The Economic Impact of Street Performers and Buskers

Ida Rosenstein

Busker Daring Coyotes, photographed by Eltavious Johnson

Street performers, otherwise known as “buskers,” have been entertaining people for ages. Whether they’re on a street corner, in a park, or one act in a festival lineup, buskers bring vibrancy and liveliness to public spaces.

As a free-wheeling, do-it-yourself art form in the open air, busking doesn’t have the same financial barriers as movies, concerts, galleries, or other traditional sources of entertainment. While tipping the performer is encouraged, there is no mandatory payment needed for enjoying the talents of a busker. 

Artists busk at all levels, from hobbyists to side-hustles to earning a full-time living.  But street performance doesn’t solely benefit the individual performers; it also can be highly beneficial to the local economy as a whole. 

Despite some perceptions that live arts performances is an elitist or exclusive activity, the Americans for the Arts study Arts & Economic Prosperity 6 demonstrates that nonprofit arts and cultural activity generated $151.7 billion across the United States in 2022. AEP6 surveyed American communities of widely varying socioeconomic conditions that “range in population from 4,000 to 4 million and represent rural, suburban, and urban areas.” Across the board, AEP6 found that cultural institutions build community pride and drive further local spending.  Thus, it is clear that desire and engagement with the arts is not simply confined to smaller, elite circles of those who can pay premium for performances or artwork. Everyone wants to engage, which is why it is important that accessible entertainment is allowed to thrive. 

Busk 2024 audience, photographed by Eltavious Johnson

 Street performers can be extremely valuable for the local economy. Even though the performance is free, people are drawn to the surrounding businesses like hotels, restaurants, and shops. Busking can increase foot traffic to a location, increasing regular tourism and spending as a result. Frequent street performances will draw in large audiences who will often dine out or shop at nearby businesses after the show. 

Organized street performance events and festivals gain even more traction. In fact, one third of attendees to events like Berkshire Busk! “travel from outside the county in which the activity takes place, and they spend an average of $60.57 — twice the amount of their local counterparts.” These events can also greatly benefit local businesses who often set up vendors that attendees may purchase from. 

Street performers can also make previously mundane locations into visitor hotspots by bringing vibrancy and culture to a new area. These improvements bolster the area’s reputation with tourists and locals alike. The Americans for the Arts study states that 86% of Americans believe that arts and culture is “important to their community’s quality of life and livability.” Promoting busking or street performance is a low-cost but effective way to ensure that the arts remain a vital part of a city. 

In the years following the Covid-19 pandemic, downtown development districts began paying buskers to perform on their streets to help revitalize the areas. The pandemic left many businesses with no choice but to shut down, leading municipalities to turn to  entertainment to bring life back into downtowns and stimulate the economy. Larger-scale projects like building stadiums or parks are incredibly expensive and slow undertakings. Street performance can bring the same kind of energy and entertainment back to cities at a significantly cheaper and quicker rate. 

With a clear amount of public investment in arts and cultural organizations, street performance is one of the few ways that the arts remains open to everyone regardless of income level, but the low cost doesn’t mean that it isn’t economically impactful. People enjoy seeing street performers and the vibrancy that they bring to communities, boosting not just the tourism economy but the revenue of local businesses. These benefits, among others, make busking an excellent tool for helping to rejuvenate post-pandemic downtowns and generally enhance a city’s public image. Street performers can be a fantastic way to help an area stand out and strengthen the local community.

Crowds visit, shop, and dine on Railroad Street. Photographed by Roman Iwasiwka