The standup comedy laws in Portugal need to change

Well, I wasn’t going to share this quite yet. I was hoping to actually sit down and have a meeting with the IGAC before I talked about this. But yeah, Coronavirus went and fucked everything up, so why not throw this out there now.

I was promoting comedy events for maybe 5-ish months before the pandemic shut down comedy in Lisbon. When I say promoting comedy events, I’m talking that I’m a legit registered promoter with the IGAC here in Portugal. You can’t just walk up to any bar in Portugal and run a promoted comedy event. There’s a lot of fucking rules, and you better follow them if you want to do shows with regular promotions. In fact, I wrote up the whole process of how to become a promoter right here in this blog post.

After reading all that, you might think to yourself, “omg, that sounds horrible. How can comedians run shows with so many restrictions??”. The answer is that they can’t, and they don’t. The state of standup comedy here in Portugal is terrible, and the reason for that is the laws.

Why are the laws fucked? Is it because the IGAC is evil? Is it because there’s a massive conspiracy against comedians? No, it’s just ignorance. Ignorance is a strong word, but I’m not talking about willful ignorance.

When I go to the IGAC, I see men and women there all in their 40’s who have probably never lived in a place that has a thriving standup comedy scene. They probably have never been to comedy nights at dingy bars. Standup comedy as most people recognizes it wasn’t even a THING in Portugal until like 15 years ago, and it wasn’t brought to people’s eyes because of in-person performances. It was through a TV show called Levanta-te e Ri The people working there probably have no concept for being in a place where you could see multiple live shows in different parts of the city every night. They don’t understand how often circumstances around standup comedy events can change, and it’s not like putting on a ballet or musical performance.

But that’s what standup comedy gets grouped into here, and the laws governing standup comedy reflect it. The people working at the IGAC simply do no understand standup comedy. At all. Period. Full stop. They don’t get it, so they don’t know how to adjust the laws to help a thriving standup comedy scene exist in Lisbon or Portugal for that matter. If you try to promote and run a show without playing by the rules, you risk having auditors show up at the show and shutting down. If you’re just doing a small show at a bar without promotion? Maybe you’ll get away with it.

But what if you’re passionate about standup comedy? Maybe you work a full-time job, but you do some standup on the side. And you’d like to start promoting your own comedy night? You’re fucked. The rules they’ve set create so much overhead that it’s simply not worth it. There’s no way to start small and build your way up here. And that’s a fucking problem.

Now let me clarify one thing. Comedy has BOOMED in Portugal for the past couple of years. There are tons of well known Portuguese comedians traveling around Portugal performing and earning a living. But outside of those comedians who are doing well and have a name making a living, there are very few opportunities for the “little guys.” It’s such a weird situation here. The Portuguese comedy clubs that exist are swamped with people who want to try comedy or be comedians. Portuguese open mics can be up to three hours long with like 15 comedians, and that’s after telling a bunch of people there’s no space left to perform. At Cais a Rir, we had comedy nights booked with acts for months in advance for the Portuguese nights because so many people want to perform. We’re not talking headliners or anything, just regular people who want to try. Could you imagine having to wait for months to try doing standup?

But there are not enough opportunities because the laws create too much overhead, so there’s just a small pocket of passionate people putting on these open mics, and I promise it’s not because of the money. Cause there really isn’t any for the size of shows I’m talking about.

This is all fucked. It’s very fucking fucked, and I hate it, and it breaks my god damn heart because there could honestly be a fantastic comedy scene in Portuguese AND English here in Lisbon, but not with the current state of things. It will never happen until the laws change. And it’s so frustrating to recognize that it’s because the people writing the rule probably have no clue about the struggles around standup comedy. But again, I’ve been to the IGAC. They’re not evil (I think). They just don’t understand.

