(SINGAPORE) An article on Singapore's TodayOnline website examines busking and braving the elements and social prejudice. Indeed, busking is not for the faint-hearted. The growth of busking has also resulted in greater competition for space, especially for the popular and more lucrative spots.More than two decades after a plan was introduced in 1997 to allow performers to add more colour to the streets of Singapore, the busking scene has grown by leaps and bounds.

Baey Yam Keng, Senior Parliamentary Secretary for the Ministry of Culture, Community and Youth, told Parliament that the number of younger performers has more than doubled since 2008.

Along with busking comes opportunities as well as setbacks. Most busking 'laws' between buskers have been traditionally unwritten with buskers preferring to...

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(NEW YORK) The Bristol, England street artist known as Banksy has struck again and even again and again in New York City causing quite a stir in the past few weeks.It turns out the artist in residency has a goal of unveiling one street-art piece a day. Featured a few years ago in the Busker Central film review of "Exit thru the gift shop", Banksy is wanted by British Telephone for destroying a phone booth by making a piece of art out of it.

Now, Banksy is busy displaying his street art here are there in NYC spawning quite a few different viewpoints on his craft. Is it art or merely graffiti? To those who like, it's art - pure and simple. To those that don't, it's graffiti. Some erase it in hours. Others immediately preserve it behind plexiglas. One extreme reaction to it was a billboard with “Banksy g...

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(SEATTLE) As far as Seattle is concerned, you're a star awaiting your new reserved pitch in Soundtransit's transport hubs. Their blog announces the Sounds of the Sound program expanding options for serious buskers.
Interestingly enough, the world of busking is making a comeback after the horrendous covid19 global shutdown from a few years back. This severely affected the shopping and hospitality industries not to mention the performing arts.

A big black and white star adorns the pitch where buskers are free to express themselves and accept tips without hassles.

“The buskers are great,” wrote one blog post. “They make the station feel more like a destination, not just a place to pass through. Keep on supporting them.”

For more information and locales, check out the link below.

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(SACRAMENTO) Watch out San Francisco. The California capital is taking measures to encourage buskers and street-performers to entertain their fair city. Dozens of new murals have been painted on buildings around midtown and new legislation allows for more of the performing arts both inside and out.Buskers were once pushed out of Sacramento and other downtown areas pressured by frustrated business owners and residents who complained about the noise or said the musicians were blocking sidewalks. But as Sacramento’s urban core continues to develop and momentum continues in the local creative community, bringing back the buskers has become a hot topic around town.

The Sacramento Metropolitan Arts Commission as well as the Creative Economy Pilot Project will soon receive funding for projects over the next two y...

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(SEATTLE) It takes one glance any day of the week to see lots of buskers performing at Seattle, Washington's Pike Place Market. The popular and colorful water-front marketplace is alive and well.Busker Central reporters recently visited the scene and observed that street-performers were literally on every block. Pianos, guitars, saxophones, and clarinets were all making music leaving the possibility wide open for larger circle shows. Although the pitches are now permitted, some performers had been busking the market for over 10 years.

A huge tourist mecca, Pike Place Market is also home to the first Starbucks coffee shop. The line to enjoy a cup of java was well outside the door and down the block. Beside the line, a guitarist was busy performing classic rock songs and really seemed to be enjoying himself. Down...

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