Major report find stagnant wages and an unequal playing field

It’s a £1billion-a-year industry – but live comedy is blighted by low wages and is failing to do enough to help those from marginalised groups break into the business.

Those are the findings of a major new report, which paints a decidedly a mixed picture of the state of the sector. While concluding that live comedy has a ‘significant economic, social, and cultural impact’, the authors say it faces ‘pressing challenges’ including ‘worsening economic conditions’

Researchers surveyed 366 industry professionals  – two-thirds of them comedians and the others promoters, venue managers and agents – and found pay stagnation was a critical issue. 

Many comedians reported little or no increase in fees, with one saying: ‘There are really established venues in the UK where ticket prices have increased but fees are the same. no one says anything out of fear they will lose work.

Another aid: ‘The money a comedian gets for circuit gigs is almost exactly the same as it was 30 years ago. It has barely gone up a penny while expenses have more or less tripled.’

The average annual income for comedians who chose to fill in the survey was £26,778, although he methodology means it’s hard to draw wider conclusions about earnings.

There was certainly stark variation across comics with some having zero or £20 turnover and others reporting up to £600,000. On average, each comedian performed 3.2 shows per week.

Around half those who completed the questionnaire had been in comedy for a decade or more, with just eight per cent performing for less than two years – although in reality the open-mic circuit of newcomers is much larger than the professional one.

One comic noted: ‘It's getting harder to earn a living doing entertainment. With the cost of living, home entertainment, social media and shorter attention spans, we need a rethink of the whole comedy and entertainment industry.’

Rising travel costs, a chaotic public transport system and 'stupidly high' Edinburgh Fringe rents were listed as creating economic barriers  to comedians’ earning potential. 

Performers said they supplement their live comedy with social media work, acting, voiceovers, improv, theatre gigs and/or comedy teaching, and cruise ship gigs.

An issue of some promoters and venues not paying fees promptly was also raised.

The total annual turnover of comedy organisations who responded was £77million, with an average just shy of £1million. However, there was again huge variation with some comedy organisations having zero turnover while others taking £20million.

The study’s authors –  the Live Comedy Association, Centre for Comedy Studies Research and British Comedy Guide –  put the size of the sector at £1billion in preliminary findings first reported last July. The figure would put live comedy on a par with the UK fishing industry in terms of economic impact.

Although this is an order of magnitude larger than revealed by their survey, the report’s authors told Chortle: ‘We used publicly available data to look at agencies, management, producer companies and others to calculate the overall economic impact of the UK live comedy sector and found it was in excess of £1billion’

The consortium are calling for live comedy to be recognised and supported by the UK government and other official bodies. Currently, for example, stand-up cannot access Arts Council grants. 

Jessica Toomey of the Live Comedy Association, said: ‘This report - the most comprehensive of its kind to date - shows in tangible terms the size and value live comedy offers, both creatively and economically in its estimated over £1 billion turnover per year. 

‘However, live comedy is not currently recognised by the UK government as a vital part of the creative industries which means the various components of live comedy, including performers, venues and organisations can’t access support available to art forms can.’

And political comedian Matt Forde added: ‘Live comedy is an integral part of our British culture, identity and economy. Despite this, it is often excluded from official conversations about the arts. Worse, it has been denied the sort of financial support that other art forms routinely receive. 

‘Comedy embodies everything that makes Britain great: our sense of humour, our entrepreneurial spirit, our freedoms, our diversity and our desire to rip the piss out of the powerful. The government needs to recognise live comedy as a valid and important part of our arts and culture. The exclusion of comedy must end.’

The researchers said they survey also ‘exposes ongoing issues related to gender inequality, ageism, and barriers faced by LGBTQ+, BAME, disabled, and comedians from lower socio-economic backgrounds’. 

One respondent said that ageism was 'the big elephant in the room' as the sector is interested in 'up and coming' rather than 'hugely experienced’ acts.

Another said: ‘There are huge wage disparities in terms of what women comedians are offered to gig, the scale of those gigs, and how experienced they are when offered them, compared to men.’

The report’s authors recommend working towards a sector-wide code of conduct and improving working conditions for underrepresented groups, such as safe travel schemes and access improvements for comedians with disabilities.

However, Dr Sharon Lockyer, director of  the Centre for Comedy Studies Research based in Brunel University London, noted: ‘It seems there is a healthy number of people entering the sector, either as comedians or off-stage, partly due to the commitment across the board of supporting new and emerging talent.’

The report also claimed a London and South East dominance in live comedy, with 31 per cent of comedians based in these regions – slightly more than the 27 per cent of the UK population that live there.

And on a positive note, it found that 80 per cent of comedy organisations raised money for charity, including hosting benefit gigs.

Michael Kill, CEO of the Night Time Industries Association said: ‘Comedy is a cornerstone of the UK’s cultural economy, yet it remains underfunded and overlooked. The findings of this survey are an urgent call for action to ensure live comedy’s continued success. We fully support the recommendations outlined in this report and call for a collaborative effort to secure the future of live comedy.'

Read the full findings of the UK Live Comedy Sector Survey here. The organisers plan to repeat this survey every year so they can monitor any progress being made.

Published: 6 Feb 2025