So, I tried to help them understand. And I wrote a big ass letter to the IGAC in hopes that they would re-think the laws around standup comedy shows. I sent it two months ago in the middle of the pandemic. They have not responded to me, but like, they should definitely have had time to read it cause there weren’t any events happening for the past few months. Early in the year before all the Coronavirus stuff, I emailed Ana Cruz, one of the lovely people at the IGAC. I asked her who I have to contact to get the laws changed. It wasn’t exactly like “I would like to speaker with the manger of Portugal,” but it was close. She told me to send in an email to their general email account to set up a meeting and share my concerns with them. But then all the COVID shit happened, and I got ants in my pants about the whole thing. So instead, I emailed them the long-ass email with my concerns. And when all this pandemic shit slows down a bit, I’m going to email them again to request that meeting.

I’m absolutely sure this Portuguese governmental organization is going to be excited that an American is showing up, making everyone speak English so they can listen to me tell them that they’re doing everything wrong. I cannot wait for the deadpan looks of “who the fuck does this idiot think he is?”. What I’m trying to say is, I really shouldn’t be the person doing this. But I’ve asked around quite a bit, and it doesn’t seem like anyone here has ever done this or even thought to do it.

So, I’m sharing this idea with as many Portuguese comedians as I can here in Lisbon. In the hopes that someone might give enough of a fuck to send their own letter, or set up their own meeting with the IGAC. I talked about the letter with a couple Portuguese comedians today, and they were interested in seeing it. So I’m going to copy the English version I sent and the Portuguese version I submitted. I had someone translate my letter, so there is no excuse for them not to read it and at least understand many of the struggles people are having here.

I’ll be the first to admit that the letter is pretty terrible and not very convincing. There might even be a bunch of wrong info. I asked around as much as I could and gave it my best shot. But shit isn’t going to change unless people start talking about it, and this is my attempt. Below you can find the letters that were sent in English and Portuguese.

In English:

Firstly, I hope you all are doing well and staying safe during these scary times. This is a very strange time for everyone, and thankfully the situation has been handled well here in Portugal compared to most countries.

I want to talk with you all about comedy. My hope is that you’ll consider these suggestions to improve the environment for stand up comedians here in Portugal. But first, I’ll tell you quickly who I am.

My name is Fernando, or “That Guy”, when I’m performing. My parents are both from Portugal, but I was born and grew up in the USA. Unfortunately, I didn’t learn Portuguese, and that’s why this letter is in English. I’m learning though! I live in Portugal now, and I have been performing English standup comedy around the country; in Lisbon, Porto, Coimbra, and Famalicão. I have hosted several standup comedy shows here in Lisbon, and I currently help run “Cais a Rir” comedy club. It took help from many other comedians here in Portugal, and people at the IGAC, to learn all the regulations required to promote events, not forgetting Ana Cruz who helped me understand all the details when I visited the IGAC office.

I registered as an artist with financias, so that I could register as a promoter with the IGAC. I communicated my events as required and performed the process of collecting signatures for copyright disclosure. I helped others become registered promoters as well to try and create more comedy events here in Lisbon. I’m saying this in the hopes that you’ll recognize I’m familiar with the system you’ve implemented. I have met all of your expectations, but I have concerns about the current system and how it impacts comedians and people who want to promote events. I want your help to improve the system for comedians and comedy events in Portugal.

The current system, in my observations, assumes that only an established production company would want to put on standup comedy events. The rules make it very difficult for average individual people here to promote and run comedy shows. 200€ for a license is very difficult for most comedians I know, and there is already very little money in standup comedy events here in Portugal. I know of two comedy clubs in Lisbon that have already shut down because the promoters could not make the bars enough money. These risks scare production companies from promoting more comedy shows unless there is a ‘big name.’ The costs prevent passionate individuals from having the chance to try putting on performances. They’re scared their shows will be shut down by the IGAC. And so the result of the current system is we have very few shows compared to other places around the world.

Even the cost of communicating the shows and the time it takes to collect signed documents makes the process very difficult for the average person.

Standup comedy is like all other art forms which require practice and repetition, and the practice happens during the performance. You do not learn to become a standup comedian practicing in an empty room. We need more shows, and more opportunities for people to become good. For people to become ‘big names’, they need as many opportunities as possible.

