"Why Busking?" Survey Analysis

StreetStage is dedicated to spreading busking around Atlanta year round.
Busking is legal on public property in Atlanta, with two basic rules:

1.) Busker cannot use amplification.
2.) Busker cannot single out a person, or audience, for a specified amount of money. Busker may say, "I work for tips."
The City's Commercial Solicitation statue is set forth in section 43-1, Subsection (a) of the City Code of Ordinances:
(a) Definitions: "Commercial solicitation" or "to commercially solicit" is any request made in person on a street, sidewalk, or public place, without a permit, asking for an immediate donation of money or other thing of value, including the purchase of an item or service for an amount far exceeding its value, under circumstances where a reasonable person would understand that the purchase is a donation. Commercial solicitation shall not include passively standing or sitting with a sign or other indication that one is seeking donations without addressing the request to any specific person.

The busking feasibility study circulated through various arts organizations in Atlanta.
Feedback has all been positive.
If you have the time and curiosity, please read it through and tell us what you think.

Survey questionnaires were circulated at the StreetStage Atlanta Festival, October 19 - 21, 2007.
This survey examines how street performance is welcomed in the city of Atlanta.
Our thanks go out to all who helped with this survey.
--StreetStage Atlanta Staff

"Please get started on planning the next one. I believe that this is a project with limitless potential that showcases Atlanta with international flair and the return of a street culture that has been missing for so long. For a brief moment, I was taken back with nostalgia to my experiences in London's Covent Garden, Las Ramblas in Barcelona and Ile St. Louis in Paris."--P. Henderson

StreetStage Survey
1. How old are you?
12 - 18 6%
19 - 25 8%
26 - 35 20%
36 - 45 37%
46 - 55 19%
56 - 65 9%
65+ 1%

2. Are you single or married?
Single 51.5%
Married 46.5%

2a. How many in your group?
3 in group 30%
2 in group 29%
4 in group 14%
1 in group 14%
5 in group 9%
More than 5 in group 4%

3. Where are you from?
City:
Atlanta 25%
Auburn 7%
Decatur 6%
Alpharetta 5%
Marietta 3%
Canton 3%
Smyrna 3%
Fayetteville 3%
Madison 2%
Snellville 2%
Lithonia 2%
Savannah, Norcross, East Point, Douglassville, Suwanee, Morrow,
Mableton, Kennesaw, Covington, Cumming, Tucker...Less than 1%

28% out of state and international visitors

State/Province:
Georgia 75%
California 3%
North Caroline 3%
South Carolina 2%
New York 2%
Indiana, Oklahoma, Ohio, Minnesota, Tennessee, Virginia 1%

International 9%

County:
Fulton 30%
DeKalb 18%
Cobb 8%
Cherokee 4%
Fayette 3%
Forsythe 2%
Morgan 2%
Walker, Paulding, Clayton, Rockland, Gwinnette 1%

28% out of state and international visitors

Countries represented:
USA, Belguim, Canada, France, Great Britain

4. What is your annual household income?
Under $20,000 12.1%
$20,000 - $30,000 16.5%
$30,000 - $50,000 14.3%
$50,000 - $70,000 15.4%
$70,000 - $100,000 17.6%
Over $100,000 24.2%

5. What is your profession?
Professional: law, medicine, etc. 26.0%
Labor: plumbing, construction, etc. 3.0%
Uniformed: police, fire fighter 7.0%
Service: maintenance, repair, etc. 2.0%
Hospitality: hotel, restaurant, bar 6.0%
Arts 9.0%
Student 10.0%
Other 37.0%
(Stay at home mom, sales, manufacturing, public health, banker,
foreign government, public relations, professor, real estate,
computer and IT consultant, philosopher, media, retired.)

