Backstage (publication)
Entertainment industry publication
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Backstage, also previously written as Back Stage, is a global casting platform and entertainment industry publication that connects performers, content creators, and behind-the-scenes professionals with casting directors and production teams across film, television, theater, commercials, and digital media.
Backstage cover from June 2025 | |
| Frequency | Six times a year |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1960 |
| Company | Cast & Crew |
| Country | United States |
| Based in | Los Angeles |
| Language | English |
| Website | www |
| ISSN | 0005-3635 |
Founded in New York City as an industry trade magazine by Allen Zwerdling and Ira Eaker in 1960, the brand now encompasses Backstage.com—which features editorial content and a vetted job listings platform, Backstage magazine, and Call Sheet (formerly Ross Reports)—a directory of talent agents, casting directors, and casting calls.
In the 1990s, Back Stage established the Los Angeles–based Back Stage West, which competed primarily with the longer-established Drama-Logue; in 1998, Drama-Logue was acquired by Back Stage and merged into Back Stage West. In 2008, both versions were merged into a single national edition.
From the 1990s through the early 2010s, Backstage was a sister to fellow entertainment publications Billboard and The Hollywood Reporter, and later Adweek, via Billboard Publications and its corporate successors, such as Nielsen Business Media and Prometheus Global Media. In 2011, Back Stage was divested by Prometheus to a group led by John Amato, who relaunched the print and digital publications. After being briefly being re-acquired by Prometheus, it was sold to RZ Capital in 2013, and in turn sold to payroll company Cast & Crew in 2022.
Backstage continues to publish original digital content on career development, casting trends, and advice for performers and other talent types.[1]
Backstage is owned by Cast & Crew, a provider of production payroll and software solutions for the entertainment industry.[2]
History
Backstage (the company) was founded by Allen Zwerdling and Ira Eaker in New York City in December 1960 as a weekly tabloid-sized newspaper called Back Stage.[3] Zwerdling and Eaker had worked together for years as editor and advertising director, respectively, of the Show Business casting newspaper, which was founded by Leo Shull as Actor's Cues in 1941. After Zwerdling and Eaker left Show Business they looked into creating a casting section within The Village Voice newspaper; but, having been turned down, they decided to launch Backstage on their own.[4]
At the time of its founding, Backstage (the newsmagazine) was primarily a casting paper for New York actors intended to compete with Show Business Weekly. It gradually broadened its scope to include coverage of New York's television commercial production industry and a variety of performing arts, the former of which proved to be so lucrative advertising-wise that the commercial-production beat came to dominate the publication. Additionally, Backstage's reach began to slowly spread across the U.S., although the largest portion of its readership remained on the East Coast.[5]
Then, in 1975, Backstage opened a Los Angeles bureau and began to more actively extend its casting and editorial coverage across the U.S., with correspondents added in Chicago, Florida, and New England.[6] Around 1977, co-founder Ira Eaker's daughter Sherry joined Backstage as an editor, focusing primarily on expanding its coverage of the theater industry; in 1984, the theater section of Backstage became a separate insert.[7][5]
In 1986, Backstage was bought by Billboard Publications Inc. (BPI), owner of such publications as Billboard.[8] In 1988, BPI bought The Hollywood Reporter.[9] Backstage and The Hollywood Reporter along with a few other related brands, were grouped together within BPI, becoming its film and performing arts division, a group designed to compete with Variety and other entertainment-industry trade publications. Backstage would become involved in a number of other acquisitions, mergers, spin-offs, and sales over the next few decades.[10]
On July 6, 1990, Backstage's advertising industry content was spun off as a standalone trade publication known as Backstage/Shoot, leaving Backstage itself to focus on the creative arts.[5] Around the same time, it also acquired the New York-based talent casting directory Ross Reports.[5] In early 1994, Netherlands-based company VNU bought Backstage owner BPI.[11] VNU eventually came to own a variety of trade publications—including all of the BPI magazines as well as Mediaweek, Adweek, Film Journal International, The Hollywood Creative Directory, and many others—along with measurement company Nielsen Media Research, and events such as ShoWest and the Clio Awards.