My desire, and the desire of many comedians here in Lisbon/Portugal, is to have a vibrant, diverse standup comedy scene - like in the cities of New York, London, and even Berlin. In these cities, you can find shows available almost every night. How is this possible? The process in most of these places is that you simply go to a venue, and ask to put on a show. People do not need to contact an organization like the IGAC.

I’ll tell you a quick story of when I performed with a guy named Rui Xará in Porto. He promotes and hosts many standup comedy shows there. He’s a pretty big Portuguese comedian in Porto and has been doing standup comedy for almost 30 years. He’s been on TV and performed all over the country. One night after a show, he was showing us videos on his phone of him and his friends performing in bars decades ago. No registration was needed. There were no documents to sign. They would go to the bar and put on a comedy show to entertain people. And they became excellent because of it. Enough to make a living and earn money from it. That experience looks to be gone, and now people here who want the same opportunity have many barriers that are too difficult to overcome. I know this because they’re my friends. I perform with them. I go to the Portuguese comedy shows. And they tell me how much of a struggle it is, and now that i’m a promoter myself I can feel it.

I hope you’ll recognize that standup comedy has always been an art form driven by a passion for making other people laugh. Many of the people I know who have the passion don’t have the money the IGAC is asking for or don’t have the time to handle the communications and bookkeeping required. It should not be this way. It’s not this way in most other cities. People had these opportunities in Portugal in the past, and others have these opportunities elsewhere. And I think we should figure out how to create more of these opportunities here again. This is a great time to figure out how to make this change. Because when the pandemic is over businesses will need to attract people out again, people will be looking for opportunities to earn money again, and most of all we will need to laugh and feel good again.. So, let me share some ideas on how I think the situation could be improved to create an explosion of comedy after this mess is over. Check it out:

In an ideal world, someone who wants to promote a standup comedy event at a bar or other small venues should not have to talk to the IGAC at all. Similar to how the rules are in the USA or London. But I recognize asking for that might be too much. I hope the following suggestions are more reasonable, because I believe they would have a huge impact. If we can implement the changes below, it would be a massive boost for standup comedy events in Portugal. It would make the rules more straightforward and understandable. And the best part of all these changes is the IGAC would probably earn more money from licenses.

First, I think there should be a separate license for promoting standup comedy events, and the price should be 20€ instead of 200€. Again, most people I know who want to put on comedy shows are poor. They make minimum wage in Portugal, and the price immediately kills their dream. If you lower the cost specifically for standup comedy events, more people will be able to sign up and create events. IGAC will also earn more money from this change. There aren’t enough people who want to become promoters that can afford 200€. Many people can afford 20€ and have the desire to become promoters. Comedians here ask me all the time how to become a promoter, and I tell them the costs, and they simply can’t afford it I have already paid 200€ to buy my friend a license so that he could do events as well. But I can’t buy it for everyone. We need to make it more economical for the people that have a passion for this. It hurts me that I can’t help teach people how to do the things I’m doing because they don’t have enough money.

Also, these people have very little time to spare. The amount of effort required to communicate the shows, for a person, is unbearable. I know because I’ve been trying to do it. But standup comedy is not like many performances. Again, it feels like the rules expect that everyone is a company with an office of people that can manage all the paperwork. Now, if you’re a company, the current rules are excellent, and they make sense. For individuals who already have existing jobs, families, and other obligations, it’s almost impossible to do the required paperwork. I have a comfortable life compared to most of my friends here because I work from home and earn good money. And it’s still very tough for me to keep up with the paperwork while only trying to do a few shows a month. I’m struggling a lot to create more opportunities for them. Because many people want to perform, but there are not enough opportunities. And it’s becoming too much for me, so I hope we can make the rules easier for the average person. I know a lot of young people who are very talented like Rui Xará, but they have no way of showing off those talents because of the current situation.

