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Hidden costs mean many comedians make zero profit from festival runs
Hidden costs mean many comedians make zero profit from festival runs. Doing a run of shows at the Melbourne International Comedy Festival is the pinnacle for a lot of Australian comedians, but the festival's tens of thousands of punters are rarely privy to the behind-the-scenes costs.
posted by chariot pulled by cassowaries on Apr 16, 2026 at 6:25 AM
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For americans like me: punter
posted by falsedmitri at 7:06 AM
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I'm currently watching the anime, Oshi no Ko, which takes a sharp look at the idol scene. It appears to be much the same; for all of the "glamor" of being a pop idol, there isn't a lot of money in it after paying off the costumer, the venue and the agency.
posted by SPrintF at 9:07 AM
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The Edinburgh fringe has similar costs. I don't think this is anything new, festivals are primarily about self promotion rather than generating income.
posted by Lanark at 9:36 AM
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The UCB Del Close Marathon takes the opposite tack - they provide the venue and promotion, but (like all UCB shows) you don't get paid.
I guess I never really thought about the logistics. I've got some experience doing fringe-y theater, the reality of fronting your own show costs seems somewhat standard, but I if I'm understanding the article correctly it still seems a little miserly in terms of what a large festival could do. I would expect that the festival cuts deals with venues (ideally for improved rates), even building line-ups for shows (since they have all the performer profile info). Still no help on the money, but I guess 'well, we put you on the website, now go find a venue, a date and do your promo' doesn't feel like much of a reward for getting in.
I mean, I understand the math of bringer shows, so it's not entirely unexpected to see this happen at the scale of the festival, but seeing that little effort on the part of the festival would make me more skeptical of what it's providing to me as a potential audience member in terms of curation.
posted by 99_ at 11:17 AM
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The high cost of festival appearances is marginal to the opportunity of networking, reportage and exposure. I'm hosting two mirthful community organising and fundraising workshops at the Rik Mayall Comedy Festival in May and June. Hope you can come!
posted by parmanparman at 12:37 PM
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Reminds me of paying Interns nothing (sometimes they pay you) for the "experience" and "networking".
posted by aleph at 1:07 PM
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