A number of touring stand-up comedians are protesting recent playlist changes that followed SiriusXM’s relaunch of “Raw Comedy” as “Sebastian Maniscalco’s Comedy Radio“.
A report on StandUpForStandUp.org illustrated the playlist changes showing how the channel went from playing 812 different comedians in April before the relaunch down to just 275 in September, while also adding many more top-tier celebrities and dead and retired comics to the rotation as opposed to currently touring performers.
The report notes that the “middle class of comedy” have historically enjoyed meaningful spins from SiriusXM, with each SiriusXM satellite radio spin producing approximately $15 in royalties to the comic.
SiriusXM released a statement to multiple publications in response stating, “SiriusXM works together with our creative partners to program the best possible experience for our listeners. The launch of Sebastian Maniscalco’s Comedy Radio introduced a new creative direction and a regularly evolving programming mix for the channel, and SiriusXM continues to invest in comedians more than any other audio platform to deliver a wide range of comedy offerings across our channels.”
INSTANT INSIGHT: While most of the comedians realize that it is not Maniscalco behind the change, but rather a victim of SiriusXM using his star-power to use on the channel, some have posted about him “buying” the channel for his usage. Unfortunately as those in music radio know, stars and playing the hits are what bring in listeners. But on a platform such as SiriusXM, there should still be a home for at least one channel that plays a broader range of comics, just as there are channels for nearly every music genre.
