Just Ask Tom Simes Of <\/span>The Business Of Comedy<\/span><\/i><\/h2>\n

It\u2019s easy to look at comedians, actors, screenwriters, and other professionals in the arts and assume how fun and glamorous it must be to be them.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

What we don\u2019t see, though, is the harsh reality of these professions.<\/span><\/p>\n

The fact is, comedy can be brutal. Oftentimes, it\u2019s unprofitable. Case in point: Sebastian Maniscalco spent years waiting tables in Los Angeles and sneaking away to open-mic nights before he was selling out The Forum and the United Center as he does today.<\/span><\/p>\n

No one knows about the harsh realities of this industry better than Tom Simes, host of <\/span>The Business of Comedy<\/span><\/i>. As not only a podcaster, but also a former comedian and current comedy-club owner, he offers a unique perspective.<\/span><\/p>\n

Tom shared some of that perspective with <\/span>Podcast Magazine<\/span><\/i>\u00ae, including his motivation for creating a podcast to talk about the business side of comedy.<\/span><\/h3>\n

\u201cI was talking shop to another club owner,\u201d<\/span><\/i> Tom reminisces. <\/span>\u201cWe were venting about comedians, or something to that effect. I remember thinking to myself that when I was a comedian looking for work, I would have loved to have been a fly on the wall for this type of conversation, seeing things from the club owner\u2019s vantage point. That got me thinking about doing a podcast to help comedians understand the business side of comedy and how club owners think about things.\u201d<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

From both the podcast and the conversation, it became quite evident that there are many comedians who are good at their craft, but not so good at the business side and general management of their career. <\/span>\u201cIt\u2019s both an artform and a business,\u201d<\/span><\/i> Tom reiterates.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cFrankly, I didn\u2019t realize how many comedians there are until I opened a comedy club,\u201d<\/span><\/i> he confesses. <\/span>\u201cComedy is a very crowded field. Any piece of advice can help a comedian. It\u2019s the little details that can make a difference, especially when reaching out to a club.\u201d<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

Not surprisingly, advice around booking emails is one of the requests Tom gets the most. True to Tom\u2019s sincere desire to help those in the comedy industry, episode 46 is dedicated entirely to answering it.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI often joke that one day, I\u2019m going to put together a coffee table book full of bad booking emails,\u201d<\/span><\/i> Tom laughs. <\/span>\u201cSome of the ones I get are just ridiculous.\u201d<\/span><\/i><\/h3>\n

To that point, one of Tom\u2019s biggest pieces of advice is this:\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cBe professional. If you\u2019re going to be a pain in an email, I\u2019m going to figure you\u2019re probably going to be a pain in person, too.\u201d<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

Professionalism obviously also applies to the comedian’s behavior in the club, among other comics. That\u2019s why one of Tom\u2019s most popular episodes, #39, which originated following an <\/span>“episode\u201d<\/span><\/i> in Tom\u2019s club, is on green-room etiquette. <\/span>\u201cHow you behave in the green room can basically blacklist you,\u201d <\/span><\/i>Tom bluntly explains. <\/span>\u201cWhen I travel, this is the episode listeners repeatedly bring up when I meet them.\u00a0<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ll talk about anything that is going to help comedians in their endeavors,\u201d<\/span><\/i> shares Tom. <\/span>\u201cWhen it comes to trying to get booked, it\u2019s easy to drop the ball. It\u2019s hard enough to be funny, but then you have to get booked, too. When I was a comedian, I faced the same issues. Now, I see it from the club-ownership side of things. My podcast hopefully helps people out a little bit.\u201d<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

Though Tom is a fan of podcasts, he admits he doesn\u2019t have the time to listen to every show he subscribes to. Likewise, he tries to keep episodes short, sometimes as brief as 15 minutes. <\/span>\u201cI keep the interviews very short and very on point. Nobody needs to listen to me pontificate on things,\u201d <\/span><\/i>he says half-jokingly. <\/span>\u201cThis way, listeners can knock out an episode on the way to work.\u201d<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

By its nature, <\/span>The Business of Comedy<\/span><\/i> is topic-based. <\/span>\u201cOne of the hardest aspects of the podcast is finding a topic that\u2019s relevant to comics along with an expert to talk about it,\u201d<\/span><\/i> Tom reveals. This is certainly a common problem for many podcasters, but it speaks to Tom\u2019s desire to produce a quality product.<\/span><\/p>\n

While Tom enjoys listening to podcasts and producing his, he is first and foremost a club owner. His desire to open his own club was nurtured as he moved from comedian to production.<\/span><\/p>\n

As many entrepreneurial pursuits come to fruition, this one was also born out of a desire and a conversation. <\/span>\u201cI was speaking with some friends who own bars and restaurants and casually mentioned that I would like to open a club someday,\u201d<\/span><\/i> Tom remembers. The response from his friends: <\/span>\u201cYeah, you should totally do that!\u201d<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

\u201cThe next thing I know, we\u2019re opening a club,\u201d<\/span><\/i> Tom laughs.\u00a0<\/span><\/h3>\n

Sometimes, you just need a couple of entrepreneurially minded friends to push you off that cliff and into the deep water.<\/span><\/p>\n

Tom derives much enjoyment from his interviews. <\/span>\u201cI enjoy talking about the business of comedy, and I enjoy talking to people in the business,\u201d<\/span><\/i> he shares. <\/span>\u201cOne person even came to the club to meet me just because he liked the podcast so much.\u201d<\/span><\/i>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

While Tom didn\u2019t mention if this raving fan lived near Glendale, AZ, where his club is or came from thousands of miles away to meet him, that is proof enough that people are enjoying his podcast, and that it is reaching the right listeners.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s fun for me,\u201d<\/span><\/i> Tom states simply. <\/span>\u201cHopefully, it is helping comics out there, too, and giving them what they need.\u201d<\/span><\/i>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

If you\u2019re in the business and want to learn more, or if you just have an interest in this particular industry, check out <\/span>The Business of Comedy<\/span><\/i> podcast. As Tom would probably tell you, it\u2019s a tough business, and those in it need to stick together.<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

October 2022 Issue<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Just Ask Tom Simes Of The Business Of Comedy It\u2019s easy to look at comedians, actors, screenwriters, and other professionals in the arts and assume how fun and glamorous it must be to be them.\u00a0 What we don\u2019t see, though, is the harsh reality of these professions. The fact is, comedy can be brutal. Oftentimes, it\u2019s unprofitable. Case in point: Sebastian Maniscalco spent years waiting tables in Los Angeles and sneaking away to open-mic nights before he was selling out The Forum and the United Center as he does today. No one knows about the harsh realities of this industry<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":36,"featured_media":13549,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[4065,167,440,4000,4001,3997,3999,4002,3998,4003],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n