“Mortified, like The Moth, Upright Citizens Brigade, and even TED Talks, is one of the hundreds of live events around the world that have sprouted up during an era in which experiential entertainment, or the IRL economy, were supposed to grow more cherished (and more lucrative) … [But] live events exist in the same way many independent publishers exist – on a shoestring budget in which the performer is usually the last to be paid.”