Hes getting paid some seriously big bucks for doing this according to some articles online and if that's all hes worried about then hes gone a long way down in my estimation and seriously need to be called out as a total jerk for doing this, its happened before in Magic and will he be called out for it from promoters and agents and venues...course not as is all about the Money, his definition of exposure as mentioned in previous interviews is seriously weird and seem to be justifying it to himself but again money does that.

He seems to advertise pretty hard on his "5 billion plus online views!" but most of those are from a while
ago, he might be trying to position himself as the "hip" guy again.

That mostly worked for Justin Flom, so who knows.

Did it work for Flom? Sure we read all the bs about how it supposedly did but there is so much go away heat with him it is incredible. It is always the people whose mommy and daddy have money who claim you’re much stuff like this is making them.

If they get paid good for them. Being a “hip” guy again is tough. That window closes fairly quickly and you become a guy trying to hang on.

He came to our show a little bit ago and had I read this prior I would have asked him. I didn’t talk to him but nobody said he was a jerk. Quite the opposite.

One problem with relevance based on the internet alone (And I’m not saying his is or was.) becomes the transient nature of that relevance. A looking for the next net thing. Enduring popularity is a tough road.

I heard some speculation, so of course I have no idea if this is accurate, but since the Tropicana is shutting down soon and that is where he has his gig, he might be trying to get his name circulating in order to help secure a new gig. For all I know he already has one. I don't really have my finger on the pulse of his situation but thought I would share what I heard. My apologies if this has already been mentioned. Either way, it sure feels like a very selfish thing to do.

-Al

Just inviting the right people to his high profile gig here is working NOW would be enough so that makes so little sense to me.

The man is not an idiot.

I'm sure he has got his next venue already lined up as he is very loved and respected in this town and was literally the first show back from the pandemic. He is very astute and trust me doesn't need the Cafe hobbyists to continue his success. I like how everyone here as theories and opinions as to the accusations here, yet has anyone reached out to him to get actual answers directly from the source?

Mindpro, he explained himself pretty thoroughly in an interview a couple of weeks ago:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WthdRyToERI

He didn't go into detail on his reasons, but he did bring up PR and entertainment
value, so that would seem to be his motivation. Which sounds reasonable to me
as I don't much care what he does on Facebook.

The 9-year-old will be exposing far more interesting things than Murray,
and the 9-year-old doesn't affect me either.

The interview is worth a listen, the 19-to-26-minute mark in particular.

As for reaching out to him, I think he'll want to release his future plans
and contracts on his own time. (Mindpro, I know you were referring to the
exposure, not his business dealing, I'm only writing this in case
someone misinterpreted.)

Thanks for the link. Listening particularly to the time segment you mentioned, what is the problem? What I see again is the divide between a top working pro from within the industry, and hobbyists, amateurs, and local level guys which are two different things. No sure the point in that segment you have a problem with.

As far as Alan and his theory, I think you may be reading too much into it. Murray performs at the Laugh Factory, one of the most successful comedy club chain in the country. It just happens to be in the Tropicana. So laymen see it as Murray performs at the Trop. In reality it is much different.

My guess is the Laugh Factory will be locating to another local property here and Murray will simply go with them. No need to be getting his name circulating for another gig. I'm sure he is just waiting for them (Laugh Factory) to make their announcement as is proper and as he should be.

Sure this could be a time to see what other offers he could get which he'd be ridiculous no to consider, but why rock the cart when you have a great deal and a great relationship with your current venue (Laugh Factory, not Trop.?)

Also kudos to Scott for tackling this hot topic. Not sure I would have done it or that it was a best move, but kudos none the less.

No problem, I just thought it was interesting, also summarizes the subject for folks who don't want to listen to the whole thing.
The amount of times he brought up his hair was funny though.

As a professional I get his frustration with the large amount of amateurs and hobbyists that comprise much of the magic community and their being so vocal, opinionated, and the me-based and the current state of both magic and the social media and modern media around it. These magicians today don't get it which I also understand and yes, is so frustrating. The community and the industry are much different.

