The Economics Of Stand Up Comedy

October 18, 2016 in Daily Bulletin

Lindsay Goldwert wrote about the stand up comedy world:

  • Amateur comedians actually have to pay to perform – and hope that they build their name or maybe get some tips at the end.
  • But even the world’s top comedians will perform for free. They’ll do it to test out new jokes before releasing it to a more serious paying audience.
  • A topical joke – say about something that one of the Presidential candidates said – can be told for about six months, but loses potency soon after.
  • Jokes also follow the laws of supply and demand. If there are multiple comedians making jokes about Donald Trump’s hair, then the audience will soon tire and stop laughing.

Read the full article, which goes onto talk about stolen jokes in the age of social media, on Quartz.