How Andrew Schulz fixed the problem with Comedy

This week on the Colin and Samir Show, we’re telling the story of how comedian Andrew Schulz self-released his comedy special ‘Infamous’ and recapping our interview with him from earlier this year.

I’ll start by saying that Andrew’s jokes are not for everyone. But after the streaming service, he was working with to publish his special told him to cut jokes from the final version because they were too vulgar, Andrew’s story became a lesson in the power of community.?

Andrew wanted to keep the special as it was, so he decided to buy the special back, which cost him over $1,000,000

Andrew started marketing an independent release of the special through Moment House. He windowed the release for two weeks, and his fans could spend $15 to watch the special. It was a huge risk – he was working with a production company that needed to be paid, and he had no idea how the special would perform if people needed to pay to watch, instead of getting access through a subscription.?

The special was a huge success – a few days into sales, Andrew said he made back 3x the amount that he owed, and about a week in he mentioned that he had made $4 million from the special.

The story of ‘Infamous’ is a story of community and taking a bet on your audience. Andrew knew his audience would show up for him, even if a streaming service said they wouldn’t.?

I can’t emphasize enough the value of community...I mean just look at Flagrant's Patreon numbers

Not only did Andrew’s audience show up, but his friends did too - while promoting the special he made appearances on tons of podcasts, including Joe Rogan and Tim Dillon as well as getting promotional posts from the Paul Brothers and even The Rock.?

So today on the podcast, Colin and I are exploring Andrew’s mindset of risk-taking. How did Andrew know his connection to the audience was strong enough to make the risk worth it? If you were in his position, would you have changed the jokes, or taken the bet on your community??