As for the exposure part we must remember that the magic community has always been fueled by lower-level exposure. It is what gets someone into magic in the first place - the learning of low-level tricks and their secrets from magic kits, magic stores, novelty shops, and even cereal and Cracker Jack boxes (lol). This is what has fueled magic for generations. It is with modern media that this has changed and become unhealthy to the industry. For those of us who took pride in operating from the industry point of view and seeing the lines being blurred and the longtime secrets and discretions diminished by today's magicians and community and that it is what has allowed magic to descend to its lowest level ever is quite difficult. While it has brought the amateurs in closer to the pros (not necessarily a good thing), it has also created the biggest divide and problems.

Yeah his hair is his brand and trademark and of course teh type of thing others on the internet love to attack. It is hard being a professional and unique in magic these days.

It is always amazing the amount of things people who are not in the performing end of the industry know that guys like Murry, who have been at it at a TOP level for decades seem not to know LOL. Nobody knows the details of his deal or who it is even with (As Mindpro points out.) or the first thing about it. Yet they want to make assumptions based on assumptions about what he does or why. How silly.

Nobody knows his reasoning. Nobody SHOULD be speculating.

Danny I don't think speculation is necessarily bad. I think it can progress topics and thoughts.

Yeah, no. If it is wrong then people start running with incorrect information. It can only progress them with incorrect and nonfactual information. That never leads to anything productive or good.

When speculation is disguised as knowledge it is very bad.

Why would anyone want to further a topic with the wrong information?

The man deserves the benefit of the doubt.

So if it known as wrong then it is no longer speculation. Just like if it is true it isn't speculation anymore.

So are you guys saying it is untrue?

Yes, I reached out to him on the vanishing bush several years ago. He told me he would take it out of his show out of respect for me. I guess You tube does not count.
His premise that this stuff is outdated is wrong. Copperfield and Jim Steinmeyer have both made a good living doing the "outdated" stuff with new dressing. Levent does the vanishing bush every show. I made a vanishing marijuna bush for a buys a couple of years ago. It is up to the performer to sell any effect. Getting cheap laughs to expose things is beneath even Murry.

If laughs are the goal, I get it. However, I saw the video and saw no laughs in it. It's just the same "joke" repeated several times, getting weaker each time. In Scott's interview, Murray said that exposure is a bad thing when it's vindictive, and I think he is practicing just that. Young people just getting started in magic use the effects being exposed. What is the point in destroying their confidence by taking the mystery away? Maybe he just doesn't like kids, and I understand that. Many people feel that way. It does seem sad that someone would do that to kids, though. Discouraging the magicians of the future is a sad way to insure YouTube views (in my opinion).

I don't think he's doing it to be vindictive; I think he's doing it to gain followers and attention. That still doesn't make it acceptable in my mind, because it's at the expense of other performers. Unless he ran this idea by every single magician who's done this effects or plans to do them in the future, there's no other way to see it. It's not malice, but it is carelessness and self-serving.

You're probably right, but it seems a little malicious to me. As far as self-serving goes, he acknowledges that this is the whole point. I feel like I'm seeing a little vindictiveness, as well, though. I can't guess why, but as I've mentioned, young people appear to be the main ones being targeted. There are also the "magic uncles" who have a few off-the-shelf tricks. The usual YouTube exposures are not loaded with entertainment value and get mostly ignored. Murray, as a self-proclaimed "celebrity," will have more attention given him, I would think.

Scott has an interview with Justin Flom up, and they cover the same topic. While I still just generally don't like the idea of exposure, Flom has actually put some sound thinking into his rationale. I recommend giving that podcast a listen. I'm sure it makes sense to him. It almost makes sense to me. It's not just exposure for the sake of unfunny exposure. To think that the video causing all this broo-ha-ha is funny seems just a bit delusional.

I guess I just mean that my hunch is he's not out to actively harm other performers, though I could be wrong as I don't know him well or his motives beyond what he's said publicly. I saw him recently at the Magic Castle and I would hope that he's not booked again while these videos are still out there. You make a good point that his content will get more traction because of who he is, which makes it that much worse.