How Comedy Became a Marketing Strategy

How Comedy Became a Marketing Strategy

Daily Video 9/19/25

Dave Grohl said that American Idol ended the garage band.

You sucked, but you’d play and play and play until you didn’t, and you worked to get a record deal, and you toured, and built a fan base…Sting said that he thinks musicians today are missing out on key learning experiences.

“We used to have to be able to sing in tune in the studio. No tricks.”

(OK, that’s a paraphrase, even though it’s in quotes. Still.)

The same can be said of stand-up comedy in 2025.

You can have a great joke during a five-minute set, and be “discovered.”

Which is nice, but it doesn’t mean you’ve built your comedy muscle to the point you can handle different audiences, different situations, and for extended periods on stage.

And yet, that’s what many clubs are hiring: the fast money.

Get people in the door, buying drinks.

It doesn’t matter if they don’t have a great time, or come back.

It’s a live in the moment existence.

And there’s nothing to be done about it, except to rage into the void.