Question:
Should one treat a busker (a street musician) like any other request for tzedakah, or is it a pay what you feel performance?
Answer:
No one is obligated to pay the musicians that play music in the streets. If it is considered tzedakah, is a different question, because we don’t know if the person actually needs money, and even if he does, and even so, we would be obligated to give him only if he asks us specifically for money and he is religious.
Best Wishes
Sources:
Borach Tzedakah 5 ftnt. 57.