Also in early 1994, Back Stage publisher Steve Elish hired a West Coast editor-in-chief, Rob Kendt, to help create a new publication, Back Stage West, a weekly trade paper with a focus on the West Coast acting community and casting opportunities based in California.[5] In May 1998, Back Stage acquired its main local competitor, Drama-Logue;[12] The Drama-Logue company was founded by Bill Bordy in 1969 as a casting hotline, and in 1972 it became a weekly trade publication entitled The Hollywood Drama-Logue Casting Sheet, commonly known simply as Drama-Logue. Before the end of 1998, Drama-Logue's holdings were fully integrated into Backstage.com and Back Stage West,[13] which for a time was co-branded as Back Stage West/Drama-Logue.[12]
Relaunches and acquisitions
Former publishers include Steve Elish, Jeff Black, and Charlie Weiss. Former lead editors include Sherry Eaker, Rob Kendt, Jamie Painter Young, Daniel Holloway, Dany Margolies, Tom Penketh, Erik Haagensen, Roger Armbrust, Leonard Jacobs, David Fairhurst, Andrew Salomon, Dan Lehman, dance editor Jennie Schulman (who wrote for Backstage for over 40 continuous years, starting with its first issue on Dec. 2, 1960[14]), film and television editor Jenelle Riley, contributing editor Jackie Apodaca, and actor-columnist Michael Kostroff (known for his work in The Wire), among others.
In October 2008, Backstage East and Backstage West were permanently combined into a single weekly publication with an expanded national focus. This new "national edition" was given the same name as the original 1960 edition: Back Stage.[15]
Backstage also launched a number of blogs around this time, including Blog Stage, Espresso, Backstage Unscripted, and The Backstage 411 Casting FAQ, all of which were discontinued in early 2012.
In early 2009, Ross Reports was renamed Call Sheet by Backstage, working with The Hollywood Creative Directory to expand its listings to include a wider variety of entertainment-industry contacts.
The Backstage brand remained closely tied to its primary sister publications, The Hollywood Reporter and Billboard, as well as the other e5 Global Media publications, such as Adweek, Film Journal International, and The Hollywood Creative Directory. However, Backstage also carved out its own industry niche by focusing on the needs of actors, models, performers, and casting directors; publishing directories (such as Call Sheet, a bimonthly listing of talent agents, casting directors, and film productions), books (actor handbooks and biographies published under the Watson-Guptill imprint Backstage Books),[16] casting-director mailing labels,[17] and special "insert" magazines (such as award-season nomination guides, theatre-school guides, and the ACTION magazine for actors interested in making their own movies); producing live events; and continuing the development of Internet casting technology.
In October 2011, media entrepreneur John Amato led Backstage through a spin-off from Prometheus Global Media as part of a new strategic partnership, with the new company being called Backstage, LLC. Prometheus shareholder Guggenheim Partners backed the sale.[18][19]
In August 2012, Back Stage was relaunched again, with the magazine switching from a tabloid-sized newspaper to a smaller, full-color glossy magazine (and also being slightly rebranded from Back Stage to Backstage). The magazine added increased cross-promotion for the resources and utilities on the similarly-redesigned Backstage.com. Amato stated readers had requested that the print edition have a smaller form factor to make it easier to take to casting calls, while the redesigned website was meant to "[lead] the user into the products and content that we’ve seen historically be the most helpful for our audience".[20]
In January 2013, Backstage LLC acquired Sonicbids, a service designed to help musicians find gigs, for $15 million.[21] In April 2013, Prometheus Global Media, now fully owned by Guggenheim, bought the remainder of Backstage LLC. John Amato was made president of the Billboard Group, a new unit that would oversee Backstage, Billboard, and Sonicbids.[22][23][24] Sonicbids was sold to Advance Music Technologies in 2024.
In December 2016, Backstage expanded its online casting tools and editorial coverage to include a wider international scope, with an initial focus on casting in the United Kingdom.[25]
In October 2017, Backstage launched its first fully integrated mobile casting app.[26]
In 2019, Ridgemont Equity Partners invested in Backstage.[27] That year, Backstage revamped its online casting platform, adding profiles, new application options, new notification options, Google Maps integration, as well as new review features for employers.[28]
Between 2019 and 2022, Backstage acquired several creative marketplaces:
- The Mandy Network – acquired in 2021, Mandy is a global platform for hiring film and TV crew, actors, and creative professionals.[29] Its integration broadened Backstage's access to behind-the-scenes talent across production roles like camera, sound, post-production, and more.[30]
- StarNow – also acquired in 2021, StarNow is a casting platform in Australia, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom, with a strong user base of emerging talent and localized casting calls.[31] The acquisition expanded Backstage's international footprint.
