Magicians can sell personalized trick video Personalized Videos by turning the free "do a trick for my kid's birthday" requests they already get into a priced Personalized Video: a follower submits the occasion and a trick detail, pays upfront, and receives a short custom-recorded video within a stated turnaround — no follower minimum required. Personalized Videos let a follower pay upfront for one personalized video for themselves or someone they care about: you set the price and the delivery time, then record it on your schedule.
No monthly fee, you only pay a small platform fee when you get paid. 8% platform fee when a follower pays for work, 5% platform fee on tips and goals. Card processing is separate. pricing
Most working magicians already field the same DM on repeat: "can you do a trick for my nephew's birthday" or "send my sister something for her bachelorette." Answering birthday and bachelorette trick DMs for free turns paid-level performance skill into unpaid content for an audience of one. A priced trick shoutout keeps the same routine a magician already performs, but attaches a price, a stated scope, and a delivery time to that routine.
Magic has no dedicated federal occupation code. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics files magicians inside SOC 27-2099, "Entertainers and Performers, Sports and Related Workers, All Other," whose published illustrative examples are "Clown, Comedian, Magician, Professional Poker Player" (BLS, 2018 Standard Occupational Classification System). O*NET Online reports a median wage of $18.82 per hour in 2025 and 35,800 people employed in 2024 for SOC 27-2099, the catch-all code that covers magicians, with employment projected to grow "faster than average (5% to 6%)" from 2024 to 2034 (O*NET Online, 27-2099.00). Because SOC 27-2099 mixes magicians in with clowns, comedians and professional poker players, the $18.82 median describes a residual occupation category rather than magicians specifically, and no published survey of magician shoutout pricing was located for this page. Treat the O*NET median as a time-value sanity check against a shoutout price, not as evidence about what magicians charge followers.
What is a personalized magic trick video shoutout?
A personalized magic trick video shoutout is a short recorded video where a magician performs a trick built around a person or occasion the follower names, such as a birthday reveal or a follower-supplied "prediction" number.
On Brillay the format is the Personalized Videos offer, which a creator switches on from the dashboard with their own price and delivery time, with no application step and no follower threshold (how it works). Unlike a stage performance, a trick shoutout needs no venue, no audience, and no travel time.
The organised magic community has wide historical reach, though membership records do not measure how many magicians are practising today. The Society of American Magicians states that more than 47,000 magicians worldwide have held membership "over the years" since the Society's founding in 1902 — a cumulative century-plus total, explicitly historical reach rather than a current headcount of working magicians.
"Houdini, Blackstone, David Copperfield, Lance Burton, Mat Franco, and more than 47,000 other magicians worldwide over the years have helped to preserve, elevate, and advance the art of magic as S.A.M. Compeers." — Society of American Magicians, About the S.A.M.
The Society of American Magicians reports more than 200 S.A.M. Assemblies — its local chapters — around the world (Society of American Magicians), a present-day structural figure rather than a cumulative historical one. The International Brotherhood of Magicians, which describes itself on its homepage as "the world's largest magic organization," reports members in over 80 countries and Rings on six continents, indicating that the pool of magicians who could sell a recorded trick is global rather than concentrated in a few US markets.
How much should a magician charge for a trick shoutout?
A magician should price a trick shoutout by video length and personalization effort rather than by a flat per-trick rate. Brillay's editorial example bands run from $10–$20 for a 15-to-30-second close-up card or coin trick up to $60–$100+ for a personalized two-or-three-trick mini-act (Brillay editorial pricing examples). Seasonal routines can sit in their own band too, especially if you package spooky reveals using paid Halloween video message ideas.
Brillay's trick-shoutout price bands are illustrative editorial starting points, not survey data, market rates, or transaction records (Brillay editorial pricing examples).
| Request style | Typical length | Starting price | Effort involved |
|---|---|---|---|
| Quick close-up trick (card/coin) | 15–30 seconds | $10–$20 | One trick, minimal personalization |
| Personalized "prediction" reveal | 30–60 seconds | $20–$40 | A name or detail worked into the trick |
| Kids' birthday bit | 45–75 seconds | $20–$45 | Kid-friendly patter, name mentioned on camera |
| Mentalism / "impossible" message | 60–90+ seconds | $40–$75+ | Custom setup tied to a follower-submitted detail |
| Full mini-act (2–3 tricks) | 90–120+ seconds | $60–$100+ | Multiple tricks strung together, highest prep time |
Table source: Brillay editorial pricing examples for magician trick Personalized Videos, compiled. Lengths and prices are illustrative starting bands, not a survey, a market rate, or an earnings promise; any individual video may sell for more or less, or not at all.
