Author Argues Elon Musk’s Twitter Destroyed Comedy Reach
Richard Herring Examines Twitter Shift Impact on Comedy
Writing in a column published on the British Comedy Guide and richardherring.substack.com, comedian Richard Herring argues that Elon Musk’s purchase of Twitter fundamentally broke the digital distribution model that independent stand-up acts relied on for years. Herring traces his own online promotion work—including major charity drives and gig announcements—to a platform that no longer delivers organic reach to mid-tier creators.
The Tech TL;DR:
- Richard Herring’s commentary on richardherring.substack.com examines how platform algorithm shifts on Twitter altered audience reach for independent comedians.
- The author notes that large-scale fundraising efforts, such as November 19th reply drives raising £10,000 an hour, depended heavily on the platform’s prior open architecture.
- Comedians are now forced to migrate toward video-centric interfaces like Instagram and TikTok to gain exposure, altering the discovery pipeline for live tours.
Charity Drives and Promotion Mechanics Under the Prior Platform Model
For years, Herring used the social network as a primary shop window to promote live comedy gigs, raise funds, and introduce audiences to podcasts such as RHLSTP. Herring points to past International Women’s Day marathons and November 19th reply campaigns as examples of high-engagement community work. During the first year of properly trying to raise money for Refuge via November 19th replies, the total climbed by £10,000 an hour, culminating in a total of approximately a quarter of a million pounds. Herring notes the platform was free to use while users provided free content in return, maintaining a working balance before ownership changes altered content distribution. On the platform, he had built an audience of roughly 300,000 people. In the past, tweeting about an exciting guest on RHLSTP allowed him to watch theatre ticket sales graphic fill up in real time.
Algorithm Adjustments and the Rise of Video Discovery Platforms
Once Musk changed the business model and nature of the site, Herring writes, the platform became largely useless for comedians seeking organic reach. Posts stopped reaching established audiences, individual tweets became lost or ignored, and increased platform hostility diluted subtlety and engagement. While paid promotion options exist, Herring argues that paying to promote tweets only targets users willing to pay for the platform itself, which does not match his target audience. With former promotional pathways degraded, comedians have increasingly shifted toward publishing video clips on Instagram and TikTok to secure audience growth, though this transition benefits certain performers more than others as live tour ticket sales decline. Herring notes that podcasts such as Pappy’s and All Killa No Filla have ended, while his own RHLSTP podcast never fully recovered from lockdown effects following a peak interview with Michael Palin just before lockdown restrictions began.