Street Musicians
The City of Madison does not directly regulate street musicians, although standard City of Madison ordinances such as those prohibiting obstructing the sidewalk and unreasonable noise apply to everyone.
Street musicians who do not use public electricity are not required to be licensed (See below for amplification information). There are no assigned sites, although no musician may obstruct the natural flow of pedestrian or vehicular traffic.
Downtown Madison is a dynamic place with much interaction between vendors, merchants, performers, pedestrians, students, and shoppers. While the City does not regulate the placement of street musicians, here are some suggestions: Use good and fair judgment in selecting a place in which to perform. Avoid performing too close to a special event, especially a musical event. Avoid performing so close to other musicians that your music overlaps and competes, or too close to store fronts and merchant vendors. Be respectful of requests to turn down the volume. Others may call the City of Madison Police if you do not cooperate with producing reasonable sound levels or maintaining a reasonable distance from a vendor display or special event.
Street musicians may not sell anything on the street or sidewalks of Madison unless also licensed as a Street Vendor. On the Mall/Concourse, only locally produced recordings of your own music can be sold. If you wish to sell locally produced copies of your own music, you must become licensed as a Mall/Concourse Arts & Crafts Vendor. Please see the street vending website for details on Arts and Crafts.
Street Musicians Using Public Electricity for Amplification:
