Dear Open Salon: here are my best busking secrets. 

To Seed Money or Not to Seed Money

Do you put a little bit of cash in your case to help seed future donations or not? Ukulele star Amanda Palmer and cohort say, "yes: wadding a few bills in your case is best" so that people feel more comfortable dropping their own dollars in. 

But my experience has been the opposite: people make their decision 10 and 20 feet away from me, before they can really see what's in my case. It's a personal decision, and probably relates more to whether the person considers themselves "the kind of person who gives money to street musicians" or not.

Pop Quiz: which kind of person are you? If your answer is equivocal ("Well sometimes I ... it depends ... ") that probably means "no."

The exceptions are what I call sequels: the one's who pass me by but then come back from the platform to drop money in. Ooh! I was just that good, huh? That's the best. It makes up for the fact that the commuting public is a poor audience. 

Here's Amanda Palmer and me. Note the resemblance:

[PS  In  that photograph, I am playing Somewhere Over the Rainbow. Why the intense face? Can't be known.]

[PPS  Check out Amanda's new EP of Radiohead covers!]

Where to Play

A lady offered some unsolicited advice today. Unsolicited advice! That's the best kind. She said that the corridor is a bad place to play because people rush by on their way to the train. She recommended the platform instead.

"I see. But the platform is noisier than the corridor, and I also make an average of $5/hr on the platform, but $10/hr out here." I do better in small rooms, really.

"Oh!" she was suddenly impressed. "$10! That's pretty good!"

The corridor is actually brilliant for busking, because people often still have their wallets in hand from the subway turnstile and are all the more ready to drop money in. It's also far enough away from the train that the sound doesn't overwhelm. 

Traffic

My biggest piece of advice (unsolicited) to every busker: make it as easy as possible for people to hear and enjoy your music and for traffic to flow past unimpeded. It's the same as with all marketing and advertising: more people laying their eyes and ears on you will translate into more "sales conversions."

And with that, I think I'll take my own advice and get ready for the busking Big Time. That's right: the tourist spots. In Manhattan. Stay tuned!