I used to busk in the street a lot, many years ago. I figured as I needed to play regularly to keep my playing at a good standard, I might as well do some of it while standing in the street. People threw coins in the hat and in terms of hourly rates, I sometimes did better than minimum wage.
Of course standing in the street with an instrument meant that every now and then someone would assume I was homeless, and there were a few conversations about that. Which brings me to the question of how desperate you need to be for it to be ok to put the hat out in the first place. To what extent is it ok to ask for support in return for what you're doing, if you aren't struggling to afford food? To what extent do we see busking - in person and online - as glorified begging, or are we giving money because we appreciate what's being offered?
When someone is paid a wage, we don't tend to question what they spend it on if it's legal. However, when people are on benefits, there's a section of the public that gets really angry if those people look like anything other than starving Victorian paupers. We're much more concerned about how people spend their money when those people are experiencing poverty, and there are people who definitely feel entitled to dictate how money given freely should be spent.
Where do I fit in with all of that? I have a secure home, but it's small. I've been so ill over the last couple of years that conventional paid employment isn't currently possible. I can afford to eat. I am not getting any funding from the state. I give a lot of stuff away online - which I feel is a lot like busking. I'm doing things because I want to do them, no one is even slightly obliged to chuck pennies in the hat, but some people generously do. Would it be different if I owned a house, or a car? Does it matter if I spend some of my money on things that might seem frivolous to others?
I have given money to people I know when they've needed help. I buy things. If I give money I don't ask what it's going to be spent on. I bought a piece of art recently and I did not ask if the creator desperately needed the money. I give money to buskers.
While I'm very keen on gift economy, I don't think we should be asking each other to give things away. Whether I think someone else can afford to give away their time and work is about my opinion, not their reality. Anyone who wants to should feel ok about putting out the busking hat, if that works for them. No one should have to justify the presence or absence of a busking hat, or a price ticket on things. Buy or not as you see fit, but don't imagine you should be able to dictate what anyone else does or asks for.
I have books in my ko-fi store that you can have for free - https://ko-fi.com/O4O3AI4T/shop
And currently ko-fi is my internet busking hat. https://ko-fi.com/O4O3AI4T
I'm also on Patreon, which is great if you want to feel a bit like one of those historical noblemen or wealthy merchants who funded the art of the past, but you only have a modest budget. Or you'd like to create an automatic hand for throwing money regularly into busking hats. https://www.patreon.com/NimueB
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