Comics who laugh all the way to the bank
Saturday, 29 September 2007
Luke Johnson
I always say to foreigners that if they want to understand the British they need to realise the importance we place on a good sense of humour. But enjoying a laugh is not just about having fun: it is also about making money for a number of professionals. The comedy industry is big business in this country.
For a start, every August we host the world's largest comedy festival - the Edinburgh Fringe, where hundreds of comics give thousands of performances. It is an ideal showcase to rehearse new material and get spotted by producers on the lookout for talent. Live stand-up is really a cultural phenomenon of the Anglophile universe. It is popular in America, Canada, Ireland and Australia - but almost unheard of elsewhere.
The live circuit here is probably not as vibrant as 10 years ago, when the alternative comedy scene was fresher, but nevertheless major acts like Little Britain, Peter Kay and Bill Bailey can fill 5,000-seat venues on tour all over the country.
The economics of stand-up comedy are compelling compared to virtually any other form of live entertainment. Often there is just one main act - a single writer/performer, with none of the elaborate sets and cast required for drama, musicals - or even bands. Yet tickets for names such as Ricky Gervais or Jimmy Carr can still command £40. That means the gross receipts for a major tour can exceed £5m. Blue-chip names do not have to give the majority of theatres a guarantee, so a straight box-office split protects the promoter's downside.
For most comics the proceeds from a national tour vastly outweigh the fees from performing on television. But, of course, it is prime time exposure via TV that builds a fan base and reputation. And DVD sales of filmed tours and TV series are hugely important to earnings. Radio and book sales are helpful ways to supplement income and grow popularity. A lucrative sideline for many acts is the corporate after-dinner circuit. Someone like Rory Bremner commands a fee of about £10,000 for one gig.
In the 1970s and 1980s the UK exported hits such as The Benny Hill Show and Monty Python's Flying Circus to the US, while Mr Bean has been a huge cinema success for Rowan Atkinson worldwide. But generally UK productions have to be formatted for American consumption, since the networks there like long series runs, which the British tend not to commission.
Despite the critical success of shows such as The Office, comedy on television has been stagnant for years in terms of viewers. The days when Only Fools and Horses and The Morecambe and Wise Show would get an audience of 15m are long gone. In America too, the studios are making far fewer situation comedies than they used to: there is unlikely to ever be a success to match Friends, which built its popularity before the internet took off.
These trends may be cyclical, but clips on YouTube will not break talent the way hour-long shows broadcast by traditional mass media once did.
Of all areas of the entertainment scene, comedy is the least susceptible to corporate influence. Perhaps that is because so often performers also write much of their own material. This gives them more of an ability to dictate their own terms.
In my experience comedians are less interested in selling out and more interested in simply making audiences laugh. Moreover comedians have always played a subversive role in satirising authority - it is part of their role in society. I have staged comedy shows in London and Edinburgh and seen the buzz that comics get from generating a response from the crowd. That is why they do the job.
The British like to see themselves as witty, and there is money to be made out of our funny outlook on life. But like so many niche fields, we are in danger of becoming complacent and losing our pre-eminence. Broadcasters, publishers, venues and talent must experiment - and invest - if we are to recapture past glories.
I hope the comedy business experiences a revival soon. After all, as Sebastian Chamfort, French satirist, said: "The most thoroughly wasted of all days is that on which one has not laughed."
I always say to foreigners that if they want to understand the British they need to realise the importance we place on a good sense of humour. But enjoying a laugh is not just about having fun: it is also about making money for a number of professionals. The comedy industry is big business in this country.
For a start, every August we host the world's largest comedy festival - the Edinburgh Fringe, where hundreds of comics give thousands of performances. It is an ideal showcase to rehearse new material and get spotted by producers on the lookout for talent. Live stand-up is really a cultural phenomenon of the Anglophile universe. It is popular in America, Canada, Ireland and Australia - but almost unheard of elsewhere.
The live circuit here is probably not as vibrant as 10 years ago, when the alternative comedy scene was fresher, but nevertheless major acts like Little Britain, Peter Kay and Bill Bailey can fill 5,000-seat venues on tour all over the country.
The economics of stand-up comedy are compelling compared to virtually any other form of live entertainment. Often there is just one main act - a single writer/performer, with none of the elaborate sets and cast required for drama, musicals - or even bands. Yet tickets for names such as Ricky Gervais or Jimmy Carr can still command £40. That means the gross receipts for a major tour can exceed £5m. Blue-chip names do not have to give the majority of theatres a guarantee, so a straight box-office split protects the promoter's downside.
For most comics the proceeds from a national tour vastly outweigh the fees from performing on television. But, of course, it is prime time exposure via TV that builds a fan base and reputation. And DVD sales of filmed tours and TV series are hugely important to earnings. Radio and book sales are helpful ways to supplement income and grow popularity. A lucrative sideline for many acts is the corporate after-dinner circuit. Someone like Rory Bremner commands a fee of about £10,000 for one gig.
In the 1970s and 1980s the UK exported hits such as The Benny Hill Show and Monty Python's Flying Circus to the US, while Mr Bean has been a huge cinema success for Rowan Atkinson worldwide. But generally UK productions have to be formatted for American consumption, since the networks there like long series runs, which the British tend not to commission.
Despite the critical success of shows such as The Office, comedy on television has been stagnant for years in terms of viewers. The days when Only Fools and Horses and The Morecambe and Wise Show would get an audience of 15m are long gone. In America too, the studios are making far fewer situation comedies than they used to: there is unlikely to ever be a success to match Friends, which built its popularity before the internet took off.
These trends may be cyclical, but clips on YouTube will not break talent the way hour-long shows broadcast by traditional mass media once did.
Of all areas of the entertainment scene, comedy is the least susceptible to corporate influence. Perhaps that is because so often performers also write much of their own material. This gives them more of an ability to dictate their own terms.
In my experience comedians are less interested in selling out and more interested in simply making audiences laugh. Moreover comedians have always played a subversive role in satirising authority - it is part of their role in society. I have staged comedy shows in London and Edinburgh and seen the buzz that comics get from generating a response from the crowd. That is why they do the job.
The British like to see themselves as witty, and there is money to be made out of our funny outlook on life. But like so many niche fields, we are in danger of becoming complacent and losing our pre-eminence. Broadcasters, publishers, venues and talent must experiment - and invest - if we are to recapture past glories.
I hope the comedy business experiences a revival soon. After all, as Sebastian Chamfort, French satirist, said: "The most thoroughly wasted of all days is that on which one has not laughed."