Pay the Comics: 6 Ways Comedy Clubs Can Improve

​Most comics sit in the green rooms of venues complaining about the way comics are treated, paid, and move up the ranks in the club scene. Considering comics are complainers by nature, this is very normal, and while none of the problems of comedy are solved in those tight spaces behind the stages they perform on, the type of complaints brought up are very valid, if not inherently solvable. Yest solving a problem like comedy stage time, pay, and getting "passed" can't just be "do better" or just "pay out of the food and beverage" profits. That's like a coach telling an athlete, "Be more athletic and score more points." Ok, but how? 

I once took a speech class where we were supposed to solve a problem in society. The professor used Homelessness as an issue to solve. Most of my freshman college classmates said, "build more homes." There. Problem. Solved.

Well, not so fast Speed Racer. Immediately, I saw the flaw in that logic. Just because there are more homes doesn't mean the homeless have the money to buy or maintain a home. Nor, can we just provide free homes to people that will properly take care of them. No, the reason people are homeless is because of a lack of income and various issues including substance abuse, education, mental illness, and various life choices that make sleeping in a car more economical than paying rent.
My suggestion in class was to provide more state funded education in the trades (one year programs), mental health resources, rent control, incentivizing church community outreach, and affordable rehab options. Or tax dollars go somewhere, maybe there instead of other programs. Once the homeless can function at a higher level socially and economically, they should be able to benefit from those resources and society benefits too. They don't need houses - they need roadmaps to pay for shelter.  

Same thing goes with making changes in comedy. Clubs can't just "pay comics more" or "charge more" for food and beverage to cover costs. There has to methodical strategies, and while there are many healthy clubs in the country, most are ticking time bombs ready to implode. So here are a few ways clubs can thrive, comics can get paid, and everyone wins. 

Earmark Revenue So Everyone Gets Paid 
Comedy clubs are unique from other venues as comedy clubs have labor laws, payroll, rent, and insurance to pay for the business to operate. Your bar show that has an entertainment budget or paying out of ticket sales doesn't worry about payroll tax and OSHA. The venue might but the producer doesn't. Yet most clubs make a huge mistake in looking at all revenue as the pot of gold and instead of breaking down where the money is funneling from, they make blanket business budgets and then look at the comics and say, "can't you after costs." They collect ticket sales, food and beverage, merch, gift cards, comedy classes, open mics, etc. then pay out their legal obligations and by the time they get to comics, the owners are exhausted mentally and physically. Had they funneled the pay at first, it would be must easier. 

So over time, comics allow clubs to use them for free, and now it's a giant war between comics and clubs.

Legally, the clubs don't have to pay independent contactors who agree to do free work. Comics can't agree to do a show for free, realize it's a packed room and ask for a cut of the door. Those deals need to be made when negotiating the show details, but the club will usually say they can't pay because they don't know how much they'll make. 

The problem with that logic is they could just allow a simple percentage deal where they earmark ticket sales as the way to pay comics, knowing they can create a sliding scale. If clubs put aside 75%-80% of ticket sales revenue, reduced the number of comics, rotated more comics into spots, and had a sliding scale with a baseline of $50/show and it goes up as ticket sales go up, there would be a real potential of growth. If they max out the pay at $250 to showcase, there would at least be a range to budget. Headliner weekends would be mostly door deals or a flat scale where the comics get a percentage, but since most LA shows are showcases, the club can easily earmark accordingly.  
Let the food and drink cover operations, and give the comics what they drove in and keep the remaining 20% to help cover the base pay for future shows that don't work out as well. Another aspect to this would be only booking 5-6 comics for 15-20 sets, instead of giving bringers, headliners, guests traveling through, etc. endless opportunities. Narrow the talent and spread the wealth. Showcases with 10 comics just produces 10 bitter unpaid comics.  

Let's say the club sells 50 tickets and makes $1,000 - they can pass on over $125 a comic and keep the rest plus food, beverage, service charges, etc. Instead of just paying a flat $25 a comic and keeping the rest, the comics will be more enticed to have better shows and now the crowds win too.  

Reduce the Amount of Shows 
The other way to build this plan up is to reduce shows. By focusing on a Thursday through Sunday model, clubs reduce labor by eliminating three days a week. This also forces clubs to think more strategically about their lineups. When these B LA clubs are open every night, thinking cash flow is survival, they actually hurt the quality of the experience. Heck, even the A Clubs in West Hollywood are struggling to fill seats. Pot Luck can move to Wednesdays or Thursdays if it had to. It's the bad nights with a normal group of employees that suck up the profits. Whether the show has 10 or 300, wages are wages.    

Comedy club shows should be a weekend focused business model. By narrowing the amount of shows, clubs can run more specially curated shows. Mainstream comedy on the early show and more alt shows later.  Or let the headliner door deals take one spot and give the showcases the other slot. Rarely can even the best comics sell out four or five shows at $25-$40 a ticket. 

By reducing shows, venues can be selective and pay accordingly. When clubs are churning out 15-25 shows a week, they are asking for an unstable business model and it takes away value from the show. A potential comedy customer will see they can go any night of the week and then never go. Had the club only offered shows specific nights, guests have to go or wait a whole week. People don't need 20 options. They need 5-8 options. The In-N-Out model works great for comedy. Small menu and drive up demand. The McDonald's or Starbucks model of comedy works if shows are fast, cheap, and drive thru comedy. But shows last 90-100 minutes. So If you're dedicating a night of the week to a show, it better be good.    

Nurture Comics Instead Of Just Booking the Same Ones   
If clubs are paying comics correctly and selecting based on strategic methods, there has to be real opportunities for future comics that are being told just comic back when you're famous. Comedy clubs aren't successful because famous people drop by. They're successful because the comedy is funny and people know it'll always be funny. But comics need stage time to get better at stand up. They don't need more TikTok time.

