Serious Funny Business - Pollstar News

While nearly everyone’s taken a hit during the economic downturn, the funny business is still proving to be a good business.

Consumers often forgo expensive vacations these days in favor of a night of comic relief and there’s plenty of talent to see out there in clubs, theatres and performing arts centers around the country.

But there’s also plenty of talent to see on TV and the internet, too, which has led to an explosive growth in comedy over the past five years.

Moderator Nick Nuciforo started things off with some facts and figures. Market research shows that 48 percent of people between 14 and 34 years old prefer watching comedy shows on TV, he said, with 70 percent of those polled reporting they’ve viewed comedy online in the past month.

Gersh’s Rick Greenstein can attest to that. He reps everyone from Brian Regan and Dave Chappelle to up-and-comer Bo Burnham, and has seen comedians blossom through the Internet and YouTube.

“There’s plenty of artists out there that are touring and selling tickets that don’t have a broadcast show,” he said. “In 2005, most artists selling hard tickets were on the air. Now, you don’t need to be. An artist can go viral now. It’s opened up the doors to developing a lot of acts.”

Super Artists’ Rick Super agreed, adding that the economy’s also played a role in forcing comedians to think entrepreneurially and connect with fans via the Internet.

“When the economy crashed, it was feast or famine. They had to dig in and master social branding,” he said. “You can build and find a very authentic fanbase and make it sustainable if you know how to engage your fans.”

Judi Brown-Marmel of Levity Entertainment noted that nearly everyone in the comedy business has to find ways to keep engaging fans.

“For us on the comedy club front, we curate with everyone that walks through our door that has bought a comedy ticket,” she said, explaining that fans want to be engaged with content that makes them feel like a tastemaker.

“The Internet has sort of replaced what used to be ‘Come downstairs in my parents basement with me and listen to this Red Foxx album. You’re not going to believe what he says!’ It’s that feeling of discovering something that’s a little taboo.”

Viral marketing has also replaced more traditional forms like print, AEG’s Sam Kinken added, touting the benefits of e-blasts, Facebook and Google keywords for advertising.
“The most important asset that any comedian has is using Twitter to send out a note instantly,” he said. Take for example, his client Chris Hardwick, who connects with his fans via Twitter and his Nerdist podcast.

“We sold 750 tickets on Saturday at the Regency Ballroom in San Francisco for the Nerdist show, and that’s three guys sitting around talking about Star Wars stuff. That’s a career now. And that niche career is really, really important.”

Comedy Central’s Mitchell Fried had another Internet success story regarding a recent onsale for Daniel Tosh.

“We did an email blast and Tosh announced the tour on TV. Within a day, 115,000 people went to Ticketmaster,” he said. “Comedians have other ways of reaching out beyond the networks and the Internet is a wonderful area where artists can get their performances out there.”

But is connecting with fans ever too much of a good thing, Anonymous Content’s Ben Feigin wondered.

“What’s traditionally been successful in the movie biz and entertainment in general has been some level of mystery,” he said. “Will there be a backlash?”

Other panelists didn’t seem to think so.

“Now the question from the buyer perspective is, ‘How many Twitter followers do they have?’ ‘How many times will they blast out to their list?’ ‘How much digital interaction will I get from them?’” Brown-Marmel said. “When they have that robust of a following, you can see an immediate uptick in ticket sales.”

If anything, the Internet has just widened the overall platform and created opportunities for niche acts connect with fans, Kinken said.

“Tim and Eric is pretty out there,” he said. “Even I don’t understand what they’re doing sometimes, but they sell tickets – there’s an audience out there. One thing with the Internet is you can always find somebody out there that is just as fucking weird as you are.”

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