The New Comedy CD

I just got news today that 3 of my original comedy productions have been chosen to be included on a brand new nationally distributed comedy CD showcasing exceptional comedy radio productions.

The company that is putting the CD together originally ran a contest looking for the best comedy radio productions, with a sweet $10,000 first prize. Man, I wanted that prize. My Harley would have looked great with some new rims. Of the top 5 places, I scored 2, 3, and 5. I must admit the first place winner had a great comedy bit called “Blond Star”, a parody spot of “On Star”, the car security system. It was very funny and a worthy winner, so I didn’t feel so bad coming in second place behind it. Maybe I’ll get the new rims next year.

The companies that are producing the CD are; All Comedy Radio and New Radio Star. All Comedy Radio, otherwise known as “All Comedy Networks, Inc.”, syndicated their 24/7 comedy radio to about 105 affiliates, mostly AM, out of Hollywood California.

Out of 500 entries, only 40 were selected to make the CD. Of the 40, 3 are mine.

So, the question is, Do I allow my comedy productions to be a part of their CD?

The downside is that the amount of money that I could make from this deal is really pathetic. 1/3 of the revenue goes to All Comedy Radio, 1/3 of the revenue goes to New Radio Star, by the way, New Radio Star is just another company owned by All Comedy Radio, and 1/3 of the revenue goes to all of contributors with each of us getting a percentage of that 1/3 share based on how many entries that we have.

Let’s do the math.
Out of every dollar, .66 cents goes to the owners of All Comedy Radio and New Radio Star. Not a bad haul for not contributing anything but the up front costs of manufacturing the CD and some promotion.

Let’s see what I make out of a dollar. 1/3 of the dollar is for all of us contributors. So that’s 33 cents. There are 40 of us, which means that 40 of us divide the 33 cents. (33/40= .825) That means that each entry gets .8 cents, or less than a penny out of every dollar. I’m lucky; I have 3 entries, so I make a whopping 2.4 cents from each dollar.

I must admit, 2 ½ percent doesn’t sound like much at all. In fact, it’s 7 ½ percent less than Amazon pays out on its affiliate program.

So, now the question is “Is it worth it?”
The truth is, most bands only receive about 7 cents on the dollar for every album they sell, and that is split between the members. If you look at it that way, it’s almost fair. However, from my perspective, I sell my comedy bits on a market exclusive basis for $250. This company will have to sell 1000 CD’s at $10 each, per market, for me to make that money back. We can also look at it this way. I sell my comedy CD’s for $10. They cost me $1.67 to produce, the same that it will cost them. I make $8.33 profit per CD. With about 14 songs and comedy bits per CD, that comes to 59 Cents a bit, or 73 times more than I will make per bit with them. Financially, it’s not that great a proposition.

I have never thought that doing my comedy was about making the most amount of money possible. In fact, I usually spend more money than I make on equipment and other costs associated with creating these comedy productions. I make the comedy because I love to do it, and supplement the cost of the productions with my radio salary. It’s never been about the money, or I would have quit a very long time ago. I think you will find that true of many comedians and musicians.

The real value in allowing my comedy productions to be included on this CD is the exposure. I really like what All Comedy Radio is doing and support their effort. They do a great job promoting comedians and comedy producers, and they provide an awesome venue for comedy material to be exposed over radio. I really believe that having my material included on this CD could possibly open some doors and even expose my material to a whole new audience. It’s for that reason alone that I have decided to allow All Comedy Radio and New Radio Star to include my 3 comedy production on their new Comedy Showcase CD.

Maybe I’ll get those new rims after all. Maybe somebody will hire to do comedy voice over work. Maybe I’ll be able to buy a new production computer for the studio. Hell, I’d be happy to see anything at this point.

The moral of the story, do what you love because you love to do it, not because of the money. Or, don’t quit your day job freak.

You can hear the comedy pieces yourself.

Behind Red Eyes - Parody Song of The Who's "Behind Blue Eyes"
I really loved this parody song. I actually performed all the instruments and vocals, and produced the whole thing in my digital production studio. It was a favorite of my listeners at WRQC-FM.

Bob Narley's Kids Kamp - Smoke'n Cock Bar-B-Q
These two parody commercials were created with the help of my good friend and partner in crime, PUCK. Several other popular parody commercials are also listed on the page. Enjoy!

A complete archive of my comedy work and parody songs can be found on my website at http://www.bobnarley.com