As the comedy boom enters its final explosive phases, more and more entrepreneurs are figuring out how to make the most out of it, if not also a bit of profit, too. I’m taking a look at some of these businesses this week…
For years, I told people I didn’t have a podcast because there already were too many comedy podcasts. And yet, each year, hundreds of new comedy podcasts signed up via iTunes, SoundCloud, LibSyn or all three. Eventually, I realized my folly, and two years ago started my own podcast. We now have multiple podcast networks devoted to comedians talking comedy and everything else (Earwolf, All Things Comedy, Nerdist, Feral Audio, Deathsquad, RiotCast, Cave Comedy Radio, ShowBriz Studios, GaS Digital, and HeadGum are just the ones I can list off the top of my head). You probably have your favorite podcast or even a favorite network.
But still, trying to discover great new podcasts, or figuring out when comedians you enjoy are guests on a podcast, remains too time-consuming an endeavor in itself.
Enter Laughable.
Available as an app for Apple devices since 2016, Laughable serves as a home base not only for listening to comedy podcasts, but also allows you to subscribe to specific comedians, alerting you to when they’re guests on any other podcast and directing you to their social media and web presences.
Here are a couple of examples, so you can see what happens if you subscribe to Bert Kreischer…
Or if you subscribe to me!
Laughable co-founders Ned Kenney and Stuart Foulston believe their technology will allow comedians to figure out 1) how to improve the quality of their podcasts, 2) find out where their fans are to improve live touring, and 3) find even more fans.
To that end, they’ve enlisted an Artist Collective to serve as evangelists/ambassadors for Laughable, and also help guide the app into new products and services.
Stand-up comedians signed up so far for Laughable’s Artist Collective include Chemda and Keith Malley (of Keith and the Girl), Greg Fitzsimmons, Jared Freid, Tony Hinchcliffe, Robert Kelly, Bert Kreischer, Joe List, Mark Normand, Shane Mauss, and Ari Shaffir.