The next change is much bigger, I’ll admit. People who buy the standup comedy promoter license should not need to communicate the events or have comedians sign copyright declarations. The signatures are difficult to obtain unless you have the right equipment or excellent technical skills. Or an office full of people working full time to manage it. I use software that costs me over 100€ to help automate the process of sending forms for people to sign electronically. And it’s still very, very difficult. Sometimes shows could have up to 10 artists performing in a single night. Because many comedy shows are free, people cancel or ask to join at the last minute, which adds to the frustrations of the communication process. Putting so much effort to communicate shows and collect signatures for events where the details change very quickly puts too much stress on a small promoter. Especially for shows in small venues where there aren’t big crowds. The nature and economics of comedy shows are already a struggle. Most people want to do free shows because they love this, or when they sell tickets, they make very little money. We’re not talking about shows in theatres with 1,000 or 5,000 seats. We’re talking about people who want to stand in a bar with a microphone for 30 people.

Here’s the one rule that I hope will make all this work. This 20€ comedy license would only be suitable for events with 200 people or less. No matter if they are free or ticketed shows. The existing IGAC rules would apply to all standup comedy events at big arenas and theatres.

These changes would have several positive effects for individual comedians or comedians who want to become promoters. They would still need to become registered in financias, and go to the IGAC to buy the license and share their intent to promote standup comedy shows. IGAC would still have control over these events and be able to revoke the license of promoters who don’t follow the rules. The reduced overhead would allow many more people to start performing and promoting their comedy events. Because the process is now more straightforward for them, they have a much higher chance of being successful. If they do well, they could start selling tickets and earn some side income. If they continue to grow and events are getting close to 200 people, they should be making a decent amount of money. A new level will exist for individuals starting out on their own to be successful if they do lots of small shows. Eventually they may be able to afford to start a proper company and hire people to help with all the requirements of the full 200€ promoter license if they want to do larger events. Or, they could continue to do many smaller events and still earn a good living. This creates an opportunity for people with fewer risks. It’s like companies that offer a free trial with limitations, and if you want access to do more you need to buy the full product. The standup comedy license would hopefully be a gateway for passionate individuals to live off of, or earn side income from standup comedy. With this current system it’s almost impossible for most people to do this.

People will have more opportunities with these changes. The IGAC could make more money and reduce the work for yourselves and the artists who want to promote their standup comedy shows. People will have a more natural path to become successful as standup comedians, hosts, and promoters. And it could lead them to create businesses that can be successful under the rules of the 200€ license. But they need an easier path to get there.

Again thank you all for your help and the opportunities I’ve had to create comedy events here in Lisbon. I would like to see my Portuguese friends here have more opportunities to be creative, successful, and spread happiness. The IGAC can play a massive part in this process once things return to normal in Portugal after the pandemic. I hope you’ll strongly consider these changes so that all of my friends who are passionate about spreading humor and happiness have a better path to do it.

In Portuguese:

Olá IGAC!

Em primeiro lugar, espero que esteja tudo bem e seguro durante estes tempos assustadores. Este é um momento muito estranho para todos e, felizmente, a situação foi bem tratada aqui em Portugal, em comparação com a maioria dos países.

Quero falar convosco sobre comédia. A minha esperança é que considerem as sugestões que se seguem para melhorar o ambiente dos comediantes em Portugal. Mas primeiro, rapidamente direi quem sou.

O meu nome é Fernando, ou “That Guy”, quando estou a atuar.

Os meus pais são portugueses, mas eu nasci e cresci nos EUA. Infelizmente, não aprendi português. Estou a aprender! Moro em Portugal agora e tenho feito “stand-up” em inglês por todo o país; em Lisboa, Porto, Coimbra e Famalicão… Já organizei vários espetáculos de comédia aqui em Lisboa e de momento ajudo também a organizar o clube de comédia “Cais a Rir”. Foi necessária a ajuda de muitos outros comediantes portugueses e do IGAC para aprender todos os regulamentos necessários para promover eventos, não esquecendo a Ana Cruz, que me ajudou a entender todos os detalhes quando visitei o escritório do IGAC.

