(WWW) An article at roland.com has what's regarded as the 12 Golden Rules of busking for the UK community."When it goes badly, busking in modern Britain is no picnic and can present some pretty serious challenges from sunburn and on-the-spot fines to abuse and even arrest."

Some of the "Golden Rules" are standard fare for busking yet are often forgotten. It never hurts to review the basics and even expand on the fundamentals of successful busking.

In a nutshell, the 12 are:

#1. Sort the paperwork
#2. Choose your pitch wisely
#3. Don't hog the best spots
#4. Avoid no busk zones
#5. Don't actively ask for money
#6. Spread yourself
#7. Don't get on people's nerves
#8. Trade your wares
#9. Pack a gigbag
#10. Loosen their wallets
#11. Grin and bear it
#12. Use it as an apprenticeship

For deeper insight...

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(VENICE BEACH) Disguised head-to-toe in metallic gold, a famous performer has surprised onlookers in Venice Beach by posing as a busker.Going incognito, the "She Came to Give It to You" singer, 36, was busting moves best described as “the robot” borrowed from the mime Robert Shields. While wearing a gold hat, sunnies, and chains with his face covered in a gold mask to a crowd on the street, fans were shocked when the Grammy-winning artist revealed himself from under the costume.

As it turns out, the former judge on the US version of The Voice was shooting a skit for a MasterCard campaign. He surprised a fan - who had earlier been told she was appearing in a documentary about the OMG singer - with a personal performance, the Daily Mail reports.

The R&B star was rec...

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(WWW) It's hard to believe that it was 15 years ago today that the mouse was clicked and the hand-coded Busker Central reference website went "live" on the internet.Five servers later, it continues to bring pertinent reference and news articles into the busker's life. Literally thousands of links and pages encapsulate the pure essence of Busker Central on the internet - worldwide communication.

Each and every day, performers surf into Busker Central in the hopes of finding new ways to express themselves in their artistic endeavor and perhaps learn, travel, and even supplement their incomes.

"When in Rome...", be sure to say 'hi' to all the buskers you may encounter. Europe is...

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(CAMDEN TOWN) Holy guacamole! Camden has banned amplified street music and now requires unplugged performers to buy licenses.With the help of the Great Golden Kazoo in the sky, buskers have formed a church to sidestep the new busking laws. The Church of the Holy Kazoo has just been formed in the nick of time by buskers exercising the human right to "preach" in public.

It all started when Buskers staged a "street jam" in the heart of Camden to protest against the controversial new rules to license busking in the borough. Street performer Jonny Walker came up with the idea after Camden council's new laws required buskers to pay for licenses. He realized that street preaching is protected under freedom of expression laws so he set up the Church of the Holy Kazoo. It means Jonny...

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The street performer best known as the Naked Cowboy has thrown his cowboy hat into the ring for Mayor of NYC.“Today, I would like to announce that I am entering the race for the office of the Mayor of New York City. Why? Well, right now this city can’t afford wasteful spending. What we really need is smarter spending. Folks come up to me every day and tell me they’ve lost their life-savings, that their small businesses are barely getting by. And small businesses are the key to getting this city back on its feet. So we need initiatives that help put them on the right track. But the city can't afford to back an 18-wheeler full of money into every problem. It’s time to tighten the belt, but of course that’s just a saying because I don’t even wear a belt. But that’s my point – I don’t need a belt. I don’t need the ...

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