When/Where to Perform for Tips

[alex51299]

I am playing a file with a magician, singer, and acrobat to get the feel of each career. Right now they are at the begining of their careers so most of their progress replies on playing for tips. The problem is I don't know where or when to send them to perform! I've been sending them to the parks to perform but they don't make much money there. What are the good places to send them to and when? Is it worth adding a subway or 2 for them to use?

[Pam]

Yes, it's worth putting in a subway.  The tips fly in twice or three times as fast as when a Sim plays for tips anywhere else.  You won't see any of it because it's a rabbit hole location, but you'll see the tips coming in.

Good places for normal tips are the theater, bookstore, and even the grocery store.  And maybe at the bistro around dinner time.  Another little trick is to have a destination party at the park and start playing for tips before any of the guests arrive.  They will usually give your Sim some tips while they are at the party.

And the last piece of advice is to have your Sim practice the songs he/she knows when it's time to just practice.  When you click on the guitar/drums/piano/bass, choose the option to play the specific songs.  The amount of the tips increases each time you play the songs.  If you put some real time into it, you can get some very large tips.  Also, if this isn't a challenge file, you can cancel the song right after the Sim starts it and still get credit for the song.  That makes it much faster getting to the large tips.

[MoMoll]

Didn't know singers and magicians could play for tips in the subway. Will have to try that.

I always went to the theater, bistro, bookstore and outside the library.

[Erythrocyte]

Another tip is to, when you climb the ranks in the profession and you get a chance to perform on stage, make sure that after your stage performance you take the time to play for tips.

You should already have an audience then and they're usually willing to see (and pay) for an extra performance

[alex51299]

Thanks for all the tips! I'm going to go try them out right now. 

[Corylea]

Another tip is to, when you climb the ranks in the profession and you get a chance to perform on stage, make sure that after your stage performance you take the time to play for tips.

You should already have an audience then and they're usually willing to see (and pay) for an extra performance

I've read this before, but I never manage to pull it off.  By the time my sim walks off of the stage and starts singing, everybody's on their way out.  Do you teleport your sim off of the stage or something, or is my sim just unusually slow?

[Pam]

Ok, ignore what I said about subways.  I was thinking of musicians.  I don't know if Showtime professions can play for tips in the subway.  If they can, be sure to post it here.

[alex51299]

Yeah unfortunately Showtime performers can't perform for tips in the subway.

[MaryMarsh]

I've been playing this particular sim for a while ... she started as an acrobat, then became a movie star; now, because I'm a purist, she's mastering guitar before switching to the singer profession. She has level-10 charisma, 5-star celebrity, and level-10 guitar. At the moment I have her playing regularly at the bookstore for tips (trying to get to 25K for the guitar challenge).



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I flubbed and didn't get a screen capture for the really large crowd, but this is what appears most of the time. Anytime between 9 AM and Midnight at the bookstore seems to be good for tips. The same has held true for my acrobat and an earlier singer I made. At the moment she's easily making 4K tips daily. Generally, the crowd will not leave, no matter how late. One night I kept her playing until 3 AM and rather than leave the townies dropped and slept onsite, then awoke and continued listening. It was hilarious to see half a dozen at a time lying down and sawing Z's. 

Crying babies won't make the townies leave -- it's good to be popular




If this scene looks strange, it's in my fully customized version of Twinbrook.

Edit: Well, several sim days have passed and I've yet to have this sim transition from guitarist to singer -- she's now earning over 10K daily at the bookstore playing for tips and it's just too lucrative to pass up for now. The only drawback is her 5-star celebrity status occasionally causes her to stop to sign autographs, so I have to keep a close eye on things.