Clubs have to tell veterans who suck up spots they started getting 30 years ago to back off and let new talent get those spots. If you're 20 years in and still need the 10-15 minute spots that pay nothing because your ego needs the stage time, then you're just hurting the future generations. What in the hell are 50 year old's hosting for? Why are Netflix comics taking spots from up and comers? Go help 100 seat black box theaters and bar shows. Dropping into The Store once a month while you make a fortune on the road and writing and acting is fine. Being on every lineup for a month for your next special is just maddening. 

Clubs are short sighted and forget the famous comics they market now were once unknowns they nurtured through doorman jobs, hosting, and working with other venues to get them stage time. Mitzi Shore and Bud Friedman used unknowns to build the comedy scene in LA. The current owners and bookers are using many of the same names that dropped in during the 1980's. At some point stand up will fade away because only the content creators will have the fanbase and the grinding comics will not have the stage experience to battle rowdy crowds and off nights.       

Rent is Killing Comedy
If anyone wants to know why some clubs thrive while others struggle, the reason could be rent v. ownership. In the 1970's the clubs were bought up and now stand as landmarks. This means the money coming in goes directly to owners, payroll, comics, etc. The clubs that are drowning probably have to pay ridiculous rent prices. In fact, some places have rent go up when the venue does more business, so it's in the club's incentive to increase revenue actually is defeated by a poor man's attitude. 

Or at least, small minded owners look at it that way. If you ever think about getting into the club business, just know that owning is the only way to go. Because once you pay off the building, all the revenue is potential profit. So many comedy clubs are burning cash on buildings that they'll never own, which also makes it impossible to sell to better potential owners. 

So many clubs see the papering the room model and think it's working because they see it. What they don't know is some clubs benefit from city funds to bring in business like festivals and encourage local property owners to allow for rent free time periods in exchange for the comedy club to pay renovations and generate foot for neighboring businesses owned by the club. So when a new club pops up and tries to model their business model after another club, most times they can't see the behind the scenes parts moving the machine.     

Clubs paying rent would benefit by asking property owners if they could get a few months off where they could combine resources and help promote neighboring businesses. A comedy club getting 800-1,000 guests a week could put coupons in the bill that would help other business and vice versa. When I was at Flappers I used to give workshop tickets to the local cookie door store and then promote them at the workshops. They generated me business and I generated them business. We even ran kids improv there and made the parents buy cookie dough and everyone loved it.  

Strategize a Marketing Budget
If you want to know a dark secret about most clubs it's that they have little to no marketing budget. Once they pay labor, vendors, and rent there isn't much left, but if they used the ticket revenue correctly, they'd have a better shot at creating a true marketing campaign where they'd have digital ads and use cookies so people visit the website and then see ads the next 48 hours. 

Most clubs rely on grassroots social media posts and comics promoting. If it's Jerry Seinfeld on X promoting, it will sell out. If it's Open Micer McMickey, maybe the 2-5 friends or a random follower might show up. In my experience, a little money on Facebook and Instagram ads can go a long way. If they properly A/B test by trying generic flyers and more date specific, they might see what works best. Instead, they run the same ads, regardless of the success rate.   

When I co-produce my Teacher Lounge theater shows and Budweiser corporate shows, we strategized by getting the community the info. Flyers and info was sent to teachers in local school districts in cities we visited, selling hundreds of tickets, filling out theaters. With My Valley Pass and Budweiser, the focus was on the San Fernando Valley. We sold out in weeks. $45 tickets are easier to sell when people know the show exists. Don't just do a blast email, but instead spend time creating a plan. This goes back to my don't be open 7 days a week idea. If the marketing teams or bookers had a day off, they could be a on phone call with local groups instead of trying to book a crappy Monday night show. 

Offer Deals Not Comps   
As I talked about in the last article, comping out the room leaves little room for margin to pay the comics. Here are few tricks to get people excited about buying the tickets. Here are things I have done and other clubs do that work:

• Attach a drink or food item to the ticket (Buy one ticket and get a drink, app, or disposable swag) 
• Use a 2 for 1 ticket where people can buy two tickets for the price of one (It's easy revenue from married people on a discount date night)
• Sell VIP seating at an upcharge price to guarantee people better seats (Some people want to spend more to feel special)
• Early bird prices and don't comp at last minute (If you buy the month before, get a lower price)
• Lower prices for less performing hours (Thursday and Sunday night shouldn't cost the same as "date night") 
• Make shows an event to experience (Huge mistake clubs miss. Create an atmosphere.)
• Encourage meet and greets where comics are incentivized to meet guests on the way out (They want to meet you and a few selfies can help the club) 

While these won't fix everything, they will drive in more revenue than just giving away the milk for free. By attaching value and deals, people feel valued and that the ticket they bought has value. It's basic Moneyball. If you haven't seen that movie, go watch it now. 

Final Thoughts
Fixing comedy in a week isn't really realistic. But if I started a club or wanted to fix a club, I know there's a lot I'd do differently, from earmarking profits to creating clear opportunities for younger comics to working with property owners to raise all ships.

People forget modern stand up comedy really didn't start until the 1970's, twenty years after television and fifty years after the movies. Everyone is still learning. The comedy world is still in its early walking phases. Today, comedy specials are the number one form of streaming entertainment in ways HBO specials never dreamed of being. Hell, Netflix would be smart to invest in clubs to pay comics as well, since their reality shows rely on that talent.  

​But everything starts with finding ways to pay the comics and build the brand of the club out. And yes, your comedy matters to the success of the club, but their strategies are the way the club survives.