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Comment by charlieok | Hacker News Reader

It's interesting to compare the economics of comedy vs music. I'm much more likely to enjoy a song the second, third and fourth time I hear it. I might enjoy the second time hearing a joke, but it goes downhill pretty fast after that. I'm guessing this is normal.

If a comedian's routine is recorded and widely disseminated, a lot of people might become fans and want to see him/her, but they're probably not going to want to see the same jokes again. The comedian will need to come up with new material.

Writing and perfecting a good comedy bit might be comparable in time and effort to writing and perfecting a good song. Anyone know?

How do these considerations affect which business model works best for different types of artists online?

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If you get a chance, check out "Talking Funny", a very nerdy but informative DVD of conversations between Jerry Seinfeld, Louis CK, Chris Rock, and Ricky Gervais. In it they discuss this very subject.

Seinfeld says his method is to repeat material for years before throwing it out. Chris Rock sees his comedy specials schedule as the equivalent of an album ("like Prince"), so every tour he does completely new material. Gervais lands in the middle - enough freshness to keep things interesting but also enough old stuff to keep the crowds happy. Louis CK is constantly changing his act - if I remember correctly he says he rarely keeps a joke for more than a few shows.

Cool, thanks for that.

I realize that this isn't going to be a new subject for anyone in an entertainment business. But as a programmer, it's not something I've thought about nearly as much.

Tolerance for old material probably varies by audience, too. Those catchphrase comedians get amazing mileage out of unbelievably scant material; enough to become fodder for other comedians. ( http://www.nbc.com/saturday-night-live/video/comedy-tour/131... )

I wonder if these big-splash events where a comedian sells a clip DRM-free for a simple payment might be better suited to comedy than to music, given the more time-sensitive nature of the value of a comedy bit.

Pretty sure this is mostly why DVD's come out at the end of tours or during the middle of a new tour to stop that exact thing happening, they might do a couple of the old gags but mostly it will be fresh material (unless your Peter Kay)

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