Are street drummers rude?

[PeterM]

No one is a captive audience.  everyone has legs to walk away with. no one has demanded anyone stay and listen.

In the subway stations I'm talking about it's impossible to get away from unwanted music unless you're willing to leave the station and walk several blocks to the next station. I have no problem describing that as a captive audience.

[cabbageweevil]

No one is a captive audience.  everyone has legs to walk away with. no one has demanded anyone stay and listen.

In the subway stations I'm talking about it's impossible to get away from unwanted music unless you're willing to leave the station and walk several blocks to the next station. I have no problem describing that as a captive audience.

And, the ultimate "captive audience" situation for me: on public transport -- for example, "inside a subway car" as Tea Drinker mentions, or on a commuter train. In such circumstances, I've got off trains and waited for the next, sooner than be subjected to the cacophony and nonsense perpetrated by on-train buskers.

[perpetua]

I think this is a situation of "You can't tailor the world to your own expectations". Not rude. Unless they're right up in your face demanding money or something.

[cabbageweevil]

Even if they're not rude -- I just hate what they do, I'm afraid.  I don't seriously suggest being nasty to them; but oh, how I fantasize about it.

[Jobiska]

No advice, but if you're in a city with a German Christmas Market set up in a municipal plaza a few blocks from Macy's, then you're in my city.  Hi!  hope you've found a quiet place by now!  :-)

[mime]

(... after Googling the definition of the word "busker"...  )

I don't see them as rude, as long as they don't directly engage me and they don't conflict/compete with other music, generally making everything so loud that you can't have a conversation with the next person. I just see it as part of the city, like the views and the smells, which can also be quite nice or not-so-nice.

I'll admit, though, they are not very common where I live and easy to avoid. If they increased I could probaby be driven to despise them.

[Betelnut]

I love street performers and find them to be a charming/interesting part of the bustle of the city.  Some of them are amazing and some of them are bad but I like it, in general.  The only exception might be if the performer is inside the subway car. 

[rigs32]

I love street performers and find them to be a charming/interesting part of the bustle of the city. 

Pod.  Being in a city means all sorts of people, crowds, noise, etc.  Macy's owns their space (or rents it) and decorates the windows for the enjoyment of the crowds and to bring in business.  They don't get to control what people do on the public sidewalks, even if they are playing holiday music.

Isn't that why a lot of people enjoy suburbia or planned communities?  There is more regimentation of what is allowed and acceptable.  i.e. no buskers inside shopping malls because those walkways are private property. 

[PeterM]

If it's not illegal then technically it's not rude,

I don't think it's physically possible for me to disagree more with this assertion. Even if we limit it specifically to street performers, there are places where it'd be legal for people to set up in an area with lots of children and start singing "The Ballad Of Eskimo Nell" or "F#@& Tha Police." I'd call those people rude.

[Rose]

I work in a city that draws tourists from all over the world.  One of the big sightseeing spots is directly below our offices.  There are several drummers that set up their drums, buckets and glass bottles  below our windows.  Even though we are 10 stories up the never ending banging gets on our nerves after an hour, after eight hours we're really over it and tempted to snatch their drumsticks.  Of course we never would.   I can't leave my desk, but they can find another spot to drum for tips.

I don't think they're rude per se, just clueless.  We do have merchant sponsored tour information personnel that roam the area and they will ask them to move after an hour or so.  Even the police officers on the beat get tired of it and have them move along.   

I have no advice, just this observation and commiseration.

[fountainsoflettuce]

Not rude.   It sounds like you're in Philly - good luck complaining!

[KenveeB]

Not rude. If they were singing loud obscenities or something, sure, but not regular street performances. I find street performers to enhance my experience, not ruin it. I have very fond memories of walking along State Street in Chicago, looking at the Marshall Field's Christmas windows and the lights in the trees, and hearing the different street performers (including drummers on plastic buckets) along the way. It's one of the memories that sticks out to me as "Christmas." I always think of the carol Silver Bells -- city sidewalks, busy sidewalks.

[Amanita]

Rose- the area you described sounds a lot like Times Square!

When I was in Times Square, what got on my nerves wasn't the buskers, it was the peddlers- the people hawking for comedy clubs and strip joints. Entirely too many of them! Those and the frightfully aggressive types who try to get you to take a CD, sign your name on it, and demand money. And get downright ugly if you try to ignore them.

I'll take buskers over that mess any day.

[magicdomino]

I love street performers and find them to be a charming/interesting part of the bustle of the city. 

Pod.  Being in a city means all sorts of people, crowds, noise, etc.  Macy's owns their space (or rents it) and decorates the windows for the enjoyment of the crowds and to bring in business.  They don't get to control what people do on the public sidewalks, even if they are playing holiday music.

Isn't that why a lot of people enjoy suburbia or planned communities?  There is more regimentation of what is allowed and acceptable.  i.e. no buskers inside shopping malls because those walkways are private property.

This is my position.  If the street musicians are good, it cheers me up.   If they stink, it's no worse than sirens, and will last only until the next block.  Aggressive panhandlers, whether homeless or hired by a charity, are far more annoying.

[demarco]

If it's not illegal then technically it's not rude,

I don't think it's physically possible for me to disagree more with this assertion. Even if we limit it specifically to street performers, there are places where it'd be legal for people to set up in an area with lots of children and start singing "The Ballad Of Eskimo Nell" or "F#@& Tha Police." I'd call those people rude.

ITA.