Evolve or Dissolve

Unpopular opinion: Sebastian Maniscalco isn't responsible for protecting hundreds of other comedians' income.

There's been a lot of backlash over SiriusXM replacing its Raw Comedy channel with Sebastian Maniscalco's Comedy Radio.

According to an analysis by Stand Up for Stand Up, the number of comedians receiving airplay dropped from 812 in April to 275 in September.

That's 537 fewer comedians getting played and paid.

And that sucks. Nobody wants to see people lose income they've worked hard to earn.

But SiriusXM is a subscription business. They made a decision to invest in Sebastian's name, audience and content rather than continue doing things the way they had before.

Will it work? We'll see.

But Sebastian isn't responsible for protecting everybody else's income. And SiriusXM isn't obligated to maintain a business model because people have historically made money from it.

I spent years working in radio.

I've watched consolidation, shrinking budgets, technology and changing consumer behavior transform that business for decades.

None of this happened overnight.

And it's happening everywhere. Sports. Marketing. Entertainment. Media.

If your livelihood depends on a business model you don't control, you better understand how vulnerable that makes you.

That doesn't mean these comedians should have predicted this specific decision. And it doesn't mean they shouldn't fight for better treatment.

But all of us have a responsibility to pay attention to where our industries are headed and prepare for what's next.

Because the business isn't going to stop changing just because you're comfortable with the way things used to work.

Evolve or dissolve.