia rather than a busking mafia. Apparently up to 60 beggars were driven to town in a bus and picked up at the end of the day. Where they live, nobody knows

Fortunately they gave me no trouble. We nodded at each other and I made sure I played a long way away. I’d rather not find a horse’s head in my bed thank you very much.

Abracadabra- Now Disappear!

Be Gone!

I’ve been busking at circular quay for the last couple of months now. It’s the hottest busking spot in Sydney and has proved to be extremely profitable. The authorities are very strict here; not only do you need a license, there are designated spots depending on your act. For example you can only play in certain spots if you’re amplified, or if you are a circle act (a circle act is a performance that requires people to stop and watch e.g people that juggle chainsaws). I am defined as a non amplified, walk by act, which means I can play almost anywhere. I have found myself a lovely spot between ferry terminals 4 and 5, where only walk by, non amplified acts can perform. That pretty much leaves me and statues, so I’ve never had a problem.

The other day someone was in my spot. He was a magician. An amplified, circle act. In my spot. He looked about 15 with his top hat and slightly oversized suit. I waited til he’d finished his show.

“Hi are you finished for the day?” I asked

“Ummmm.. Actually I was going to do another show”

“Oh. Are you allowed to do a circle act here?”

“I’m not sure… probably not”

“mmmmmmm….”

“Maybe we could share the spot?”

“I’m pretty loud”

“Or could you play down by the restaurants?”

“Hmmm I don’t really play there”

I was not smiling.

“How about I do one more show, then you can have it”

“Fine”

In truth it was getting a bit late and I had to be going anyway, but there was no way he was getting away with being in my spot.

I waited til he started up again, then I called the ranger.

“Hello Circular Quay rangers, this is Ian speaking”

“Hi Ian, there’s a young man doing a circle act between wharfs 4 and 5”

“Is he amplified?”

“Yes, he has a microphone”

“Well he shouldn’t be busking there”

“…no”

Minutes later the rangers arrived. Minutes after that, the magician disappeared. Magic.

Busker Ettiquite?

It's common busking practice to ask someone how long they'll be playing for in a certain spot. This way you know whether it's worth waiting for them to finish or moving on.

I went to busk at the farmers market in Sydney the other day. It was the perfect spot - except someone was already there. She sat in the corner with her wire music stand, playing Irish folk tunes on the tin whistle. She looked about 14 and was cute as a button - the exact same look I was going for!

I approached her, my hair filled with pink ribbons and glittery butterfly clips, and asked how long she'd be playing for. She looked kind of terrified.
"Ummm... I'm not sure.... let me ask my Dad"
I waited patiently while she went looking for her Dad.
"Hey Dad, what time are you going to pick me up do you think?"
"I'm not sure honey, maybe around noon"
"Hmmmm" I muttered. It was 10.30. My ride was leaving in 45 minutes. Noon wasn't going to cut it. I smiled and went to find another spot. There was nothing. It was a small farmers market and anywhere I would play would drown her out. I really wanted to play, but I wasn't going to stoop that low.

My time was running out. I only wanted to play for half an hour. I decided to do something I've thought about doing a few times. I was going to try and pay her off.

I waited for her to finish the song she was playing. It was the longest song in history; smart kid, she knew I was bad news.
I took a deep breath.
"I'll give you $15 if I can have your spot for half an hour" I said
"Oh, ummmm... well... you don't have to pay me"
"No, please I'll compensate you. I just need half an hour then it's all yours again"
"I guess I could call my Dad.... he could pick me up early"
"If you don't want to, just say..." I said, but I was already unpacking my trombone.
"No, it's OK. I s'pose I've had my turn." she said shyly "You don't have to give me any money"
"I don't want to kick you out, I just need half an hour" I said putting my trombone together
She moved her stand and chair to the side, and pulled out her phone to call her Dad. I guiltily shoved a handful of loonies into her hat.

After my first song she was gone. I made $40 in half an hour. It really was a nice spot.

Busk-off

I can't believe I finally made it to London, Ontario. I've managed to rope my friend Branden into coming with me for the first leg of my busking trip. He plays classical guitar and a little tin whistle. Yesterday we hit the streets for the first time, and weren't having the best luck. Eventually we found a nice spot outside the Covent Garden Market (yes there's one here too). People were sitting on sunny benches in a large courtyards. We set up on one side of the stairs leading up to the entrance. Branden started playing while I went inside to get some lunch. When I came back, there was another guitar player on the other side of the stairs, about 15m away. I raised my eyebrow at Branden.

"Sorry" he said sheepishly "he asked if he could play over there. I didn't think he meant THAT close".

That was fair. I still have a lot to learn about busking etiquette, but setting up that close to someone is definitely not cool.

The other busker finished his song. "Play" I said to Branden. The other guy didn't wait, he just started playing at the same time. The audience was physically split in two, so half could hear Branden and the other could hear the other busker.

I was livid by this point. I glared at the other busker, pulled out my trombone and played as loud as I could- which is pretty damn loud. The guy kept playing. I couldn't believe it. An acoustic guitar trying to outplay a trombone? Really? This could only mean one thing. War.

Neither of us were getting any money. People were looking on, amused by the blatant busking battle, but too scared of the consequences of giving one of us money.

I have to give the guy credit for being persistant. He just kept playing. I belted a few more songs, Branden pulled out his tin whistle and played for a bit, then we did a duet, I started making balloon animals.... We were pulling out all the stops and this guy just kept strumming his guitar.

Eventually, he came over to us and asked if Branden wanted to jam. I like to think that means we won.