An album or special is a lasting record of an hour, and it retires that hour in the public eye. Record a set you’ve run again and again, get the rights in writing, choose a distributor or release it yourself, launch it toward your live dates, and start the next hour before this one comes out.
Where you are, the tests for the next stop, and the steps between, in the order most comics take them. The steps are the Career Field Manual's; mark each one as you go, and the day goes in your passport.
These are tests the next stop’s buyers set in their own published rules. Tick each one when it’s true for you.
0 of 4 true
13 steps in 5 parts, from the Career Field Manual. Each has its “done when”, a D.O.C. tool for it, and your status, note and target date; star up to twelve for your 90-day plan.
From the Career Field Manual: Grow the act without padding. In the D.O.C. book: topics 51–70, 115–131 and 435–455.
Grow the act without padding · set-07
Done when Audience-tested act, not just a timed draft.
Grow the act without padding · set-08
Record the hour once it has held paying rooms many times, not the week it first reaches sixty minutes.
Done when A full headline-length performance in a real room.
From the Career Field Manual: Record without losing the act. In the D.O.C. book: topics 348–382.
Record without losing the act · release-01
Done when A specific audience or career objective.
Record without losing the act · release-03
Budget beyond the cameras: the room, the crew, the edit, captions, clearances and the launch. Taping more than one show protects the laughs and the sound.
Done when A complete plan, not just camera costs.
Record without losing the act · release-04
Get the room’s and each performer’s permission in writing, and clear any music before the edit.
Done when Written permission and rights information.
From the Career Field Manual: Choose help when it solves a problem. In the D.O.C. book: topics 290–313.
Choose help when it solves a problem · team-05
A distribution deal is a rights deal: read the term, territory, exclusivity and how you’re paid, and get professional advice before you sign.
Done when The agreement reviewed before signing.
Choose help when it solves a problem · team-06
Done when Lawyer or accountant engaged when needed.
From the Career Field Manual: Record without losing the act and Turn one good night into a return. In the D.O.C. book: topics 348–382, 348–366, 383–399 and 435–455.
Record without losing the act · release-07
Plan the launch as one piece: the release date, clips, your list and the live dates it leads to.
Done when An active official show or ticket link.
Turn one good night into a return · audience-01
Done when A date page with no phantom ticket links.
Turn one good night into a return · audience-02
Done when A poster, feed caption and venue-approved photos.
Turn one good night into a return · audience-03
Done when A consent-based signup process.
From the Career Field Manual: Record without losing the act and Build a career you can keep. In the D.O.C. book: topics 348–382 and 400–455.
Record without losing the act · release-08
Releasing an hour retires it in the public eye; have the next one growing in the rooms.
Done when A plan for replacing published material.
Build a career you can keep · sustain-07
Done when Backup of gigs, clips and agreements.
Habits, not a timetable: the atlas has no stopwatch. Keep these going, and the proof for this stop builds up week by week.
Each buyer's published rule, quoted from its own page, checked on 10 November 2026. They differ, so send each one what its page asks for, and read the page again before you send.
It takes existing recordings, from a 10-minute set to a full special, filmed on at least two HD cameras with clean sound and an audible audience.
We accept submissions of existing comedy shows whether it's a 10 minute short set or long form comedy special.
Please ensure there's at least 2 HD cameras with clean sound and an audible audience.
NextUp Comedy’s page ↗ · checked 10 November 2026
Its contact form goes to press, mail order or distribution, and it doesn’t accept demos. A label that takes no demos isn’t a place to send the record: release it yourself, or through a distributor that asks for submissions.
Emails sent from this form will only go to Press, Mail Order or Distribution.
Stand Up! does not accept demos.
Stand Up! Records’s page ↗ · checked 10 November 2026
Places that publish how a recorded special gets in, each checked on 10 November 2026. Save one to your booking desk to keep its status, a follow-up date and a note. 62 places in all, on the Career Atlas →
Published routeLondon, England · Distribution · Form
Submissions of existing recordings, from a 10-minute set to a long-form special, filmed on at least two HD cameras with clean sound and an audible audience, for its apps and partner platforms. It can also film or stream a show.
Worth knowing. Its catalog is mostly British comedy. Read the rights, the term and the territory before you agree to anything.
Checked 10 November 2026A release costs before it earns: the room, the crew, the edit, captions, clearances and promotion. Neither page here publishes a fee or a split, so this page gives none; get professional advice before you sign a distribution deal.
Settled before you recordQuestions to ask before you sign · Road Maps: the Math of a Gig, with your own numbers · Get Paid, Get Back: the deal in writing · The IRS on gig work ↗
Fill in what you know once: it fills every note below and stays on this device. Anything left blank shows in [brackets], to fill in by hand.
Subject: Recording an hour at [The room] Hi [The venue's booker], I'd like to record my hour at [The room] on [The recording dates], for release as [An album, a special or both]. The crew would be [The crew, cameras and sound], set up before doors and out of the audience's way. I'd credit the room and send people to its shows. Could we put the permission, any fee and the use of the room's name in writing? Thank you, [Your name]
Subject: Submission: [The release's title], [Your name] Hi, I'm submitting [The release's title], a [Its length, in minutes]-minute stand-up [An album, a special or both] recorded at [The room]. Screener (unlisted): [The screener or release link] Cameras and sound: [The crew, cameras and sound] Rights: I own the recording, with written releases from the venue and everyone on it. My record and dates: [Your SUCDb record or website] Thank you, [Your name]
Subject: [The release's title] is out [The release date] Hi, My [An album, a special or both], [The release's title], comes out on [The release date]. It's the hour some of you saw in the rooms, and thank you for that. Where to find it: [The screener or release link] And the next hour is already growing, live: [Your SUCDb record or website] [Your name]
1. Who owns the master, and for how long may you use it? 2. Which territories and platforms, and is it exclusive? 3. How and when am I paid, and what reports will I see? 4. Who pays for editing, captions and promotion? 5. May I post clips, and when? 6. What happens when the deal ends? 7. Who clears music, clips and images?
Tick each piece when you have it: the day goes in your passport with it. The passport keeps your whole career's record on this device, to download, print and review once a year.
Nothing yet: your status changes and ticks appear here, each with its day.
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The buyers' rules are quoted from each buyer's own page, checked on 10 November 2026. A buyer can change its rules at any time, so read its page before you send anything.
By D.O.C. Editorial. This is one stop of the Stand-Up Career Atlas: discovery & recordings, stop 4 of 5. It's a way to plan, not a promise of bookings: it gives no expected years, its only figures are the ones buyers and venues publish on their own pages, and the buyers' rules are theirs. For how comics make and release a special, read How do you make a stand-up comedy special?.
Updated · The Career Atlas · Comic's Corner · Privacy
