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BuSK app launches in London

If you see a busker and want to give them money but have no change, you may be interested in the new BuSK app which has launched today.

With the average Brit carrying less cash in their pockets than ever before, buskers are finding it increasingly difficult to survive. To tackle this problem, BuSK allows street performers to receive secure, cashless payments via a credit or debit card – and electronic donations make it easier for artists to track payments.

Created by The Busking Project with support from Tech for Good funder Nominet Trust, the app promises to transform the way we engage with buskers and other street artists.

Members of the public can also use the app to hire buskers for gigs and keep in touch with upcoming performances.

With the demise of the CD and explosion of digital streaming services decimating revenues, busking has become more important than ever for aspiring artists. In response, many independent artists have turned to busking to make up for lost income.

According to Nick Broad, founder of The Busking Project, “We should be celebrating our buskers, as street performances not only benefit the artist, but have knock on positive benefits; invigorating towns and cities.”

He added that: “There is a lot of misunderstanding about street performers. The old joke is that buskers are ‘beggars with a gimmick’, but Ed Sheeran, Pierce Brosnan and KT Tunstall all started off as buskers. What we are trying to do with BuSK is to show that being a street performer is a legitimate and accessible way of earning a living.”

Vicki Hearn, director at Nominet Trust added, “As the world moves online, how do we ensure that excluded groups don’t get left further behind? It is vital that independent live performers, who are often financially and digitally excluded, are also able to benefit from the frictionless micropayments used by larger enterprises.

“We’re proud to support the development of the BuSK app that helps appreciative audiences to find and tip great local and live performers worldwide.”

To illustrate the wider social and economic benefits of busking, BuSK will also collect data on the impact buskers have on tourists, commuters and local business in London.

The Busking Project’s aim is to use this data to convince more local authorities to open up their cities to street performers and encourage a lively busking ecosystem.

Busk launches in London today and is also available in the USA, Canada, Australia and across the EU, with further country launches planned for 2016.

The Busking Project is a documentary and community network that aims to challenge negative stereotypes about buskers and showcase their talents as well as their contributions to the cultural fabric of cities like London. So far, 1629 buskers are part of the network in 633 cities in 70 countries around the world.

If you’re out and about in London over the weekend, BuSK street celebrations will take place as follows:

Friday 4 December, 12.30pm – 1.30pm: Southbank (next to Jubilee Gardens/ London Eye)

Saturday 5 December 12.30pm – 1.30pm: Trafalgar Square (near the steps)

Sunday 6 December 12.30pm – 1.30pm: Leicester Square (by Coventry Street)

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