6. What is your favorite type of street performance?
jugglers/circus skills 56.3%
magic 56.3%
acrobats 50.0%
musicians 44.8%
comics 42.7%
clowns 32.3%
b boys / break dancers 32.3%
mimes 31.3%
storytellers 30.2%
spoken word 28.1%

6a. What would you like to see?
Magic, fire, stilt walkers, violins and classical players, break dancers,
acrobats, conceptual performance art, dancing women,
Madonnari street painting, spoken word, animal acts...

"More events through the year better than anything on TV;
greatest form of entertainment I have ever seen."

"Everything, music the most."

7. Did this experience change your impression of street performance?
-yes, for better 62.5%
-yes, for worse 0.0%
-no change 26.0%
-I always enjoy watching street performers. 58.3%
-I think street performers are con artists. 3.1%
-I think successful street performers have skills and are artists. 76.0%
-I think street performers are not good enough for the stage. 3.1%
-Street performers are in it just for the money. 4.2%
-Street performers are beginners honing their skills. 11.5%

8. What do you think street performance does for a city's street?
-I feel safe in an audience group near a street performance. 74.1%
-I would not feel any safer near a street performance. 4.9%
-Street performers attract pickpockets and undesirables. 2.5%
-Street performance encourages community and hospitality. 76.5%
-To me buskers....
"...bring life and enjoyment."

"...are hard working."

"...are in it for the money. Yes, and why not? It is a skill!"

"I have never seen street performers before, I'm hooked!
I can't wait to share this with my family!"

"...enhance the city street. To me, buskers are great."

"...are people trying to make a living."

"...are artists."

"...are necessary in a vibrant city."

9. Did this experience change your opinion of Atlanta?
-yes, for better 51.8%
-yes, for worse 0.0%
-no 31.8%
-I think street performers are annoying. 0.0%
-I think Atlanta is more appealing with street performances. 61.2%
-I think Atlanta is "arts friendly." 67.1%
-I feel that Atlanta is too tolerant. 2.4%
-Atlanta is very welcoming to visitors. 51.8%
-Other (please specify)
"It's getting a little better; very welcoming."

"New to Atlanta. Good intro!"

"Arts friendly...not enough. Welcoming...somewhat."

"Hope to see more of this hospitality soon.
Yes, it's welcoming when you see something of this magnitude."

"Welcoming, yes, except transportation."

"Yes, more appealing, just like New York."

"More welcoming to visitors than residents."

10. I would like to see street performances in more areas around Atlanta, including:
-MARTA platforms/stations 30.6%
-malls 34.1%
-outdoor and indoor concerts 54.1%
-parks 76.5%
-tourist destinations like Georgia Aquarium, World of Coke 54.1%
-entertainment districts like Midtown or Buckhead 55.3%
-museum plazas like the High Museum 41.2%
-Other (please specify) 22.4%
(Decatur Square, Marietta Square, Atlantic Station, Downtown Atlanta,
everywhere, Chattanooga, Piedmont Park.)

"Keep at Woodruff."

"Parks, especially Centennial."

"It wasn't until I moved to NYC that I was really exposed to street performers, who I have enjoyed at a distance, and it wasn't until this weekend in Atlanta that I learned something about the art of busking. These are people - artists - who actually make a living doing what they love. Many performers spend years studying, practicing, and perfecting their talents. Like the ones who I met this weekend, many have the heart, dare I say, the cojones to forego the 9-5 grind and offer us, the ofttimes unimpressable public, moments of laughter, joy, and awe in exchange for pocket change."

"As for me, from now on, I will be on the lookout for buskers who really move me; musicians who get my toes tapping, storytellers who open my mind, performers who can awe me, these guardians of my imagination. Moreover, I hope I can help further their chosen careers with a little addition to the hat, or the guitar case or the fishbowl. As for StreetStage, this was a perfect beginning to what I predict will be many years of success for the Atlanta community."

Click here to email us with your support and questions.
Your donation to StreetStage, to help bring more street performing festivals to Atlanta, is tax deductible.

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