The opportunities in the Stand-up comedy business are not the same as they once were. Comedy actually reached its "Heyday" back in the late '80's. Those were the 'good old days' when there was a comedy club within easy driving distance of just about everywhere…well, at least one-niters, which were particularly prevalent in smaller communities. There was a frenzy that existed back then, when everyone was into Stand-up Comedy.

It was very easy to sell comedy shows to "hungry" venues. Comedy rooms were packed on a nightly basis and generated huge numbers of Food & Beverage revenue for owners who jumped on the "band wagon". They recognized a good thing and went for it. They would put a sign out front, or an ad in the newspaper and people would come…many, many people.

Potential venues would literally have to compete with each other to convince a comedy booker to select their establishment to host the comedy shows. Comedy venues would have to operate within strict guidelines established by the booking agencies. If these guidelines were not followed, the booker would literally pull the show and immediately relocate it to another venue… most times, right down the street!

Those days of professional comedy have pretty much gone by the wayside; as a result of several reasons over a period of many years. The first thing to take a bite of live professional comedy shows was the rise of television recognizing the market that had been staring them in the face, for quite some time. All of a sudden by the early '90's stand-up comedy was everywhere on network television… one show after another. The market became so saturated with comedy, that people became tired of what was once a very anticipated form of entertainment. Everyone got to the point where they did not need to go out to the local comedy club for their comedy fix. All they had to do was kick back in the easy chair, with their favorite drinks and snacks, turn on the TV and enjoy some of the top comedians in the country… FOR FREE! It didn't take long for this concept to catch on with the general public, thus causing attendance to drop drastically at most of the local comedy clubs. As quickly as this business rose to the top, it declined and became unprofitable for many comedy booking companies.

There was a brief resurgence in the overall stand-up comedy business in the late '90's, but not back to the level that was once enjoyed in the '80's. That new boom lasted a couple of years, but began another decline due to many state and local agencies passing more stringent laws, relating to public alcohol consumption, for many bar and restaurant businesses. Many people stayed away from these establishments, not wanting to risk a DUI, after leaving one of those gathering places, that served alcoholic beverages. This is still a major factor today for many bar and restaurant owners in general. Along with these new laws regarding alcohol consumption, came the "No-Smoking" laws adopted by many states. This caused another hit to the bar owners and literally caused a large percentage of these businesses to close. This, in-turn, has resulted in a fewer number of potential comedy venues available to host live comedy shows.

The popularity and level of success of the comedy business, in general, has stayed pretty much at a level, that we experienced up until about one year ago. A new problem has surfaced that has really been hitting the comedy business as much as anything that was experienced in the past. This new problem could be simply labeled…. "Gas Prices". The current level of gas prices has managed to squeeze comedians, bookers and venue owners, from all sides. It has become nearly impossible for comedians to travel outside their general home area to take one-night comedy gigs. Most comics can not afford to travel much more than two to three hours to perform at a comedy venue. With the current price of gasoline, these regional, professional comedians, cannot afford to travel like they once did. Bookers cannot afford to raise the standard payment structure to the comedians, because they are also being hit with the additional expenses that are hitting the comedians. The bookers cannot get the venue owners to step up to the plate and pay more for the comedy shows, because their overall revenues have drastically declined, also as a result of the current gas prices. People in general are staying home more and driving less, trying to find a way to absorb additional expenses, that need to come from their fixed incomes. The first thing that the average individual will do, when being hit with unanticipated financial burdens, will cut out entertainment. That begins a trickle down effect starting at the top of the chain, to the bottom of the chain… which includes the venue, the comedy booker, the comedian and the comedy customer, that can no longer go out and enjoy a night of comedy, drinks and food. This situation is "killing" the professional stand-up comedy business and we need to find a way to stand-up and fight back.

We encourage all of you business owners, bookers, comedians and comedy lovers, to contact your Senators and Representatives to step up and protect your interests in a business that we cannot allow to be destroyed through outrageous, un-justified, high gas prices.