Laughly: 'Pandora For Jokes' Stand-Up Comedy App Hits 250,000 Users

Described as the “Pandora for jokes” or the “Spotify of Comedy,” more than a quarter million people have registered to use the stand-up app, Laughly.

The more than 700 comedians featured on the audio streaming service are paid a 50 percent split of revenue for each “click” their Laugh.ly content receives, The Next Web reports. Although the service is free and supported by advertising, a $3.99 monthly subscription to the radio and album-based format opens up exclusive comedy content and allows offline listening.

Andrew Santino, Jim Gaffigan, Lewis Black and Dane Cook are currently the top comedians listed in the “Trending” section of the website’s homepage. Kevin Hart’s “Seriously Funny,” Gabriel Iglesias’ “Aloha Fluffy” and Santino’s “Homefield Advantage” are all listed on Laugh.ly’s “Trending Albums.”

The “radio” approach is reminiscent of Pandora, and unlike satellite radio channels, Laughly is the first comedy content service to use artificial intelligence and algorithms to figure out what a user finds funny. The app also centers around full, live stand-up specials rather than podcasts, although both are available.

Read: More Than Half Of Millennials Still Watching Illegal Streaming Content

The app offers entire classic comedy performances such as George Carlin’s full 1981 release, “A Place For My Stuff,” or Chris Rock’s 1999 show, “Bigger and Blacker.” Laugh.ly also exposes listeners to newcomers from all over the stand-up comedy world who are encouraged to use the app due to their 50/50 profit splitting incentive.

Laugh.ly Creators Say Stand-Up Comedy Undergoing Pop Culture Resurgence

“Comedy is kinda having a thing right now, around the world, people need to laugh,” says comedian Brandie Posey, whose 2016 “Opinion Cave” performance is available on the app. “Laughly makes it easier to be a comedy ambassador. It’s great that we’re treated as partners, not some dirty little secret.”

App creator Dave Scott is an entrepreneur with an e-commerce background, but said he became drawn to San Francisco’s standup comedy scene, eventually even going onstage himself. The availability of comedy in a CD-like format was one factor in creating Laugh.ly.

Scott says he believes stand-up comedy is currently undergoing a popular culture resurgence.

“We’re creating a one-stop-shop for funny,” Scott told Tech Crunch. “It’s been great seeing our vision and the passion our team has for providing access to quality stand-up comedy come to fruition.”

Investment company, New York Angels, gave $2.25 million in seed funding to the company in January. The streaming service first launched publicly on both iOS and Android devices in August 2016, Tech Crunch reported.

The app requires iOS 8.0 or better and is compatible with iPhone, iPad and iPod touch. The app can be downloaded from both iTunes and Google Play.

The 2.5 version of the app was made available last Thursday (June 22) which allows access to several comedy podcasts that are exclusive to Laugh.ly: Shrink This w/ Dr. Gail Saltz & Emma Willmann, Life After Def w/ Frank Holder, On Second Thought w/ Sean McCarthy, Randos w/ Carmen Lynch and The Comedy Vault!

Laugh.ly was selected as SXSW 2017's "Best New Entertainment Startup."