One thing is certain: while the appetite for audio content has never been higher, the industry’s willingness to pay for it has rarely been lower. We live in an age mired in “content,” yet often devoid of the structural rigour and craft that defines a truly great sitcom or drama. Into this breach steps Lead Mojo, a production company which has evidently decided that if the traditional broadcasters won’t foot the bill for high-quality scripted comedy, the listeners might just have to step up.
Funding the Future of Audio Comedy
Monday (January 19) saw the launch of Smelt, a new marketplace that looks to bypass the usual gatekeepers entirely. The premise is straightforward, if ambitious: a direct-to-consumer platform for independent, scripted audio comedy.
The project is the brainchild of producer Ed Morrish, a man with a track record of delivering the goods (including Sound Heap and NonCensored). His logic is sound. While conversational podcasts are cheap to produce and free to consume, scripted comedy requires time, writing, rehearsals, and editing—a “compact, absorbing” process that, as Morrish notes, makes the work “so much more re-listenable” than two celebrities waffling over a microphone.
He invokes the holy trinity of radio comedy—The Hitchhiker’s Guide To The Galaxy, The Goon Show, and Old Harry’s Game—as the benchmark, hoping to find “five thousand people per series who value the craft” enough to support it. That sentiment—that professional writers deserve professional remuneration—is the engine driving Smelt. The platform uses a pre-sale model, essentially asking the audience to fund the production costs upfront to ensure the writers and actors are paid properly for their labour.
The Launch Slate: At A Glance
For those looking to invest in the first wave, the platform offers nine distinct flavours of comedy. It is a roster that suggests Lead Mojo is not merely testing the waters, but looking to boil the ocean.
- Tamworth (Ian Martin): A period sitcom and political satire set in the late 8th century from the Thick of It alumnus.
- Shadow Rabbits (Joel Morris & Ben Willbond): The Ghosts team tackles the bureaucracy of spycraft—specifically the health and safety forms behind the jetpacks.
- This Conversation Never Happened (Andy Hamilton): Imagined historical conversations from the creator of Old Harry’s Game.
- Undoable (Deborah Frances-White): A sitcom navigating the agony of sexual chemistry in a small town.
- Randomly Selected (Amna Saleem): A sharp, socially-bited romcom set within the chaotic confines of an airport.
- The Least Bad Of All Possible Worlds (Eddie Robson): Sci-fi comedy featuring parallel world refugees in a Lancashire boarding house.
- The Inn (Alice Fraser): A fly-on-the-wall fantasy series piecing together stories from overheard snippets.
- Broken News (Larry & Paul): Hard-hitting cultural satire treating the petty minutiae of life with global urgency.
- Missing History (Mark Evans): A spoof history podcast filling in the gaps that were too embarrassing to record.
A Revolt Against the “Cheapskates”
The sheer variety on offer is a statement in itself. It features a collection of industry stalwarts who have evidently grown tired of waiting for commissions that may never come. Ian Martin, never one to mince words, commented on the launch with characteristic bluntness: “I love the idea of having a paying audience. So much more rewarding than writing for a miserable bunch of moaning cheapskates.”. He adds, with a touch of menace, “I love you all, in advance.”.
Eddie Robson, whose sci-fi offering The Least Bad Of All Possible Worlds is on the block, is equally forthright about the mechanics. Describing the platform as a train “going somewhere funny,” he lays the gauntlet down to fans of his previous work: “People who enjoyed Welcome To Our Village have been asking me for years when I’m going to write another sitcom – here’s your chance to force me to do it!”.
Kudos are also due to the platform for ensuring a breadth of voice in its initial offering. As Amna Saleem notes regarding her airport rom-com, the mainstream industry often waves away nuanced stories from diverse writers as “too niche”. She declares that “Romcoms belong to everyone,” and Smelt offers a welcome opportunity to test that theory directly against the audience’s wallet, rather than a commissioner’s prejudice.
“I hope we can find five thousand people per series who value the craft of writing, recording and editing comedy.”
Ed Morrish
There is no denying the risk here. Asking audiences to pay for audio in a world of free podcasts is a tall order. However, Lead Mojo isn’t offering a “subscription” to a vague service; they are selling tickets to specific shows. That is to say, the power is entirely in the listener’s hands.
If this model succeeds, it could provide a vital third way for an industry currently caught between shrinking public funding and the algorithmic chase for clicks. It’s a brave cast of creatives attempting to correct the course of the industry. In the end, if we want high-quality, scripted work that doesn’t rely on the BBC’s diminishing budget, we are going to have to put our money where our ears are.
Featured Image: Andy Hamilton
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