Registei-me como artista nas Finanças, para me poder registar como promotor no IGAC. Comuniquei os meus eventos conforme necessário e completei o processo de recolha de assinaturas para divulgação de direitos autorais. Ajudei outras pessoas a tornarem-se promotoras registadas e também a tentar criar mais eventos de comédia em Lisboa. Escrevo isto na esperança de que reconheçam que estou familiarizado com o sistema implementado. Atendi a todas as expectativas, mas tenho preocupações com o sistema atual e como ele afeta comediantes e pessoas que desejam promover eventos. Gostaria da vossa ajuda para melhorar o atual sistema para os comediantes e eventos de comédia em Portugal.

O sistema atual, do meu ponto de vista, pressupõe que apenas uma empresa de produção estabelecida terá interesse em promover eventos de comédia stand-up. As regras fazem com que seja muito difícil para pessoas em nome individual promovam e executem espetáculos de comédia. 200 € para uma licença é muito difícil para a maioria dos comediantes que conheço, havendo já muito pouco dinheiro em eventos de comédia em Portugal. Conheço dois clubes de comédia em Lisboa que já fecharam porque os promotores não conseguiram dar a ganhar dinheiro suficiente aos bares. Estes riscos assustam as produtoras de promover mais espetáculos de comédia, a não ser que exista um ‘nome grande’. Os custos impedem que indivíduos motivados tenham a oportunidade de se apresentar. Ficam com medo que os seus espetáculos sejam encerrados pelo IGAC. E assim, o resultado deste sistema atual é que temos muito poucos espetáculos em comparação com outros lugares no mundo.

Mesmo o custo de comunicação dos espetáculos e o tempo necessário para recolher documentos assinados dificulta o processo para a pessoa em nome individual.

A comédia stand-up é como todas as outras formas de arte que requerem prática e repetição, e a prática acontece durante a performance. Não dá para aprender a ser um comediante de stand-up ao praticar numa sala vazia. Precisamos de mais espetáculos e mais oportunidades para que as pessoas se tornem melhores. Para as pessoas se tornarem em “nomes grandes “, precisam de tantas oportunidades quanto possível.

O meu desejo, e o desejo de muitos comediantes em Lisboa/Portugal, é que haja uma cena de comédia stand-up vibrante e diversificada - como nas cidades de Nova York, Londres e até Berlim. Nessas cidades, encontram-se programas disponíveis quase todas as noites. Como é possível? O processo na maioria destes sítios é que simplesmente se pode ir a um estabelecimento e pedir para fazer um espetáculo. Não há necessidade de entrar em contato com uma organização como o IGAC.

Vou contar uma história rápida de quando atuei com o Rui Xará no Porto. Ele promove e apresenta muitos espetáculos de comédia stand-up nessa mesma cidade. Ele é um grande comediante português e faz comédia stand-up há quase 30 anos. Já apareceu na TV e atuou por todo o país. Uma noite depois de um espetáculo, ele estava-nos a mostrar vídeos dele e de amigos a atuarem em bares há umas décadas. Nenhum registo era necessário na altura. Não havia documentos para assinar. Eles simplesmente iam ao bar e faziam um espetáculo de comédia para entreter as pessoas. Eles tornaram-se excelentes no que fazem por causa disto mesmo. Faziam o suficiente para ganhar a vida e ganhar dinheiro com a sua arte. Esta é uma experiência que parece ter acabado, e agora as pessoas que querem a mesma oportunidade têm muitas barreiras que são difíceis de superar. Eu sei disto porque eles são meus amigos. Atuo com eles. Porque vou aos espetáculos de comédia portugueses. Eles dizem-me o quão difícil é, e agora que sou promotor também, sinto essa mesma dificuldade.

