I run an open mic every Monday at Rehab Tavern in Columbus. I added a comedy workshop to help the other comics and myself go over material and bounce ideas and questions off each other. We were just starting when a guy approached everyone, “Hey we just found out about this show. Do you mind if we record you sets?” He was nice, but let me tell you why I said no.
1) Every comic has to have a great five minute audition set ready to go. It’s really tough to record one. The crowd has to be good, you have to be on, and the recording device has to co-operate. Having someone you’ve never met, with no camera in sight, means it’s probably going to be a low quality smartphone that will probably do more damage than good. Trust me, I deleted every video I recorded from the first two years – crappy camera, even worse comedian.
2) I have no idea who this guy is. What is he going to do with this? No paperwork means he could hang onto this for eternity and I have no rights or recourse. Plus, what if they make cash doing this or some other comic loots my material? Neither is likely, but it’s like when everyone at your office is buying lottery tickets. Of course you jump in. You 99.9% won’t win your dollar back, but you’ll be damned if you’ll screw yourself. I can’t give someone my material for a potential cash cow without a fight.
3) It’s a smaller crowd than say a comedy club, plus a bar is not necessarily built for acoustics. It would take a miracle to pull off a great set, plus the x factor of I haven’t prepared anything other than some brand new material I’m working out. In case you were wondering, my new stuff ate it.
In fairness, the guy was asking off the cuff and gave me a card, so I’ll look into it and see if there’s anything there. Of course, he saw my act, so he probably has already taken the offer off the table. There goes my chance to be a millionaire again.