“The Peer Pressure to Be Kind” — Boyfriend Walks Around Bar With Performer’s Tip Jar

If you've got a soft spot for live performers and are prone to leaving them cash tips and wish others would do the same, then you may garner some inspiration from this viral TikTok.

Uploaded by a user who goes by Yosh (@jblizair), they showed the lengths that their significant other went to so a bar performer was tipped handsomely.

"Does anybody else have a partner who picks up the tip jar and walks it around to gather tips for the performer?" Yosh writes in a text overlay of their video.

In their clip, they show their partner, who is seen advocating for the performer by assisting them in collecting gratuities for their performance.

Maybe he's busked himself in the past and knows the struggle.

He's seen approaching a table where a couple is engaged in a discussion. As he gets closer, the woman at the table seems to tell the man to drop a tip inside of the performer's tip bucket.

He then heads to the center of the outdoor seating area, looking around for any other takers, when a man gets up to him and starts digging through his pockets to give some cash to the performer. The TikToker's partner cheers and slaps the man's back affectionately as he approaches other guests.

He goes to another area where a few folks are sitting, and they appear to question what the bucket is for. Immediately, Yosh's significant other starts speaking to them and pointing in the direction of the entertainment area, which prompts those sitting at the table to start reaching for their bags.

One of the men at the table doesn't appear to be too happy after throwing his money in the bucket, which prompts a reaction from Yosh's partner as he looks at him and grins into the camera.

The third man at the table declines as the gratuity advocate continues to walk around the establishment to another area.

He gets another guest to put in some money and then spots a guy standing in a purple t-shirt who pulls money out from his jean shorts to give to the cause.

At this point in the clip, Yosh ends up calling out to his partner as someone sitting at their table has some money they'd like to give to the night's entertainment.

Additionally, the TikToker scouts other prospective donors — "And those girls up there," he says, helping him with his tip collecting duties.

The women put in the cash and the singer, taking a short break in his song says, "Thank you brudda," as he approaches other women sitting behind the crooner at the bar who also give some cash.

According to Yosh, this is a common practice his significant other often engages in. He adds in a caption for the clip: "He does this everytine he sees a tip jar by a live performer."

One TikToker who saw the video believes that Yosh's partner may've just started a new trend.

"I hope this becomes a thing!"

Others found humor in the way he went about collecting money: "The standing with the hand on the hip while they’re rifling through their bags killed me."

And another TikTok user said this approach helps those with crowd anxiety to donate.

OK, but this is so nice for the people who have crowd anxiety and don’t want to make it to the stage but still want the artist to get their tip!

Someone else thought it was quite brilliant of Yosh's partner to utilize human psychology in this way: "I’m dead. The peer pressure to be kind. Top-notch."

If you ever wondered how much a performer gets paid for a musical set at a bar, it seems like it varies depending on the location. The author of this Music Getaway article writes that they receive anywhere from $200 to $300 per set, plus tips from listeners.

A user on Acoustic Guitar Forum penned that they earned around $100-$200 per show, but also added that they aren't really doing it for the money, just for the ability to play in front of an audience.

This Zip Recruiter article also states that the average salary for a bar singer/performer in Brooklyn, N.Y. averages just under $58,000 a year.