Kirrily Sinclair, who runs Foragers and Eat Street, said due to a high demand to play at her venues she has opened up unpaid “busking spots”.

She said artists were welcome to sell CDs and take “donations” by market patrons, while they would still have opportunities for paid musicians.

“It’s a really big part of what we do and I know the exposure is really great,” she said. “I see it as an opportunity, we have this space and it has high profile so I can’t see anything negative for people who want to busk.”

The original call-out on the Musicians In Wollongong Facebook group drew some negative comments. This included one from President of the NSW Teachers Federation Maurie Mulheron simply stating all musicians should be paid.

Illawarra booking agent and music scene devotee Warren Wheeler said he agreed musicians shouldn’t be short-changed by venues but thought it wasn’t “fair” to put markets in the same category.

“Artisans and stall holders are required to pay a fee to set up shop, and obviously they hope to sell enough of their wares to cover that fee,” Mr Wheeler said.

“It's unusual for markets to ask musicians and performers to pay that fee, so in that sense they're actually getting a better deal.

“I do believe strongly that all artists should be paid fairly for their work. And so the onus is on as consumers to be prepared to pay to be entertained.”

Industry union the Media Entertainment and Arts Alliance said the culture of performing for free was the “blight” of the sector as “exposure doesn’t pay the rent”.

“The recording industry is broken and in many communities the live performance sector is struggling. For a working musician, playing an instrument or singing is not a hobby, it's their livelihood,” spokesperson Paul Davies told the Illawarra Mercury.

“There’ll always be positive and negative to everything we do, I just see it as we have this space so why not offer it,” Ms Sinclair said.

Meantime, Mr Davies said the MEAA was committed to driving change and has just launched a national survey canvassing these very issues.

Wollongong City Council – who gave the tender for Eat Street to Ms Sinclair – said there were no guidelines in their agreement on how entertainment was to be delivered.

For more details on the MEAA survey visit: www.meaa.org/musicians-survey