- Voice123 – one of the largest voice-over marketplaces in the world, Voice123 connects brands, producers, and creators with voice actors for commercial, animation, corporate, and gaming projects.[32] The 2021 acquisition extended Backstage's voice casting capabilities.[33]
- Coverfly – also in 2021, Backstage acquired Coverfly, a platform supporting emerging screenwriters through competitions, fellowships, and a discoverability database.[34] Coverfly announced to users in 2025 it could be ceasing operations as of August 1, 2025.[35]
- FilmFreeway – a submission platform used by thousands of film festivals worldwide, allowing filmmakers to submit their work for consideration, was acquired by Backstage in 2021, aligning with its mission of supporting independent creators.[36]
- ShareGrid – a peer-to-peer marketplace for film and photography equipment rentals.[37] Its 2022 acquisition by Backstage marked the company's expansion into production logistics and gear rentals, offering more end-to-end solutions for content creators and production teams.[38]
Acquisition by Cast & Crew
In January 2022, Backstage Holdings was acquired by Cast & Crew, a Burbank-based payroll management company operating in the entertainment industry.[39] This transition marked the company's integration into a broader suite of end-to-end production tools for hiring creative talent and managing accounting, payroll, human resources, and data operations.[40]
Platform and services
Backstage's talent marketplace and casting platform, Backstage.com, is a platform for casting and hiring across the entertainment and creative industries. The platform consists of:
- Casting calls and job listings: Projects posted for acting, voiceover, production roles, and content creation, including in feature films, student projects, web series, commercials, and other branded content.[41]
- Talent profiles: Performers can list their credits, head shots, voice demos, video reels, skills, and training on customizable profiles.[42]
- Self-tape and audition tools: Potential employers can receive and review self-tapes and schedule auditions.[43]
- Search and invite tools: Potential employers can search the talent database using filters such as location, skills, union status, diversity tags, and other criteria.[44]
- Payment options: The platform uses Stripe for built-in hiring and payout options.[45]
Backstage has casting calls for:[46]
- Film and TV productions
- Voice-over and animation projects
- Commercials and branded content
- Social media and user-generated content (UGC) campaigns
- Theater, live performance, and musical acts
- Educational and corporate videos
Expansion to content creators
In 2023, the Backstage talent marketplace launched dedicated profiles for content creators, enabling individuals who produce user-generated content (UGC), branded videos, and social media campaigns to set pricing and package offerings and showcase their work to casting directors, brand marketers, and production companies.[47]
These profiles allow creators to:
- Highlight video content and brand collaborations
- Set pricing for content packages for direct content ordering from buyers
- Link to their social profiles on Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube
- Tag specialties such as "beauty," "gaming," "comedy," or "lifestyle"
- Receive casting calls specifically geared toward influencer and UGC campaigns
This launch marked an expansion of Backstage's platform beyond its reputation as a place to hire actors and voiceover professionals in an attempt to capitalize on the growing creator economy and give brands a way to buy UGC content directly through the platform.
Safety and vetting
Backstage promotes implementing measures to promote safety and legitimacy in its casting calls:[48]
- Verification processes: All new job posters may be required to undergo background checks and provide references, IDs, or other materials to verify their productions and qualifications.
- Audition environment guidelines: Backstage advises that auditions should not involve nudity and should not take place in private residences or hotel rooms. Talent is encouraged to bring a companion to auditions for safety.
- Community reporting: Users are encouraged to report any suspicious listings or behavior, allowing Backstage to take appropriate action.
These policies claim to create a safer environment for talent engaging with casting opportunities on the platform.[49]
Print magazine and online content
While Backstage has become increasingly known for its digital casting platform and tools, it continues to publish a print magazine six times a year. The magazine has featured interviews with A-list entertainment professionals like Issa Rae, Angelina Jolie, Viola Davis, and Simu Liu, alongside working actors across film, television, and theater. It also includes industry insights, audition tips, and a curated selection of casting calls.[50]
Backstage also maintains a large editorial content presence on Backstage.com, regularly publishing a wide variety of original articles and videos. Content includes interviews with industry professionals, career advice for performers, how-to guides, and casting insights, making it a widely referenced resource among actors and creatives.[51]
In 2017, Backstage debuted the biweekly podcast series In the Envelope: The Actor’s Podcast, which features in-depth conversations with actors and creators, exploring the creative process, offering industry insights and advice, and sharing personal stories of success and failure. Guests have included Jessica Lange, Nicole Kidman, Javier Bardem, Daniel Craig, Nicolas Cage, Hugh Jackman, and Michael Keaton.[52]
Events
From 1992 to 2012, Backstage produced annual Actorfest trade shows, entertainment-industry networking events held in various cities. Past Actorfest events took place in New York City,[53] Los Angeles, Philadelphia, and Detroit. Other Backstage events in the past included the annual Backstage Garland Awards (previously known as the Drama-Logue Award) honoring the California theatre scene; the annual Bistro Awards honoring the cabaret industry, especially NYC-based cabaret; and the bi-coastal An Evening With ... series that combined film screenings with Q&A sessions featuring key actors and directors from each film being shown.
Additionally, Backstage hosted classes, workshops, and networking events through its Backstage University brand,[54] and sponsors numerous events and panels for talent working in the fields of film, television, commercials, radio/voice-overs, theatre, dance, modeling, and club talent (comedians, singers, etc.). Its "Successful Actor" panel series was done in partnership with the American Academy of Dramatic Arts.