Open letter to Leicester Comedy Festival regarding delayed payments to comedy industry

26 May

One of the most relevant issues in comedy right now?

Hundreds of performers and businesses are currently facing severe financial strain due to delayed payouts from the Leicester Comedy Festival (LCF), managed by Big Difference Company (BDC). We know of many who are at breaking point and experiencing major distress, who have no wiggle room for these delayed payments.

As the first dedicated national body for the entire comedy ecosystem, CRAFT (Comedy Representation & Artform Trust charity) is stepping in to offer structural support.

Today, our charity trustees have sent a formal letter (cited below) to LCF and BDC to:

Push for a prompt response to the critical financial issues raised by the community.
Offer to meet directly to help build a sustainable, resilient path forward.
Facilitate and help them negotiate with senior management at their primary payment processor, on how better terms can be agreed upon to unlock and release these vital funds back into the comedy economy (progress by CRAFT underway).

Comedy has long lacked the safety nets, infrastructure, and policy representation afforded to music, theatre, and sport. We exist to change that. Today’s action is just one of many ways CRAFT is working as a charity to protect, support, and professionalise our industry.

We will be posting updates to our new Facebook group (comedy industry only).