Photo: Eddie Perfect
Photo Credit: Melbourne International Comedy Festival / Jim Lee Photo
So how do you get to perform at the Melbourne International Comedy Festival (MICF) in 2025? Is it invite only? Do you need to know the mayor? Is a bribe required?
The good news for Australians and New Zealanders is that anyone can perform – without a bribe. All you have to do is apply here before Wednesday November 20, 2024. But that doesn’t mean it’s free. There’s considerable costs involved, and here’s a comprehensive list so you can plan for next year’s festival.
Application Fee
In the business of stand-up comedy, it’s not ‘how long is a piece of string?’, but rather ‘how long is your run?’. Here’s the deets:
- $375 for AUS/NZ for shows with up to 3 performances.
- $455 for AUS/NZ for shows with more than 3 performances.
- $575 for Overseas artists (approval by the Festival Director required before registering).
What you get for this fee is a listing in the MICF guide, and that’s it. You’ve still got insurance and venue costs to consider, and not to forget MICF’s commission on tickets.
Ticket Commission
The Melbourne International Comedy Festival might be a charity with a board, but it’s run like a business. At the 2018 Melbourne International Comedy Festival, 570,166 tickets were sold and the attendance was an impressive 762,850 – bigger than the AFL Grand Final series. Total box office exceeded $17 million Australian dollars, with MICF’s gross takings at $13.6 million. And you didn’t think there was any money in comedy, eh?! And while these numbers took a hit during Covid, this number looks like it will return to similar numbers in 2025.
Much of this profit comes from ‘inside charges’ – the term given by the MICF for fees and charges that are deducted from ticket sales. Here’s a breakdown
- $2.00 for each ticket purchased online or over the phone.
- $2.30 for each ticket purchased at a box office.
- $0.30 for each complimentary ticket processed on Red61 ticketing system
If you don’t like these charges, that’s fine! You can take your business elsewhere, since the MICF allows you to use alternative ticketing platforms other than Red61. This is, however, as long as you are not performing in a Festival Managed Venue (FMV). Alternative ticketing options include TryBooking, Oztix or Eventbrite.
Insurance
The Melbourne International Comedy Festival requires all acts to have liability insurance. But don’t be alarmed, as the fee isn’t outrageous. According to City Rural Insurance Brokers, who specialise in performing arts insurance and who have been supporting the MICF for several years, this amount only varies between $240 for up to 4 shows to $420 for over 11 shows.
Venue Hire
If you’re big enough, and chances are you’re not if you’re reading this article, then you could get allocated a Festival Managed Venue (FMV). FMVs take another cut from ticket prices, but in return you are provided staff, audio/visual equipment, and a kick-ass seated venue. You also get your name and show chalked up on the famous blackboards outside the Melbourne Town Hall. The biggest of the FMVs is the Melbourne Town Hall Grand Ballroom, with a seated capacity of 1,500. The smallest seats 32.
If you’re not able to get a Festival Managed Venue, there’s a bunch of pubs, restaurants and cafes that open their doors during the festival, and in most cases they provide sound, lighting and staging. For example, Hard Knock Knocks produces shows at Roxy’s and The Golden Gate Hotel, both in South Melbourne, although these venues are allocated exclusive use to our alumni.
Marketing
Budgeting for marketing can be tricky, expensive, and where your performance profits quickly diminish or disappear entirely. But if you’re playing the long game, and want to build a comedic brand, then by all means go big.
The Beat, a free street music magazine found in pubs, restaurants and cafes, will charge between $874.50 for a full page advertisement, to $192.50 for a quarter page. Scenestr, another street press publication, charges between $1,320 for a full page advertisement, and $550 for a quarter page advertisement. Rates on their website are one tenth of the physical print price. And then there’s Gigme, which is a booking and payment app, but which is quickly becoming a tool to market to comedy audiences. For example, in October 2024 Gigme was used exclusively to promote the South Melbourne Live Festival.
And that’s about it. Putting on a show at the famous Melbourne International Comedy Festival is a highlight for most stand-up comedians, and for some a very lucrative decision. For many, however, an event can be a costly venture and a test of ones mettle. Empty rooms, hidden costs, and the pressure of show ‘business’ can sour what should be an awesome experience. Pairing up with other comedians, or joining the ‘Best of the Hard Knock Knocks’ show are two ways the risks can be reduced or removed entirely.
Chookas!
Comments 4
Great info, thank you. Very keen to perform as part of the SHKK alumni and have entered my details.
Author
We’ve locked you in for 2020!
Great overview of the process. Will definitely apply for 2020.
The Hard Knock Knocks Comedy School is producing three shows at the 2024 Melbourne International Comedy Festival. If you’re a Hard Knock Knocks graduate, reach out and let us know if you are keen on performing.