In their recent comedy-themed issue, The Hollywood Reporter published a controversial and unsubstantiated claim about the riches to be mined from the Los Angeles stand-up scene.
In an article that chronicled a ride-along with a comedy agent as he traveled around town for a night of shows, THR noted that “a newer comic just breaking into the L.A. circuit can earn anywhere from $1,250 to $2,500 per week.” Naturally, comedians intimately familiar with the notoriously expensive city’s comedy scene immediately took to Twitter, the stage, and their own podcasts to weigh in on the alleged income possibilities of this so-called “comedy gold rush.”
wut "A newer comic just breaking into the L.A. circuit can earn anywhere from $1,250 to $2,500 per week." https://t.co/c1uh0tIR7Q via @thr
— Laurie Kilmartin (@anylaurie16) June 15, 2018
Did you guys hear that writers for The Hollywood Reporter make one million dollars per article?
— Allen Strickland Williams (@TotallyAllen) June 15, 2018
Sensing that there may be an alternative take on the earning potential for a newcomer to the L.A. stand-up scene, we decided to skip the agents and go straight to the comics for some insight. The men and women we spoke with covered a wide range of backgrounds and career stages, but the one thing they had in common was their wholesale rejection of the notion that a fledgling comic can make a comfortable living from stand-up. With each new comic who shared their struggles, side hustles, and other thoughts about the lack of money in the scene, a bleak new picture, vastly different from the one painted by The Hollywood Reporter, began to take shape. Perhaps, with an inhuman work ethic and an extremely loose interpretation of the term “newer comic,” there is some way to reach the income figures mentioned in that article. But if there are indeed any veins of gold in these comedy hills, the stand-up prospectors of L.A. have yet to strike it.
Moses Storm: I was surprised to be sort of the face of this wildly inaccurate article. He was there, the reporter. He could have just asked me. There’s a photo of me right there.
I’m eight years into comedy. Started in L.A. with a few TV credits and a late-night set and was not even close to earning [the] amount [cited in the article]. Not only have I never made that amount, it’s very hard to make that amount even on the road, and that’s probably the only place you can make money. On a very good week, where you get to do the rare few shows that do pay in L.A., you’re making maybe $51. You do Hot Tub on Monday, which is one of the more premium shows, and you’re getting maybe $20 of the door take. Everyone you see who has multiple Netflix specials and hundreds of TV credits, they’re getting $20 on that stage. The next night, I’ll go to the Improv to do a sold-out show in the main room. That’s $15. I’ll go to the Improv Lab across the way and do a set there. That’s $10. And for all these paid shows to even line up in the same week is so rare. That’s on a very good week.
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The other thing is, most comedians in L.A., to get on other shows, have to run their own shows. So, you’re essentially paying to run a show. I ran a show for five years at Meltdown Comics in its heyday. It was the spot. We had one once a month and I spent about $70 per show to put it on — buying greenroom beer, paying for promotions and any props needed for the variety shows. You’re actively losing money.
And this is coming from a place where I 100 percent can support myself on comedy-related work and acting now. It’s not like I’m an open mic–er and barista. I’m at a very privileged position in my comedy career and that number is so far off. When I first started and was “breaking into the L.A. circuit,” I worked at a nightclub, after hours, 10 p.m. to 9 a.m. I’d sleep for maybe three or four hours, go work at Islands in Burbank. When I got off that, after a four- or five-hour shift, I would then go out and essentially pay to do open mics at places where it would cost $5 to even get onstage. The only way I was ever able to quit those jobs were with things that were not stand-up: booking a Verizon commercial or a Hulu web series. Always side things that had nothing to do with stand-up.
So to paint a picture that live comedy pays, which is quite literally what this article says, is irresponsible. I don’t know many teens in Iowa that are reading The Hollywood Reporter,but if they are, they’re gonna be like me at 18 and trying to add up the numbers, like, Can I survive and sustain myself doing this? To mislead someone with a figure that is beyond an exaggeration and just ridiculous — if you’re making $2,500 a week, that’s $10,000 a month? That’s $120,000 a year?! — it’s irresponsible. Anyone looking to move out to L.A. is desperate for any piece of information that can make them feel better or sway their opinion, and this potential six-figure income now out there? It’s insane. I don’t even know what to say.
I think that a couple clubs would not like the uproar over how little they pay and could stop giving me spots. So, while I would love to be honest, it is not in my best interest. There is no “circuit” in L.A.; it’s just spots at bars, spots at weird venues, and spots at comedy clubs. I can tell you that bar and non-comedy venues pay $0 to $20. I don’t expect any money from a show where a comic is producing the show, just to get stage time. Tonight, I’m doing two spots at shows that are produced by comedians. I have no idea if I’m getting gas money, and I’ll be shocked if I do.
I’ve done Conan twice, Late Late Show once, been on Comedy Central, Netflix, been on everybody’s list of “so and so hot new comedians.” I’m an Emmy nominee and I can tour pretty much anywhere in the country, and I’ve made maybe $500 total doing stand-up in L.A. Period. MAYBE. And all of that was from Hot Tub and a Jewish country club I performed at.
The most money I’ve made from performing at a show in L.A. was around $20. Being paid to perform as a stand-up in Los Angeles is almost nonexistent, especially in the “alternative comedy” scene, of which I am a part. Most of us aren’t in stand-up for the money and are aware that it’s not really viable as a profession until you get successful in other realms of entertainment. Even then, the money comes from doing road gigs. And you always have to do work on the side. I try to make money as a freelance writer and by picking up as many odd jobs as I can (house- or pet-sitting, delivering Postmates, etc.).
To those very few stand-ups who have managed to get money from places like Netflix, congrats. However, the rest of us are in no way making figures even close to $1,500 a week. I’m lucky if I make that much a month. The most money I have made from comedy was with my album, which was self-released. It has been available for purchase online as well as streaming for over a year, but I have yet to make even $1,000 profit.
(Excerpt) Read More at: Vulture.com