Two observed outside markets bracket Brillay's editorial trick-shoutout bands. The booking marketplace GigSalad publishes that professional magicians cost $300–$400 on average for a one-hour show, derived from quotes sent through its own platform (GigSalad, Magicians for Hire). At the recorded-video end, Cameo's Terms of Service set a hard floor of US$5.00 as the minimum booking fee for a Cameo video (Cameo, Terms of Service), and Cameo's talent site states its revenue split as "You take 70% we take 30%" (Cameo Talent Hub). A $10–$100 trick shoutout therefore sits between a $5 marketplace floor for personalized video and a $300–$400 live one-hour booking, and Brillay's 8% platform fee on paid work (5% on tips and goals) keeps more of that price with the magician than Cameo's stated 30% cut. Your page, your price, no application and no follower minimum.
"the Booking Fee for each CAMEO Video must be at least US$5.00 (unless it is either US$0.00 or as otherwise agreed in writing by Cameo)." — Cameo, Terms of Service
A published wage benchmark gives magicians a further time-based sanity check on trick shoutout prices. The O*NET-reported median wage of $18.82 per hour for SOC 27-2099 in 2025 works out to roughly $0.31 per minute of paid time, so a $20 shoutout that takes ten minutes to set up, record and send prices those ten minutes far above the published category median. For a general baseline before adjusting for trick complexity, see how much to charge for a personalized video.
The US magic market is commercially measurable, which gives a magician context for a shoutout price. IBISWorld estimates the U.S. Magicians market size at $413.1 million in 2026, grown at a 1.0% CAGR between 2021 and 2026 (IBISWorld, Magicians in the US market size). IBISWorld separately counts 9,592 Magicians businesses in the US as of 2026, up 2.2% from 2025. Dividing IBISWorld's $413.1 million 2026 market size by its 9,592 businesses implies average annual revenue of roughly $43,000 per US magic business — a solo-scale industry, not a corporate one.
Raise your price once your request queue stays full inside your stated delivery time, and hold near the lower end of the band while you are still testing demand.
Is a trick shoutout different from a roast or hype video?
A roast video is written to gently embarrass the recipient with jokes; a trick shoutout is performed to genuinely surprise the recipient. The same mechanics stretch further still: a pet influencer's brief centers on the pet's personality rather than a trick or a joke, as covered in how pet influencers price a personalized pet shoutout.
| Dimension | Trick shoutout | Roast / hype video |
|---|---|---|
| Goal of the video | Surprise the recipient with a performed effect | Make the recipient laugh, or fire them up |
| What the follower supplies | A name, occasion, and one detail to build the trick around | A name, occasion, and material about the person |
| Main prep work | Setting and rehearsing a camera-safe routine | Writing jokes or a hype script |
| Main risk to manage | Exposing a method on a pausable, rewatchable video | Jokes that land as mean rather than affectionate |
| Where it fits | A magician's Personalized Videos listing | A comedian's roast shoutout listing |
Table source: Brillay editorial comparison of trick and roast shoutout briefs, compiled.
If a follower wants comedic material written about someone, that request is a different brief than a magic trick and is better served by a personalized roast video shoutout. Keep a magician's own listing focused on performed magic, not stand-up material, so followers know exactly what they are paying for.
Do you need a big following to sell trick Personalized Videos?
No. Brillay's published setup flow contains no follower gate, audition, or approval queue, and its first step reads "Pick your username and create your Brillay page in a couple of minutes. No monthly fee, no upfront cost". A magician working birthday parties can list trick Personalized Videos exactly as a large-following magician can.
Brillay's published second step describes the offers themselves as self-configured rather than gated or approved: "Turn on the offers that fit you — Enable paid questions, personalized videos, custom work, tips, goals, and brand inquiries — each with your own price and delivery time".
