Friday, June 05, 2009

How much do "performers" make a day in the BART stations?

We always see performers in the downtown BART stations but the other day, seeing a quintet really made me wonder...do they make that much that all five of them prefer to be there over doing something else with their time? I guess if they were all unemployed, making $20 between all 5 of them is better than $0. I just can't imagine making much more than $20 each day.

I do love the music-- it picks me up in the morning when my brain isn't exactly ready to begin the day.

Do you guys give money to performers? When I used to exit at Embarcadero, I would give $1 every Friday to this old Asian man who played a traditional instrument. I can't say I liked, or knew how to enjoy, the sound of it but he seemed so dedicated to this instrument that I was compelled to at least give him $1 a week.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

They probably make more like 20-30 apiece for a 2-3 hour set. I suspect groups pull in more dollars, but have to divide them, so it's a losing proposition as the group gets bigger.

The other thing that this gets groups is exposure. Handing out businesss cards to land private gigs or venue dates is a major part of the business. And of course if they are really good, there are on-the-spot CD sales.

Busking at a tourist attraction has to be a better deal, though. So many people at the BART station don't have time to even slow down.