For a long time, a comedian's career ran through clubs, theaters and, with some luck, a TV special. Now independent comedians have more ways to reach people and get paid. This guide covers how the options work, a royalty most comedians don't know about, and what to get in order before you try any of it.

Your income options, from most common to least

Live shows and touring. For most comedians, this is still the base. Ticket sales, guarantees and door deals pay the bills, and every set is a chance to build the audience that pays for everything else.

Ad-supported streaming channels. Free channels like Nagast TV on Roku carry content that earns through advertising. Arrangements vary by channel, so ask exactly how a deal works before you sign.

Licensing a special. You can license a recorded special to a platform for a fee. Read the term carefully: how long, which countries and whether it's exclusive.

Pay-per-view and ticketed live streams. You sell access to one event directly to fans. More on this below.

Comedy albums. The audio of your special can be released as an album on streaming services. That opens up royalties most comedians never collect.

Podcasts, clips and social video. These usually aren't the main income, but they build the audience that follows you from place to place.

Merch, books and digital products. These turn fans into customers. A shirt with your best line on it can outsell a ticket.

How pay-per-view works

Pay-per-view is simple. A viewer pays one price to watch one event, like a live show or a new special, instead of subscribing to a channel.

You or your producer set the price and promote the event. After the platform takes its fees, you get a share of the sales. It works best when you already have fans who are excited enough to pay for something specific.

Questions to ask any PPV platform:

  • What percentage do they keep, and are there extra processing fees?
  • When do you get paid, and how?
  • Who owns the recording afterward?
  • Can fans watch a replay, and for how long?
  • Do you get the buyers' email addresses? This matters more than people think.

The royalty most comedians miss

Here's something a lot of comedians don't know. A recorded comedy track, like music, involves two separate copyrights: one for the recording, and one for the written material underneath it, meaning your jokes.

For years, comedians mostly collected only on the recording side. In the U.S., SoundExchange collects royalties for some non-music recordings, including comedy, when they're played on non-interactive digital services like satellite radio. But the traditional music PROs' blanket licenses didn't cover spoken word.

In 2020, a company called Spoken Giants launched to administer royalties for the written side of spoken-word work: comedians, podcasters and speechwriters. It was founded by a former BMI executive and the co-founders of the comedy label 800 Pound Gorilla Records. The push hasn't been smooth. In late 2021, during a dispute over these rights, Spotify pulled many comedy albums. But it changed how a lot of comedians think about their material.

What to do: if you have comedy albums out, make sure you're registered with SoundExchange. Then look into whether a spoken-word rights administrator makes sense for your catalog. Read any agreement carefully before signing.

What to get in order before you sell a special

  1. Own your material and the recording. Make sure the jokes are yours and you have the right to distribute the recording. If a producer or venue paid for the shoot, get ownership in writing.
  2. Clear your music. Any music in your intro, walk-on, transitions or playing in the room needs to be licensed or removed. Unlicensed music is one of the fastest ways to get a special pulled.
  3. Get releases. Venues and audiences may require signed releases or posted notices when an event is recorded. If you do crowd work, the people you talk to will be on camera.
  4. Get clean audio. Good sound matters more than an expensive camera. Have the mic fed directly into the recorder, and record the room separately for laughter.
  5. Shoot with more than one angle. Even two cameras make editing much easier.
  6. Set a price your audience will actually pay. Better to sell lots of tickets at a fair price than a handful at a high one.
  7. Have a promotion plan. Start promoting two to three weeks out, with clips, a trailer and reminders.
  8. Keep your records in one place. Contracts, releases, licenses and payment records. A rights ledger works for comedy too.

What we're working on at Nagast TV

We're looking at offering pay-per-view events alongside the free programming on our Roku channel. The details aren't final, and we'll share them when they are.

If you're a comedian who wants in, reach out on our contact page. And if the business side of this interests you, our eBook The Black Box looks at the money comedians, pastors and influencers leave on the table.

Nobody can promise income here, and results vary. This is general information, not legal or financial advice.