New York Native, Andrew Schulz, Is Paving the Way for Hybrid Comedians at a $1 Million Price Tag

Andrew Schulz is one of the hottest new comedians on the block.

Andrew Schulz performing in his newest special, "Infamous".Photo byIMDB

The New York native is unabashedly blending stand-up comedy with viral social trends, forward fashion, and a fun-loving, knee-slapping attitude -- irking many long-time listeners of his podcast, "Flagrant".

During the pandemic of 2020, Andrew broke out into mainstream fame with his Netflix special "Schulz Saves America". Since then, his stock has skyrocketed, amassing tens of millions of followers and ushering in a new wave of hybrid comedians.

Stand-up comedy has long since been known as the everyman performance art.

Jerry Seinfeld at "The Comic Strip"Photo byET Online by Zach Seemayer

From pioneers such as Don Hicks to Jerry Seinfeld, Chris Rock, Bill Burr, and many more, the great standup comedians have one thing in common -- an uncanny ability to relate to the average person. This makes fame, fortune, and getting too big for one's britches detrimental to one's act. And, we often see some of the most talented comedians transition to acting, for this very reason.

Cool shoes, charisma, self-confidence -- these were once all things better reserved for actors or athletes. Comedians have always been hyper-self-aware, with an endearing splash of self-deprecation.

But with the fire-starter for fame and fortune that is social media, dawns a new era of cool comedians -- good-looking, rich, heck even cocky.

Spearheaded by a tight-knit community of standup comedians moonlighting as hosts of some of the biggest podcasts around, performers like Tom Segura, Burt Kreischer, and Bill Burr have successfully navigated mainstream fame while remaining relatable.

Others, such as Andrew, have gone full Hollywood, embracing their public image, swagger, and leveraging social media to appeal to a younger crowd.

Both are essential to the growth of comedy -- yet, old-school comedy heads may cringe at the ankle-flaunting, flashy jacket-wearing, Air Jordan hopping trends that are slowly dominating the comedy scene. Comedy has always been seen as a grind, with almost every successful comedian starting out in grimy comedy clubs getting paid in gas money or a good meal.

But, since social media has taken the power away from network executives, and put it in the hands of performers, comedians can now pave their own way.

You see this reflected in the number of comedians choosing to post their comedy specials to YouTube, for free, as opposed to selling the rights to large streamers.

This is because the value of exposure and tickets they can sell on the road (not to mention the freedom to sell, package, clip, and repurpose their content without limitations) far outweighs anything short of a monumental payout. Recently, after inking a deal with an unknown streamer (although many believe it to be Amazon), Andrew decided to buy his most recent special back, for over $1 million.

He outlined his reasoning in a Tweet, saying,

"Here’s the story about the special. It’s simple really. I’m not gonna edit my material and cut out jokes bc a network is worried about Twitter backlash. That’s it. I don’t know if this will work. I hope like hell it does. But that’s up to y’all. Let’s change the game."

This opened the eyes of many performers and fans alike. No longer is the power in the hands of large corporations. And, in many respects, a direct-to-consumer business model is more lucrative for performers willing to put in the hard work of marketing and promoting their own work.

For various reasons, cancellation and otherwise, many popular comedians have taken similar paths, releasing specials on YouTube as opposed to partnering with large streamers, with unfounded success:

• Ari Shaffir (5 million views to date)
• Shane Gillis (11 million views to date)
• Mark Normand (11 million views to date)

Even if his fashion sense is flamboyant and highly questionable, Andrew's doing some great things for comedy. You can find his special on his YouTube channel, with 16 million views to date.

Hey, I'm Hudson! I write about social media, marketing, and modern entrepreneurship. Hit follow for more stories like this one.