Espero que possam reconhecer que a comédia stand-up sempre foi uma forma de arte motivada por uma paixão em fazer outras pessoas rir. Muitas das pessoas que conheço que têm paixão não têm o dinheiro que o IGAC pede ou não têm tempo para lidar com as comunicações e a contabilidade necessárias. Não deveria ser assim. Não é assim na maioria das outras cidades. As pessoas já tiveram estas oportunidades em Portugal no passado, e outras tiveram estas oportunidades noutros lugares. Acho que devemos descobrir como criar mais destas oportunidades novamente. Este é um ótimo momento para descobrir como fazer esta alteração. Pois quando esta pandemia terminar, as empresas precisarão de atrair as pessoas novamente, procurarão oportunidades para ganhar dinheiro novamente e, acima de tudo, precisaremos de rir e de nos sentirmos bem. Então, deixem-me partilhar algumas ideias sobre como eu acho que a situação poderia ser melhorada para criar uma explosão de comédia depois desta confusão terminar. Aqui vai:

Num mundo ideal, alguém que queira promover um evento de comédia stand-up num bar ou noutros locais pequenos não deve ter que entrar em contacto com o IGAC. Semelhante às regras impostas nos EUA ou em Londres. Mas reconheço que pedir esta alteração pode ser demais. Espero que as sugestões a seguir sejam mais razoáveis, porque acredito que teriam um grande impacto. Se conseguirmos implementar as alterações abaixo, seria um grande impulso para os eventos de comédia stand-up em Portugal. Tornaria as regras mais diretas e compreensíveis. A melhor parte de todas as mudanças é que o IGAC provavelmente ganharia mais dinheiro com licenças.

Primeiramente, creio que deve haver uma licença separada para promover eventos de comédia stand-up, e o preço deveria ser de 20 € em vez de 200 €. Mais uma vez, a maioria das pessoas que conheço que querem fazer espetáculos de comédia, são pobres. Ganham um salário mínimo em Portugal, então o preço da licença necessária mata imediatamente o sonho. Se o custo for reduzido especificamente para eventos de comédia stand-up, mais pessoas poderão inscrever-se e criar eventos. O IGAC também sairá a ganhar com esta mudança. Não há pessoas suficientes que se queiram tornar promotoras que podem pagar os 200 €, mas muitas pessoas podem pagar 20 € e querem tornar-se promotoras. Os comediantes portugueses perguntam-me o tempo todo como se podem tornar promotores, eu digo-lhes os custos, e eles simplesmente não podem pagar. Eu já paguei 200 € para comprar a licença para um amigo para que ele pudesse fazer eventos. Mas não a posso comprar para todos. Precisamos de fazê-la mais económica para as pessoas que têm uma paixão por esta arte. Dói-me que não possa ajudar e ensinar as pessoas a fazer as coisas que eu faço, porque não têm dinheiro suficiente.

Para além disto, estas pessoas têm muito pouco tempo para dedicar. A quantidade de esforço necessária para comunicar os espetáculos, para uma pessoa, é insuportável. Eu sei porque tenho tentado fazer isso mesmo. Mas a comédia stand-up não é como muitas performances. Mais uma vez, parece que as regras esperam que todas as pessoas sejam uma empresa com um escritório de pessoas que possa gerir toda a papelada. Na verdade, se existe uma empresa, as regras atuais são excelentes e fazem sentido. Agora para indivíduos que já têm empregos, famílias e outras obrigações, é quase impossível fazer a papelada necessária.

Tenho uma vida confortável em comparação com a maioria dos meus amigos portugueses, porque trabalho em casa e ganho um bom salário. Ainda assim é muito difícil acompanhar a papelada mesmo quando apenas faço alguns espetáculos por mês. Estou a lutar muito para criar mais oportunidades para todos os comediantes. Muitas pessoas querem atuar, mas não têm oportunidades suficientes. Está-se a tornar demasiado para mim, espero que possamos facilitar as regras para as pessoas comuns. Conheço muitos jovens muito talentosos como o Rui Xará, mas não têm como mostrar esses talentos devido à situação atual.

