History Main / StreetMusician

* ''Fanfic/IveGotYourBack'' starts with Pearl meeting a homeless street musician named Marina. Pearl is enthralled by her music and [[LoveAtFirstSight looks]], which urges her on to befriend Marina.

* ''Fanfic/IveGotYourBack'' starts with Pearl meeting a homeless street musician named Marina. Pearl is enthralled by her music and [[LoveAtFirstSight looks]], so she invites her to move in with her.

Buskers who have recordings or merchandise (t-shirts with their band name) may sell these items on the street. While getting tips is the main motivation for busking, some bands also do it to get practice playing in front of an audience, to drum up "word of mouth" interest among passersby, and simply for pleasure.

A street musician is one who plays an instrument and/or sings anywhere large numbers of people congregate and/or pass by (such as at a busy street corner or subway station), with the goal of eliciting tips. If the audience members enjoy the music, they may drop money in his/her open instrument case. The act of performing on the street is called "busking."

Some buskers are a OneManBand, so they will often sing, strum a guitar, and tap a tambourine with their foot. Buskers may also perform as small ensembles, such as several guitar players or a mix of instrumentalists. If percussion is used, it is more likely to be a few handheld (shaker, tambourine, etc) instruments or a snare drum with brushes, rather than a full-size drum kit.

A street musician is one who plays an instrument anywhere large numbers of people congregate and/or pass by (such as at a busy streetcorner or subway station) in hopes that people will drop money; usually, his/her instrument case serves as a place to gather said money. A common gag is to have the musician be [[DreadfulMusician purposely terrible]] and let people [[BegoneBribe pay him to stop]].

* In ''Webcomic/{{Sinfest}}'', [[http://www.sinfest.net/archive_page.php?comicID=3659 Squidley finds it far more effective than merely begging.]]

* In ''Film/{{Cool Runnings}}'', Sanka tries to collect money for the bobsled team by singing in the street. He only made a dollar and sixteen cents, and most of that came from a man who said, "I'll pay you a dollar...to SHUT! UP!"

** The harmonica-player in ''Discworld/MovingPictures''.
** Imp y Celyn plays on a street corner when he first arrives in Ankh-Morpork in ''Discworld/SoulMusic''. This being [[WretchedHive Ankh-Morpork]], he ends up with less money than he started with.

A street musician is one who plays an instrument anywhere large numbers of people congregate and/or pass by (such as at a busy streetcorner or subway station) in hopes that people will drop money; usually, his/her instrument case serves as place to gather said money. A common gag is to have the musician be [[DreadfulMusician purposely terrible]] and let people [[BegoneBribe pay him to stop]].

* One time on ''Series/MadAboutYou'' Paul got some change for a pay phone (remember those?) from a street performer by putting a dollar in the guitar case and taking coins out. He was looked at askance by the performer and passers-by, who thought he was just taking money out. He made a big deal about putting in a five and just taking a little change.

* The ''Series/{{Monk}}'' episode "Mr Monk and the Very Dead Man" concerns a murdered street musician. The other police become convinced that it's the work of a serial killer in the making, one targeting street musicians. So they have Lt. Disher pose as a busker to draw the killer out.

* In ''VideoGame/TheSims1'', the first job a Sim in the Music career has is "Subway Musician." Averted in ''VideoGame/TheSims2'', though; there a Musician sim starts off as a Record Store Clerk. In ''VideoGame/TheSims3'', anyone who can play a guitar can play for tips, regardless of their job.

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* This is used for Jem's cover-up life in ''Fanfic/StarlightIsForAlways''. She was a mysterious woman who simply went by "[[OneNameOnly Jem]]". One day, the Holograms met her as a homeless street musician. Her singing skills soon turned her into an international pop star, but she was suddenly killed in a plane crash ten years into her career ([[FakingTheDead or so]] the story goes).

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[[folder:Fan Works]]
* This is used for Jem's cover-up life in ''Fanfic/StarlightIsForAlways''. She was a mysterious woman who simply went by "[[OneNameOnly Jem]]". One day, the Holograms met her as a homeless street musician. Her singing skills soon turned her into an international pop star, but she was suddenly killed in a plane crash ten years into her career ([[FakingTheDead or so]] the story goes).
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* [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ted_Hawkins Ted Hawkins]], who went from busking on the boardwalk in Venice Beach, California to becoming a cult figure, especially in Europe.

* In ''WesternAnimation/{{Coco}}'', a poor guitarist learns [[ShoeSlap the hard way]] not to play near the workshop of an old lady with music as her personal BerserkButton.
* ''WesternAnimation/{{Madagascar}}'': When the zoosters arrive via subway to Grand Central Station, Melman crashes into the drums of a blind drummer who doesn't notice he's not drumming anymore.