The US magic industry is not concentrated in a handful of large firms. IBISWorld counts 10,673 people employed in the U.S. Magicians industry in 2026 against the 9,592 US Magicians businesses IBISWorld counts for 2026 — an average of roughly 1.1 workers per business, consistent with an industry made up largely of solo and very small operators. Unlike a talent-agency audition or a "Cameo for magicians" celebrity marketplace, Brillay gives any working magician their own page for priced requests, regardless of audience size — the same low-barrier setup that lets a streamer sell personalized videos alongside their channel without a follower gate.
What details should a magician's shoutout request form collect?
A magician's trick shoutout request form should collect five things at checkout: the recipient's name and how to say it, the occasion, one personal detail to build the trick around, any content limits, and whether the video is a surprise. Gathering all five at checkout removes the back-and-forth that otherwise delays recording.
Useful intake fields include:
- Recipient's name, spelled the way it should be said or shown on camera.
- Occasion, if any (birthday, graduation, anniversary, "just because"), so the tone matches the context.
- A detail to build the trick around — a favorite number, a card, a date — for a "prediction" or personalized-reveal format.
- Content limits, such as no card tricks if the recipient doesn't own a deck, or family-friendly only for a kids' party.
- Whether it's a surprise, so you know if the recipient will watch live or receive the video after the fact.
A copy-paste intake template a magician can paste into the request instructions on a Personalized Videos listing:
1. Who is this for? (Name, and how to pronounce it)
2. What's the occasion? (Birthday, engagement, graduation, just because)
3. Give me one detail to build the magic around
(a number, a playing card, a date, an inside joke)
4. Anything to avoid? (No cards, family-friendly only, no mind-reading)
5. Is this a surprise, or will they watch it with you?
And a sample listing description for the same offer:
Personalized trick video — I record a close-up magic routine built
around the person you name. Tell me the occasion and one detail
(a number, a card, a date) and I'll work it into the reveal.
Delivered as a downloadable video within 72 hours.
Family-friendly by default; say the word if you want mentalism instead.
Collecting all five intake details before recording, rather than after, keeps production time close to the recording itself.
How do you protect a trick's secret in a paid video request?
Protecting a method in a paid video request comes down to two choices a magician already makes live: choose camera-safe material, and decline any request that would force exposing a method. A recorded video can be paused, zoomed and rewatched frame by frame, so routines that depend on spectator distance or live-only misdirection travel badly to a shoutout.
Declining exposure is not just a personal preference: it is the first clause of the ethics code jointly published by the Society of American Magicians and the International Brotherhood of Magicians (magicsam.com Joint Ethics Guidelines). Neither body publishes a current membership count, so neither can be ranked by size here; the Society of American Magicians describes itself as "the world's oldest and most prestigious magic organization" (magicsam.com) and the International Brotherhood of Magicians describes itself as "the world's largest magic organization" (magician.org).
"1) Oppose the willful exposure to the public of any principles of the Art of Magic, or the methods employed in any magic effect or illusion." — Society of American Magicians and International Brotherhood of Magicians, Joint Ethics Guidelines
Brillay's own policy makes the decline decision available on every request:
"What if I get a request I don't want to fulfill? You can decline it. You're always in control of what you take on." — Brillay, How it works FAQ
A request that pushes a magician toward exposing a method on camera can be declined rather than delivered. Many magicians keep a short list of camera-safe routines built for close, repeated viewing and scope their shoutout listing to those routines only.
What other paid offers fit next to trick Personalized Videos on a magician's page?
Brillay gives a magician five other offer types alongside Personalized Videos: Paid Questions, Custom Work, Tips, Goals, and Brand Collaboration Inquiries. Route each incoming request to the offer built for it, so a quick question is not priced like a recorded performance and a booking enquiry reaches a separate inbox.
| What the follower is asking for | Offer to route it to | Why that offer |
|---|---|---|
| A full custom trick video for a person or occasion | Personalized Videos | Occasion plus a follower-sent detail, recorded and delivered within your delivery time |
| A quick question about a trick or availability | Paid Questions | Follower pays to ask; you reply in writing, no recording required |
| A custom-built routine or written trick breakdown | Custom Work | Longer written or recorded teaching piece rather than a short shoutout |
| Support with nothing to deliver | Tips | No reply or delivery obligation attached |
| New props, a stage rig, or convention travel | Goals | Cash toward a stated goal with a progress bar |
| A venue or brand wanting to book an event | Brand Collaboration Inquiries | A "work with me" form into a separate inbox — not a live booking calendar |
How do you set up personalized trick Personalized Videos on Brillay?
