A partnership of organisations have estimated that the value of the UK live comedy sector is worth in excess of £1billion to the UK economy. A survey of over 350 people working in the UK Live Comedy Sector has found that the turnover of their activities is worth in excess of £82million per year. The Live Comedy Association, British Comedy Guide and Centre for Comedy Studies Research (Brunel University; London) know that this is just a snapshot of the sector and doesn’t include arena ticket sales, streaming revenues or other areas of income in the UK. 67% of responders were comedians, and the other 33% were people working as promoters, producers, venue managers, festival organisers or agents. Further data analysis and research will now be carried out, with the full results of the survey and further information published later this year in a joint report by Dr Sharon Lockyer and Dr Simon Weaver from Brunel University London.
Jess Toomey, Co-Chair of the Live Comedy Association said “we are delighted with the initial results of the survey and want to thank everyone who completed it. Although the survey was anonymous, it is clear that a broad range of people working in live comedy answered the questions and gave us valuable data. We know more about a part of the sector but we now want to do more work to quantify the total amounts generated. We can use the initial results to continue to lobby and advocate to the new government and policy makers to help all those who do such amazing work. We will now work through the results in more detail and we will report in more detail later this year.”
43% of people who work off stage and responded to the survey are sole traders, whilst the same number report themselves as working for a limited company. 93% of comedians are sole traders or work alone. 64% of organisations have been working in live comedy for more than 10 years, with 10% operating for less than 2 years. 57% of comedians who responded to the survey have been performing for more than 11 years. 65% of comedians reported that the majority of their bookings come from individual comedy bookers.
Around 80% of people who work off stage promote live comedy in venues with capacities less than 250 people highlighting the “grass roots” nature of the sector. 45% of responders who work off stage report they regularly sell between 71-90% of their available tickets, suggesting attendance across the board is pretty healthy. The survey suggests that more live comedy shows are taking place outside the capital, with the shows being promoted across the North West and Midlands both scoring well in terms of the number of shows taking place in those regions. Some responses recorded the growth in gigs on cruise ships and also the continued opportunities of gigging internationally.
David Elphick, co-Chair of the Live Comedy Association, said “the contribution live comedy makes to the UK is really important and we now have a much better sense of the detail behind this. We now know, for example, that live comedy is more accessible than theatre with average ticket prices for comedy being almost 23% cheaper than for theatre. We also know that the majority of live comedy helps support the night time economy across the country, with almost 48% of venues being based in city centres. We also know that between 5-10 jobs are supported in venues, in addition to those directly associated with the performances.”
Ticket prices are fairly accessible compared to theatre with 43% reporting prices are between £13-£18. 48% of venues are based in city centres, but 19% are in town centres. 68% of venues sell both food & drink, and comedy shows support an additional 5-10 jobs in venues which are used for shows. 41% of people working off stage report their audiences are fairly local, travelling less than 10 miles to get to shows.
Director of Centre for Comedy Studies Research (Brunel University London), Dr Sharon Lockyer, said “we are delighted with the initial results from the survey. We are pretty confident there has never been a survey like this before and the results give us an incredible insight into the contribution live comedy makes to the UK. We also know how amazingly diverse the sector is, with survey responses from a real mix of people at different stages of their careers.
The results suggest the financial contribution live comedy makes to the economy and also the broader value of the sector. The contribution to supporting charities and fund raising is impressive, so are the informal training and development opportunities on offer. 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.”
People booking acts have a commitment to supporting new and emerging talent with 13% mainly booking emerging acts in addition to 16% who mainly book established acts. 72% of people working off stage, who responded to the survey, believe their main contribution is in adding to a vibrant cultural offer in their community whilst 65% help celebrate British comedy and a sense of humour. 57% of people working off stage give opportunities for people to develop their skills off stage, by working on shows and events, with 31% going on to get paid employment in the industry. 80% host shows to raise money for charities and 51% get involved in community projects or activities. 84% of comedians perform in support of charities or community projects each year.
Almost 70% of comedians who responded to the survey don’t have any representation and work alone to get live work although 38% are part of a union, or trade organisation who provides some support to them when required. 39% are reporting that their income has increased in the last 12 months. 50% are claiming their live comedy careers are growing.
The partnership behind the survey will now start commencing the number crunching and looking at the responses in more detail. A full report will be published later this year together with an event due to take place as part of Leicester Comedy Festival 2025.
