Downtown busking a bust: $2 for 12 hours
Every Tuesday this summer, you’ll find Niagara Falls musician Rick Richardson busking at the same place: Queen Street, in front of the Provincial Offences Court building, with his guitar case open.
The case is empty at 5 p.m. By 9 p.m., when he’s finished playing, it’s still empty.
In fact, since he started busking on Queen Street in July, Richardson has made a grand total of $2. For 12 hours of performing. At this rate, it will take him until the end of October to make up the $10 licensing fee he paid to the city as part of its busking pilot project.
Richardson knows it sounds ridiculous. Which is why he auditioned to begin with: To show the city how its busking project was destined to fail downtown.
“It’s like giving a fishing licence to the Dead Sea,” he says.
Richardson has been a Niagara Falls musician for 52 years and has been busking in various cities for 25 years. Four years ago, he prepared an extensive report on the feasibility of busking in Niagara Falls, using Toronto as the template. He proposed a scenario in which 16 buskers would rotate spots across the city, involving eight separate BIAs.
The report never made it to council. Instead, the city passed an initiative in June allowing musicians to perform on Queen Street, amending its bylaw prohibiting buskers on city-owned property. The proposal was pitched to all of the city’s BIAs, but only the Downtown BIA showed interest.
Richardson was critical of the project from the start, believing the city should pay performers if they were going to be on Queen Street instead of a busy district like Clifton Hill. To prove his point, he auditioned and was selected. He was even given his choice of spot on Queen Street to perform.
He chose the corner of Queen Street and St. Lawrence Avenue, because it’s the entry point for the weekly Cruising on the Q car show.
His first night, Richardson made $2. His next two: Nothing. People gather around to watch him play. They appreciate his efforts. But they won’t tip.
“They were singing along, having a good time, and saying ‘What are you doing here?’”
He intends to keep showing up on Tuesday nights, guitar case open, to prove his point.
“I’m firmly in support of live music – I like to play and I like to perform,” he says. “My message to city hall is pay the musicians. Fair play for fair pay. That’s all we’re saying.
“This is all I’ve done. This is my income. This is my livelihood.”
It’s a battle Richardson has fought before. Last year, he joined other local musicians urging the city to increase its $50 rate for musicians playing the farmers market on Saturday mornings. After a demonstration in front of city hall, council increased the rate to $100.
Clark Bernat, the city’s culture and museums manager, says the busking program will be re-evaluated for next year in the hope more areas of the city get involved.
“We knew there’d be growing pains,” he says. Despite the influx of people on Queen Street for the Tuesday night car shows, busking “is not working the way we hoped.”
“It’s not the optimal opportunity for them, we know that. But it was an opportunity we wanted to start with. We want to take this as a learning curve and move forward with it.”
Busking comes with inherent risks, he adds. Performers rely solely on tips, and not everyone is willing to pay. “That’s people’s choice.”
While Bernat gets regular calls from performers wanting to busk, they all want to be on Clifton Hill. He’s hoping the BIA grows more receptive to the idea.
“All the stats say that this is a good thing for a neighbourhood,” he says. “Clifton Hill may not feel it’s appropriate, but maybe some other area does.”
Local musician Nathan Chamberland, a board member for the Niagara Region Musicians’ Association union, is dismayed to see local performers continually fight for compensation.
“I just want to see the city pay the hard-working musicians,” he says. “We have all paid our dues, but it looks as though we all still have to.”