(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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(UTAH) With it's first ever Buskerfest, Salt Lake City has started to come out of it's shell in regards to street theater and performances. Citizens of the city are calling for more pitches to perform their art.Kim Angeli is determined to get more street performers in Salt Lake City - a place that hasn’t always been receptive to the idea. Angeli hopes the SLC Busker Fest will help spread the wealth and connect performers and audiences.

"I would love to have performers on every corner. Art and artistic performance makes an urban environment wonderful and begs to be visited repeatedly," posts Lance Hemmert.

"Abby the Spoon Lady is the most amazing Busker!" cries another.

Most professional buskers are...
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(from the You've got-to-be-kidding-me Department)
One of the themes of 2009 was that collection societies around the world went nuts trying to charge for anything they possibly could while also trying to increase the rates they could charge. Even banks went wild with their hidden charges.

Remember how one collection society wanted to charge a woman because she put on music in public for her horses? Or how about the woman who worked in a grocery store who was told to stop singing while stocking the shelves or the store would have to pay a performance fee? And, of course, we had ASCAP trying to claim that ringtones were public performances, and mobile operators needed to pay up -- beyond the license fee that was already paid on the recording.

SOCAN, the Society of Composers, Authors and Music Publishers of Canada, has been no exception pushing for drastically increased rates...

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(VENICE BEACH) The Venice Beach boardwalk is known as a happening place. However, the Los Angeles City Council thinks there may be too much going on there.After receiving hundreds of complaints from area residents over the past year, the council has asked city lawyers to draw up some new rules. The new rules could include a ban on musical instruments and amplified sound between sunset and 9 A.M.

The council wants to crack down on street performers that draw big crowds and clog the boardwalk. The council also wants to limit the size and number of demonstrations. Many people consider the boardwalk a free speech zone.

Councilman Bill Rosendahl says it's the first step toward creating a more peaceful environment for boardwalk business owners, residents and thousands of visitors.

abc7.com

(KEY WEST) It may be lights out for buskers and street performers on Florida's popular and most southern island. Key West city commissioners on Tuesday approved the first reading of an ordinance that would put stricter controls on where some 220 license-holding street performers set up their act or wares on Duval Street.

Performers also would not be allowed at Mallory Square. Other restricted areas: Wall Street; in front federal, state or local government buildings; in front of churches and theaters; the Key West Bight harbor walk; the Truman Waterfront; and the Southernmost Point.