A próxima mudança é muito maior, admito. As pessoas que adquirem a licença de promotor de comédia stand-up não deveriam de ter que comunicar os eventos ou ter comediantes que assinam declarações de direitos autorais. É difícil obter as assinaturas, a menos que tenha o equipamento certo ou excelentes habilidades técnicas, ou um escritório cheio de pessoas a trabalhar a tempo inteiro. Eu uso um software que me custa mais de 100 € para ajudar a automatizar o processo de envio de formulários para as pessoas assinarem eletronicamente. Ainda assim, é muito, muito difícil. Por vezes, os espetáculos podem ter até 10 artistas a atuar numa única noite. Como muitos espetáculos de comédia são gratuitos, as pessoas cancelam ou pedem para participar no último minuto, o que aumenta as frustrações do processo de comunicação. Fazer muito esforço para comunicar espetáculos e recolher assinaturas de eventos em que os detalhes mudam muito rapidamente coloca muito stress num pequeno promotor. Especialmente para espetáculos em pequenas salas onde não há grandes multidões. A natureza e a economia dos espetáculos de comédia já são uma luta. A maioria das pessoas quer fazer espetáculos gratuitos por amor à camisola, ou quando vende bilhetes, para ganhar muito pouco dinheiro. Não estamos a falar de espetáculos em cinemas com 1.000 ou 5.000 lugares. Estamos a falar de pessoas que querem estar num bar com um microfone para 30 pessoas.

Esta é a única regra que espero que faça tudo isto funcionar. Esta licença de comédia de 20 € seria adequada apenas para eventos com 200 pessoas ou menos. Não importa se são espetáculos gratuitos ou com bilhetes. As regras existentes do IGAC aplicar-se-iam a todos os eventos de comédia stand-up em grandes pavilhões e/ou teatros.

Estas mudanças teriam vários efeitos positivos para comediantes individuais ou comediantes que querem tornar-se promotores. Precisariam ainda de se registar nas Finanças e ir ao IGAC para comprar a licença e partilhar a sua intenção de promover espetáculos de comédia stand-up. O IGAC teria ainda o controlo sobre esses mesmos eventos e seria intitulado a revogar a licença de promotores que não sigam as regras. A sobrecarga reduzida permitiria que muito mais pessoas começassem a apresentar e promover os seus eventos de comédia. Como o processo seria mais direto, haveria uma oportunidade maior dos eventos serem bem-sucedidos. Se se derem bem, os promotores poderiam começar a vender bilhetes e obter alguma receita adicional. Se continuarem a crescer e os eventos estiverem a chegar perto de 200 pessoas, já deverão obter uma receita decente. Existirá um novo patamar para indivíduos sozinhos em início de carreira terem sucesso se fizerem muitos espetáculos pequenos. Eventualmente, poderão dar-se ao luxo de começar uma empresa adequada e contratar pessoas para ajudar com todos os requisitos da licença completa de promotor de 200 €, se quiserem promover eventos maiores. Ou poderiam continuar a promover muitos eventos pequenos e ainda conseguir ganhar dinheiro. Isto cria uma oportunidade para as pessoas que envolve menos riscos. É como as empresas que oferecem uma avaliação gratuita com limitações e, se deseja aceder a mais, precisa de comprar o produto completo. Espero que a licença de comédia stand-up seja uma porta de entrada para indivíduos apaixonados pela arte viverem ou ganharem receita secundária com a comédia stand-up. Com o sistema atual, é quase impossível para a maioria das pessoas fazer isto acontecer.

As pessoas terão mais oportunidades com estas mudanças. O IGAC poderia ganhar mais dinheiro e reduzir o trabalho para si e para os artistas que desejam promover os seus espetáculos de comédia stand-up. As pessoas terão pela sua frente um caminho mais natural para obter sucesso como comediantes, apresentadores e promotores. Isso poderá levá-las a criar negócios que podem ser bem-sucedidos sob as regras da licença de 200 €. Mas precisam de um caminho mais fácil para lá chegar.

Mais uma vez, obrigado a todos pela ajuda e pelas oportunidades que me foram dadas para criar eventos de comédia em Lisboa. Gostaria que os meus amigos portugueses tivessem também mais oportunidades de serem criativos, bem-sucedidos e de espalhar felicidade. O IGAC pode desempenhar um papel importante neste processo quando as coisas voltarem ao normal em Portugal após a pandemia. Espero fortemente que considerem estas mudanças, para que todos os meus amigos apaixonados por espalhar humor e felicidade tenham um melhor caminho para o fazer.

Obrigado.