Creative product and output is under assault these days, mostly because the information age allows for anyone to take anything and call it their own. I’m not complaining - it’s part of the business. So when I post a line, let’s say this one, on Twitter:
“The New York Times has a new Men’s Style section. It’s tough to find because it’s about the same size as a NY Times subscription card.”
And this comes back to me as a tweet from someone else, maybe “in the business” or not, but not credited to me? I don’t get crazy. I’m the one who put the line out into the world. So whatever happens, that’s what happens.
The reason I post jokes on a daily basis is simple: if someone says, “you don’t write,” or “you steal your jokes,” I always can point to the fact that I wrote more jokes this morning than most people “in the industry” write in a month. So there!
(By the way? I hate when showbizzers use the phrase “in the industry”. Every time I hear it, I want to say, “Oh? So you sell steel?”)
It can get annoying, because all of us in the “arts” (can I call myself an “artist” - I’ll answer for you: NO! TAYLOR MASON IS A HACK!) are a little sensitive about our work. My first thought is, if you take my act, make it BETTER, or DIFFERENT. Don’t do this:
This guy obviously saw my act online, took the EXACT PUPPET AND JOKES (see where he pulls out a Paco around 0:35 - he probably purchased the puppet from my website!) and did it on some cable TV out channel in Italy! I don’t care that he took my act - I’M ANGRY HE DID IT SO POORLY!
Come see me do MY OWN ACT later this month:
I’m in Monticello, Illinois (not Italy) on Friday, April 17. Click for Tix
And HELLO ERIE, PA! I’m with WCTL radio Comedy Night, Saturday April 18. Tix Here.