LEFT: Comedians Ity (right) and Fancy Cat (left) signs autographs and entertain fans at Courts, Cross Roads, last year. RIGHT: Christopher 'Johnny' Daley. - File photos

Teino Evans, Staff Reporter

Not because they are a bunch of jokers on-stage means that comedians should not be taken seriously when they charge big bucks for their hard labour.

However, some comedians say they are often asked to cut prices or simply 'joke around' for free.

Christopher 'Johnny' Daley said, "Generally wi asking that corporate Jamaica must expect that there is a standard and because of the fact that the comedic fraternity is so small, rates are obviously being established depending on how rated the act is or star quality."

Not asking for much

Johnny said he did not feel that comedians were asking for too much, because "quite frankly, our rates are quite reasonable compared to the deejays and disc jockeys".

However, one school principal in the Corporate Area said "it's not that we don't value their work, but we had a comedian at one of our school ftes and even though they had students laughing they were not the main acts, but were instead seen as ice-breakers. All the hype and excitement surrounds the deejays, because those are who the students wanted to see the most."

This situation might be one of factors that determine how much some comedians adjust their rates. According to Johnny, "In Jamaica you can never be too hard and fast. You will get calls from many different entities - schools, NGOs, charitable organisations to top financial companies - suh what I tend to do is to set a standard, but allow flexibility, particularly to the ones that affect like social upliftment and youth empowerment."

For Fancy Cat, of the duo Ity and Fancy Cat, that is all well and good, "but generally we don't get what wi ask for. If wi seh $50,000 dem still have a problem wid dat an dat is like a basic price. But at no time wah wi charge wi get; a very few time dat happen".

Ity, while agreeing that "before 2004, really and truly wi couldn't get certain things from certain people", said now things are slightly better as "comedians a earn more, but wi still can't touch certain figures like wah di deejay dem a charge".

"Yuh nah find a whole lot a comedians like pon stage shows outside of being a host; you only have like Apache Chief and Sarge as acts. That's why we haffi put on our own show dem an tek care a everybody. If a man call an seh dem want Ity and Fancy Cat fi a show an mi seh yea, $600,000, dem a guh laugh so hard, but if dem call like Buju an him seh yea, dem a guh seh wah, wi get Buju fi dah price deh?" Ity said.

Johnny agrees, but said one reason for this is that "the music gets more attention because it's a big currency earner for anybody who gets involved and it's easier to go global with it. You can send and sell a song by the Internet, but you can't sell a live performance from stage outside of DVD and that money goes to the producer of the DVD. But stand-up has a unique quality, because it's easier to market a stand-up, a one act, than a full cast in a play".

Ity said there had been some progress though, as "di trend a change slowly. Wi not there yet, but there is evidence that people are more willing to pay comedians, especially the corporate giants. I think they probably feel safer with us than the deejays. This year, Ity and Fancy Cat for the first time are the spokespersons for Courts. Last year and whole heap a years before it was Michael London. An dem a treat wi properly."

Pay not enough

But despite comedians being taken more seriously, the pay is still not where they would like it to be and, according to Ity, "where comedians really earn is when we travel, mostly because of the exchange effect. When yuh come back and change out di money yuh seh wow, yuh eat a nice likkle food."

However, the not-so-established acts might not have to face too much discrimination as Johnny said older comedians like himself are looking out for them.

Speaking from a Comedy Buss perspective, Johnny said, "We are currently agents for five new comedians on the scene. While we don't manage their careers fully, we do act as agents and therefore negotiate on their behalf. So they are never left on their own; we offer them some form of protection." Thus, Comedy Buss was created by attorney-at-law Coleen Lewis to introduce new comedians to the scene and to add some professionalism to the comedy industry.