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How does a busker measure success?
I got an e-mail from a Peter Shatalow who said he was doing a documentary on street performance and asking if I would be available to help with his project. He said he'd gotten my name from performers.net!
Of course I emailed him back saying of course! (There has been no discussion of a fee, yet). He had asked a couple of questions: "How does a busker measure success?" and "How does a busker know when he's made it? This is my answer to him.
to: shatalow@direct.com <Peter Shatalow>
re: Busking, means to an end, or an end to means?
Now that I've had a few days to ponder your deeply
philosophical questions I'm not sure I have adequate answers
either for myself or for you.
How does a busker measure success?
The same way any other artist/business person measures
success. How close do I come to meeting my goals?
There is WONDERFUL book entitled: "How to be Your Own
Booking Agent, And Save Thousands of Dollars" by Jeri Goldstein,
Charlottesvile, VA; The New Music Times: 1998. The "Mickey
Mouse" title, I said to her in a letter, belies the depth of this
monumental work. It is a master's degree course in how to thrive
in an unforgiving business. She worked as an agent for years
booking a number of nationally known acts and knows the
entertainment industry from the inside out. There are chapters on
marketing, negotiating contracts, managing the road, funding,
etc. But the very first chapter is devoted to planning --
preparing written one, two and five year goals against which you
must regularly check your progress, analyze results and adjust
your plan. Only then will the rest of the advice she dispenses be
useful.
How does a busker know when he's "made it?"
When I started learning how to be a street entertainer I had
already been busking for a couple of years. I lived in an ageing
Ford Aerostar van. I was convinced that making music on my unique
musical instrument was all I needed to earn a living. It was,
just as long as was I careful in my definition of the phrase "to
earn a living." It finally got thru to me that people, by in
large, don't give a damn about glass music -- they want to be
entertained. Because of that startling revelation I now live in
an ageing twenty-foot long Coachmen motor home. How do I know if
I've made it? I'm comfortable with my lifestyle, I eat regularly,
I'm able to live in a town that has a medical clinic specifically
for musicians, and I thoroughly enjoy what I do (most of the
time).
Its nice, also, when someone stops at my pitch and says,
"Didn't I see you on Harvard Square/in Santa Cruz/at the
Anchorage Farm Market?" Its nice when an MTV producer says, "we'd
like you to serenade Britney Spears on our Mardi Gras Special."
Its nice when someone says, "would you like to be involved in my
documentary on the art of busking?"
Best Regards,
PETER BENNETT
website: www.glassharper.com
email: glassharper@hotmail.com
1000 Bourbon St., #290
New Orleans, LA 70116
504-481-4987
Of course I emailed him back saying of course! (There has been no discussion of a fee, yet). He had asked a couple of questions: "How does a busker measure success?" and "How does a busker know when he's made it? This is my answer to him.
to: shatalow@direct.com <Peter Shatalow>
re: Busking, means to an end, or an end to means?
Now that I've had a few days to ponder your deeply
philosophical questions I'm not sure I have adequate answers
either for myself or for you.
How does a busker measure success?
The same way any other artist/business person measures
success. How close do I come to meeting my goals?
There is WONDERFUL book entitled: "How to be Your Own
Booking Agent, And Save Thousands of Dollars" by Jeri Goldstein,
Charlottesvile, VA; The New Music Times: 1998. The "Mickey
Mouse" title, I said to her in a letter, belies the depth of this
monumental work. It is a master's degree course in how to thrive
in an unforgiving business. She worked as an agent for years
booking a number of nationally known acts and knows the
entertainment industry from the inside out. There are chapters on
marketing, negotiating contracts, managing the road, funding,
etc. But the very first chapter is devoted to planning --
preparing written one, two and five year goals against which you
must regularly check your progress, analyze results and adjust
your plan. Only then will the rest of the advice she dispenses be
useful.
How does a busker know when he's "made it?"
When I started learning how to be a street entertainer I had
already been busking for a couple of years. I lived in an ageing
Ford Aerostar van. I was convinced that making music on my unique
musical instrument was all I needed to earn a living. It was,
just as long as was I careful in my definition of the phrase "to
earn a living." It finally got thru to me that people, by in
large, don't give a damn about glass music -- they want to be
entertained. Because of that startling revelation I now live in
an ageing twenty-foot long Coachmen motor home. How do I know if
I've made it? I'm comfortable with my lifestyle, I eat regularly,
I'm able to live in a town that has a medical clinic specifically
for musicians, and I thoroughly enjoy what I do (most of the
time).
Its nice, also, when someone stops at my pitch and says,
"Didn't I see you on Harvard Square/in Santa Cruz/at the
Anchorage Farm Market?" Its nice when an MTV producer says, "we'd
like you to serenade Britney Spears on our Mardi Gras Special."
Its nice when someone says, "would you like to be involved in my
documentary on the art of busking?"
Best Regards,
PETER BENNETT
website: www.glassharper.com
email: glassharper@hotmail.com
1000 Bourbon St., #290
New Orleans, LA 70116
504-481-4987