I've done shows for free, for drink tickets and for pay and by far nothing leaves a sour taste in my mouth more than a promoter offering me X and paying me less. I've done a few shows where I didn't expect to get paid a single cent but wound up with tips or a cut of the door. Maybe only $10 or so, but hey, it's more than I thought I was going to get!
On the other hand, I recently had an experience with a promoter who offered me $50 to perform and then only paid me $25 without offering any explanation as to why. It shouldn't be any surprise that this was an infinitely more negative experience even though I made more money. Why?
Ultimately it doesn't matter how I'm compensated for my time, as long as it's at least as good as I was promised ahead of time by the promoter. I think promoters are often in the position where they can take advantage of newer comedians who desperately want stage time and really don't have a frame of reference for how comedians ought to be treated by promoters and club owners.
So here's what happened with me and Charlie Ballard.
I performed a set at Portal's Tavern a few months back. Charlie caught it and was extremely impressed so he caught up with me afterwards and offered me a couple shows. "The first pays 50 bucks" he told me. Great. I've got full-time job so I don't really need the money, but it's cool to be able to call myself a semi-professional comedian so yay for that.
On my way home, I ran into another comedian who runs a room in SF. I told her excitedly about how I just scored a couple shows with Charlie Ballard and she said "He's a giant cunt-face who can suck a bag of dicks." Wow. I asked her to elaborate and she told me a few negative stories about Charlie and even said she was going to cancel her next show with him. I dismissed it as gossip.
I go to the show in Sac, it goes well. Charlie even says on the way up that he's already budgeted all the money for the comedians so no matter how many people show up, he can pay us. More people showed up than we expected, it was even one of my better sets. After the show I check the envelope I got and see only $25. Not a word from Charlie as to why it was less than we agreed upon.
I decide to ask some of my comic friends about how I should handle the situation. I really don't need the money, but I don't like being lied to. I had a couple folks tell me that this is just part of the comedy game and it doesn't really pay to make a big fuss about it, but here's the thing... I'm not desperate for stagetime. My heart won't be crushed if I never work with a cheapskate promoter again.
Then I ran into another comedian and told him about the situation and I DIDN'T EVEN MENTION CHARLIE'S NAME and then he said "That sounds like Charlie Ballard." That means his reputation is so bad that people can actually guess who I'm talking about just by describing someone who paid me less than they offered.
I decided it wasn't worth making a big deal about, but I did want to confront Charlie and make sure he knew that I noticed the discrepancy and wasn't happy about it. I did my set at the OMG show last night and then approached Charlie. After I told him him my perspective, here's the jist of what he said.
1) He said originally told me it was $25. - False, I have e-mail conversations with friends the night he made the offer that say he offered $50.
2) He claims he sent me an e-mail that said it paid $25. - Again, false. I asked him to please forward me the e-mail and I even offered to issue an apology and a retraction if he could produce it. He has not.
3) He said that for the Sac show guest spots get $25, feature spots get $50. Seems sensible, and again would be fair if that's what he originally promised me or if at anytime he had communicated a change in the original agreement.
So now it's a big deal, because not only did he short me but he didn't own up to and even lied to cover his tracks. At the end of the day, the only one who's really going to wind up paying for all of this is Charlie. He clearly already has a serious reputation problem and if this is the way he treats his comics, it's no wonder why. I think it's funny that he said I "vilified" him since he seems to be handling that just fine all by himself. I just hope he for his sake he doesn't do so much damage to his reputation that he can't even escape it when he heads to LA.
Here's the e-mail chain. Judge for yourselves.
On Mon, Jun 24, 2013 at 12:15 PM, Ariel Smith <violetgadfly@gmail.com> wrote:
> Would be happy to issue a retraction and an apology if you can produce
> this e-mail you've made up.
>
> -Ariel
>
> On Mon, Jun 24, 2013 at 12:10 PM, Charlie Ballard <funnynative@yahoo.com> wrote:
>> Honestly, I can't continue this conversation with you anymore because you've
>> already vilified me on your facebook page, it sounds like you made up your
>> mind about the events that happened so its done.
>>
>> Good luck with everything.
>>
>>
>> xoxo
>> cb
>>
>>
>> Hi Hi Hi Bye Bye Bye !!
>> ________________________________
>> From: Ariel Smith <violetgadfly@gmail.com>
>> To: Charlie Ballard <funnynative@yahoo.com>
>> Sent: Monday, June 24, 2013 3:12 AM
>>
>> Subject: Re: Ariel Smith Bio + Headshot
>>
>> Once again, please feel free to forward this supposed email to me.
>>
>> On Jun 24, 2013, at 0:04, Charlie Ballard <funnynative@yahoo.com> wrote:
>>
>> Hi Ariel,
>> the note I sent you about the Hella Gay terms for the Sac show was to your
>> facebook email.
>> I stand by the money that was paid to you and Carrie for the guest spots. I
>> completely understand where the confusion on my part was probably
>> misinterpreted, the 50$ paid spots were meant for the features who each did
>> 15 minutes and the 25$ paid spots were meant for guest sets who do 10
>> minutes. And as far as having a follow thru, if I say a different amount to
>> you verbally than what I sent you in an email, please don't wait a month to
>> approach me about it. I like to think I'm approachable in talking about
>> these matters. If anything, that Sac show was already booked and I did not
>> have to include you guys but I did so because that was my way of extending
>> my support.
>>
>> If for any reason you feel uncomfortable doing my shows than I completely
>> understand and wish you nothing but the best. I work really hard to promote
>> all the Hella Gay shows so we can have a fabulous crowds to perform in front
>> of so the gossip of other comedians doesn't bother me, you're are welcome to
>> believe what you want to believe.
>>
>> xoxo
>> cb
>>
>>
>> Hi Hi Hi Bye Bye Bye !!
>> ________________________________
>> From: Ariel Smith <violetgadfly@gmail.com>
>> To: Charlie Ballard <funnynative@yahoo.com>
>> Sent: Sunday, June 23, 2013 10:02 PM
>> Subject: Re: Ariel Smith Bio + Headshot
>>
>> This is the all the e-mails I have records of. If you do find the
>> e-mail you referenced, please send it my way. I'd hate to think I was
>> wrong.
>>
>> -Ariel
>>
>> On Mon, Apr 8, 2013 at 11:54 PM, Charlie Ballard <funnynative@yahoo.com>
>> wrote:
>>> Got it and thank you!
>>>
>>> xoxo
>>> cb
>>>
>>> Hi Hi Hi Bye Bye Bye !!
>>> ________________________________
>>> From: Ariel Smith <violetgadfly@gmail.com>
>>> To: funnynative@yahoo.com
>>> Sent: Monday, April 8, 2013 11:10 PM
>>> Subject: Ariel Smith Bio + Headshot
>>>
>>> Hey Charlie,
>>>
>>> Thanks again so much for the opportunities. I'm looking forward to both of
>>> them! Here's my bio and my headshot.
>>>
>>> -Ariel Smith
>>>
>>> Bio:
>>>
>>> "Professional video game player by day, comic by night, Ariel Smith's
>>> material ranges from the absurd to the obscene and back again. She covers
>>> a
>>> wide-range of topics from gritty details of coming out as a transgender
>>> woman and the strange romances that followed, to the dregs of society she
>>> met as a professional gambler. Somehow she manages to use her
>>> down-to-earth
>>> personality to share her most bizarre (and in some cases horrifying)
>>> experiences in a way that we can all find relatable."