Setting up trick Personalized Videos on Brillay takes three decisions from the magician: price bands, delivery time, and content limits. Those three settings appear on the Personalized Videos listing for followers to read before paying. A creator turns the offer on from the dashboard, with no application step or follower threshold.
Brillay lets you deliver on your own time within the delivery time you set — no live call, no scheduling — and caps the selectable window for Personalized Videos and Custom Work at up to 5 days, the longest delivery time offered in the dashboard (Brillay product limit). Choose a window you can reliably meet around live gigs or a day job.
Here are three alternative Personalized Videos listings to test one at a time; Brillay supports one shoutout price and delivery time on your page at a time:
- "Card in the Caption" — $15, 48-hour delivery time. One close-up card trick, recipient's name said on camera, no custom prediction. Roughly 20 seconds of finished video.
- "Your Number, Predicted" — $35, 72-hour delivery time. A prediction reveal built around one follower-supplied number, date, or card. Roughly 45 seconds.
- "The Full Mini-Act" — $85, 120-hour delivery time. Two or three linked tricks with a personalized finish, scripted around the occasion. Roughly two minutes.
Self-priced independent work of the kind a trick shoutout represents has a measured share of US employment: 11.9 million people were independent contractors on their sole or main job in July 2023, representing 7.4 percent of total U.S. employment, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics' Contingent and Alternative Employment Arrangements news release.
There is no follower count required, and no separate marketplace listing to apply for — the trick Personalized Videos offer lives on the Brillay link already in your bio.
Frequently asked questions
Magicians selling trick Personalized Videos ask six questions most often: whether a follower minimum applies, whether a request that would expose a method can be refused, how a recorded shoutout differs from a live booking, who chooses the trick, what Brillay charges, and when US tax reporting produces a Form 1099-K. Short answers to each follow.
Do I need a certain follower count to sell trick Personalized Videos?
No. Brillay has no follower minimum for Personalized Videos, and there is no application or approval step — a creator turns the offer on from the dashboard with their own price and delivery time.
Can I decline a request that would force me to reveal a secret?
Yes. Brillay's published policy is "You can decline it. You're always in control of what you take on", so a request that would compromise a trick's method or push you into unsafe camera angles does not have to be delivered.
Is a trick shoutout the same as booking me for a live show or party?
No. A trick shoutout is a short, pre-recorded video delivered within a stated delivery time, not a live performance at a venue. A venue or brand wanting a live appearance fits Brand Collaboration Inquiries instead, which collects budget and details into a separate inbox rather than a booking calendar.
Can a follower request a specific trick, or do I choose it?
You can scope your listing however you want — a fixed trick, a short menu of trick styles, or an open format where you use your judgment based on the occasion and any detail the follower submits.
What does Brillay charge for a trick shoutout?
On a trick shoutout Brillay takes its platform fee only when a follower has paid you, with no monthly fee, and the rate is the one in the fee line near the top of this page. Card processing is a separate charge: Stripe's published pricing lists 2.9% + $0.30 per successful transaction for domestic cards (stripe.com/pricing).
Will I get a tax form for trick shoutout income?
That depends on where you live and how much you sell. For U.S. creators, the One, Big, Beautiful Bill retroactively reinstated the pre-2021 threshold, so for tax year 2025, tax year 2026, and the years since 2022 a third-party settlement organization must file Form 1099-K only when gross payments to a payee exceed $20,000 and transactions exceed 200 (IRS news release IR-2025-107, Oct. 23, 2025). The previously scheduled lower thresholds of $5,000 for 2024, $2,500 for 2025, and $600 for 2026 no longer apply under that reinstated rule. Two caveats from the same IRS FAQ: a state may set a lower reporting threshold than the federal one, and "the Form 1099-K reporting threshold doesn't affect whether payments are taxable". Reporting rules for magicians outside the United States vary by country — check with a local tax professional.
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