Over the past two years, COVID-19 battered the live entertainment industry with illness, lockdowns, closures, postponements and capacity restrictions. But in the same time period, talent agents have seen a revival in stand-up comedy, driven partly by surprisingly strong demand for live shows.
“We’ve got more acts touring in a bigger way, really than ever before,” said Matt Blake, the head of the comedy touring department for Creative Artists Agency.
The boomlet can be credited, in part, to the comparative advantages of staging live comedy versus live music during a prolonged pandemic.
“You’re a lot more flexible with a comedian than with a music act,” said CAA’s Blake.
Whereas major musical acts tend to require complex logistical arrangements, involving large caravans of buses, crammed with personnel and equipment, comedians typically travel light. At a moment’s notice, they can hop on a plane and do a show with little tactical support and minimal, if any, rehearsal time.
“It’s just a heck of a lot easier,” said Sam Kinken, who oversees comedy touring at AEG Presents.
“I’ve got a Sebastian Maniscalco show coming up in Davenport, Iowa,” Kinken said. “I’m just going to travel there and run the show. No other person needed. We do the show, and then we probably go have dinner.”
Nick Nuciforo, head of comedy touring at United Talent Agency Inc., said that it wasn’t just the nimble nature of a smaller production, but also the sudden availability of high-profile venues. “Spots opened up at places like Red Rocks. Usually, you’d have to fight to get a date there,” he said.
One of Blake’s clients, Gabriel Iglesias, will shoot a new special as part of Netflix Inc.’s upcoming comedy festival, which will take place at venues throughout Los Angeles starting in April. “He’ll be the first comedian to ever play Dodger Stadium,” Blake said.
Beyond comedy’s logistical advantages, there’s a sense in the industry that something more momentous is afoot.
“Comedy is kind of having a moment right now in a way that it hasn’t had for a while,” Kinken said.
In 2019, only five of the top 100 touring acts in North America were comedians, according to Pollstar. But since the onset of COVID-19, that figure has more than doubled. In that same time frame, multiple comedians — including Dave Chappelle, Sebastian Maniscalco, Gabriel Iglesias, Jo Koy, Jeff Dunham, Jerry Seinfeld, Jim Gaffigan and Bert Kreischer — have cracked the top 50.
There are various theories about what might be stoking the greater demand. Joe Meloche, a comedy manager with Arsonhouse Entertainment, compares the appetite for comedy during dark epochs of public life to that of alcohol — when the world is feeling down, comedy consumption goes up.
“People are looking for laughter in a stressful time,” Meloche said. “I think we’re seeing that in the pandemic. It’s unity through laughter.”
The broader tectonic changes in how media is distributed and consumed, industry sources say, have also contributed to the dynamic. In particular, the advent of various social media networks and digital platforms has created a massive new incubator of comedic talent.
With the rise of YouTube, TikTok, Instagram and podcasts, new comedians are routinely popping up without having ever stepped in a club or performed on a late night show. Direct-to-consumer tools also make it more efficient for artists to mobilize their most ardent fans to turn out for live performances.
“Comedy has grown exponentially,” Meloche said. “There are more comics, more people doing it.”
The phenomenon known as Peak TV has also helped fuel the demand for touring comedians. Since 2016, when Ted Sarandos first lured Chris Rock to Netflix with a massive payday, the giant streaming service has been pouring money into stand-up comedy. Along the way, the number of specials released by the streamer has grown from 12 in 2015 to 44 in 2020, according to What’s On Netflix. The buying spree has bolstered the careers of many established comics and helped to mint new stars.
“When you’re talking about specials that propelled an artist’s career, Bo Burnham is the North Star,” UTA’s Nuciforo said. “It was so well received. Artistically, it was fantastic. It’s put him into an entirely different plane as an artist.”
“We had a client Jimmy O. Yang who had a special come out on Amazon, over COVID,” CAA’s Blake said. “And now he’s out and touring at a completely different level just because so many people got a chance to see his special and realize what an amazing stand-up he is. Now they’re going out to buy tickets. Specials feed the ecosystem.”
Hopes are running high for the year ahead. In late February, according to Pollstar’s Concert Global Pulse, which ranks artists by average box office gross over the previous three months, two comedians — Sebastian Maniscalco and Trevor Noah — were hovering in the top 15 in the world.
“I couldn’t be more optimistic,” CAA’s Blake said. “Everything is doing so well. Tickets are selling.”
