Pricing Your Comedy Act For The Corporate Marketplace
Assuming that you have a stand-up comedy act that is appropriate for the corporate marketplace and you have 45+ minutes of clean comedy material to offer…
One of the questions that comes up frequently is “How do I price myself for those sorts of events?”
There are at least two important questions that I would always ask when approached for corporate comedy work:
1. How many people will be attending the event?
2. What kind of budget do you have for entertainment?
For this article, I’m going to focus on the first question involving the number of people attending the event.
For the sake of illustration, let’s say that you have been approached about performing at a corporate event that will have 100 people in attendance.
If those folks were to go to a comedy club as the “entertainment” part of their event…
1. They would have to either provide transportation or have everyone meet at the comedy club.
Either way, there is some transportation expense involved.
2. Let’s assume that the cover charge to get into a comedy club is $10-$20 for a premium weekend comedy show (not a “best of” local comedian night). That means the organizers of the event would need to have a budget of $1000-$2000 just to get everyone into the club for a stand-up comedy show.
3. Let’s assume that there is a two drink minimum at the comedy club and that drinks are priced at $5 apiece. That’s an additional expense of $10 per head or $1000.
Bottom line:
As you can see, it would cost roughly $1000-$2000 for a corporate entity just to pay for the cover charge on a single, premium comedy show at a comedy club for 100 people (not including food, drinks and transportation), using the criteria that I have provided.
In the comedy club market, a headlining stand-up comedian will usually make 50 cents up to $2 per head per show, depending upon attendance. That’s because a comedy club bears all the expense for the venue, advertising and promotion, bar inventory, food inventory, staff, equipment and building maintenence, ultilities, insurance, comedians, etc.
But outside that market, you ARE the show. So, don’t sell yourself short.
I recommend that comedians who work in the corporate market or other markets outside the comedy club market have a minimum fee (ie: $1000-$1500) but to ALWAYS consider how many people will be in attendance when it comes to pricing their comedy act.
Last but not least…
What I have just provided you also gives you a very easy way to justify your entertainment fees to those who inquire about hiring you as a comedian outside the comedy club market.
Cheers,
Steve Roye
The Professor of Funny for Money
About the Author/Founder of the SCP Blog
Steve Roye is the author of the Killer Stand-up Comedy System and is a globally recognized expert in the field of stand-up comedy material development and presentation strategies -- for entertainers as well as speaking professionals.Please check out the Featured Articles page for direct links to articles on this blog for pro comedians, comedy entertainers, and speaking professionals.
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Tagged with: comedy club • comedy income • Corporate Comedy • corporate marketplace • talent pricing
Filed under: Comedian Pay
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Awesome post Steve!
Thanks for that. It’s always a concern; you don’t want to outprice yourself, but you don’t want to get less than you should. As a fellow comic once told me, “If you don’t make them spit their coffee when you quote your price, you haven’t charged enough.”
One other small piece of advice: I always ask for a letter of reference if they liked my act, so that I can provide that to another company should they require one and aren’t sure of your ability. It’s not always crucial, but having that as an extra point, whether they want to see that or not, helps sell them on the fact that you’re experienced and valued in that market.