Open mic

Comedy open mike nights can be held at established comedy clubs, but are more commonly held at other venues with or without a stage, often the upstairs or back room of a pub or bar. Such nights give newer acts an opportunity to practice and improve, with a view to getting paid work. More experienced acts get an opportunity to work out newer material where the audience is not paying in anticipation of seeing their normal act. In a typical open mike night, newer acts will get about five minutes of stage time, but more experienced acts may get ten or more minutes.

Open mic comedy nights are most widespread in larger English-speaking cities with a well-established stand-up comedy scene, especially London and New York. In these cities, with a plethora of aspiring comedians, the greatest challenge may be in attracting a worthwhile audience.

These shows provide an opportunity for people to gain experience performing to a live audience without having to go through the process of getting normal music gigs, which is very difficult to do without experience of live performance.

Open mikes have been gaining in popularity in recent times, providing a much-needed outlet for singer-songwriters. Prior to their popularity, the only outlet generally were folk clubs, which were not always friendly towards creators of new music, preferring traditional music. They also suggested that music performed by an acoustic musicians or a solo artists in this manner would necessarily be folk music, a misconception that still commonly exists today. Some organizers have chosen the title "acoustic night" or "acoustic club" in an attempt to indicate an event run broadly on the lines of a folk club, but with a much wider range of musical styles.

However, music open mikes present can present several challenges. If an open mike is poorly organized, a performer may wait for hours only to be told there is no slot available. Also, some are more cliques than truly open and may be used by the host/organizer as a platform for themselves (and perhaps their friends), leaving little time for others.

There are also sometimes issues with the attitudes of musicians and audiences. It is common to find performers who talk and show little or no interest in other acts, and then leave immediately after they themselves have performed. This is not really in the supportive spirit of an open mike, although it can be much less of a problem where non-musicians make up the majority of the audience.

Occasionally, audiences may be less willing to hear new and original music, preferring instead covers of established songs.

Either spelling, "open mike" or "open mic", is correct.

"Open mike" is also often used to refer to events that could more properly be named "open stage" where there is no amplification.

• OpenMikes.org - Music, comedy, and poetry open mike listings in the United States and Canada
• Mike, Dammit - Essay on the "mike" vs. "mic" debate
• OpenMic.US - Company running Open Mics for musicians across the U.S.
• bayareaopenmics.com - A complete, up-to-date listing of open mic events in the San Francisco Bay Area
• RooftopComedy.com - A website specializing in live stand-up comedy, that publishes open-mike comedy from numerous comedy clubs in the US and Europe.
• effinfunny.com - A website featuring a new clip of live stand-up comedy every day from many open-mikes in Hollywood