Media Services

Name

Media Services

Legal name

Cast & Crew LLC

Website

https://mediaservices.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1983

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

251–500 employees

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Entertainment Payroll Services

SIC

Services-Allied To Motion Picture Production (7819), Services-Allied To Motion Picture Distribution (7829)

akta.pro primary industry

Crew & Labor Services (Production Staff, Unions, Payroll) (MPADAFAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

Usage Reporting, Reconciliation & Royalty Accounting (Statements, Audits) (MPAHALAN), Content Supply Chain Orchestration & Workflow (Ingest-to-Publish, Automation) (MPAHALAG)

Keywords

• Entertainment payroll services
• Production accounting software
• Production budgeting tools
• Film tax incentives
• Residuals processing

Headquarters

HQ city

Los Angeles

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Production Payroll Services: Employer-of-record payroll services for film, TV, commercial, and web productions. Includes payroll processing, tax withholdings/filings, W2s, workers' comp coverage, and compliance management. Revenue generated through service fees negotiated between sales and production, typically calculated as a percentage per check or handling fee.
2. Software Products (Showbiz): Standalone software products including Showbiz Budgeting, Showbiz Timecards, and Showbiz Labor Guide sold to production companies and individual users.
3. Software Bundled with Payroll: Software tools (MediaWeb, Mobile Timecards, Purchase Cards, Secure File Uploads) provided free with production payroll service as value-add.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Media Services provides employer-of-record entertainment payroll processing for film, television, commercial, and digital productions, handling payroll tax compliance, workers' compensation, union pension/health/welfare contributions, and residuals calculations. The offering is complemented by the proprietary MediaWeb production accounting SaaS platform and the Showbiz Software suite for budgeting, crew timecards, and SAG-AFTRA performer timecards.

Product overview

Media Services offers a comprehensive entertainment payroll and production accounting ecosystem centered on its core Production Payroll service (employer-of-record payroll for film, TV, commercials, and esports) complemented by a suite of integrated software tools. The flagship Showbiz Software suite includes Showbiz Budgeting (production budgeting with cloud collaboration), Showbiz Timecards Crew (hours-to-gross calculation for crew), and Showbiz Timecards Cast (timecards for SAG-AFTRA performers). MediaWeb Production Accounting serves as the core SaaS accounting platform with purchase card imports from PEX/Cashet and ACH vendor payments. Additional payroll tools include Mobile Timecards, Digital Purchase Order (DPO), Self-Service Payroll Reports, and Secure File Uploads, all integrated with the core payroll system. Supporting services include Residuals Payment processing, Film Tax Incentives consulting, Film Financing access, and ACA Health Benefits. The Showbiz Labor Guide provides free union rate reference data.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Showbiz Software: Production budgeting and timecard software including Showbiz Budgeting and Showbiz Timecards.
• MediaWeb
• TiM Digital Onboarding

Products and services

• Production Payroll Full-service employer-of-record entertainment payroll for film, TV, commercials, web content, and esports productions, handling payroll processing, tax withholdings, workers' compensation, and payroll compliance with no-fee same-day setup.
• Residuals Payment Film and TV residuals processing service handling reuse payments for talent on streaming, broadcast, and syndication platforms, supporting SAG-AFTRA, DGA, and WGA contractual formulas.
• Film Tax Incentives Production incentives consulting service helping productions identify and claim state-level film tax credits and incentives, with regional expertise in Louisiana and other filming jurisdictions.
• Film Financing Access to a network of film financiers and tax credit buyers to help productions secure financing for film and TV projects.
• ACA Health Benefits Health benefits plans for production crew and cast delivered through third-party providers, with ACA compliance tracking and eligibility notification.
• MediaWeb Production Accounting Software True SaaS production accounting platform for film, TV, streaming, web series, and sports media, featuring cost reporting, automated payroll feed, purchase card import from PEX/Cashet, multiple budgets, dozens of standard and custom reports, and ACH payments to vendors.
• Showbiz Budgeting Production budgeting software enabling real-time cloud collaboration while maintaining desktop independence, positioned as an industry-standard budgeting tool for film and TV productions.
• Showbiz Timecards Crew Industry-standard hours-to-gross (HTG) payroll calculation software for film and TV crew, handling complex union rules, overtime calculations, and hour splitting by job, episode, or location.
• Showbiz Timecards Cast (SAG-AFTRA) Electronic timecard system for SAG-AFTRA performers that calculates actor pay from hours to gross, used by SAG-AFTRA auditors.
• Showbiz Labor Guide Free searchable database of scale rates for SAG-AFTRA, IATSE, DGA, WGA, Teamsters and other entertainment unions, providing 24/7 access to union and guild rates, overtime and guarantees by position, and occupation codes.
• TiM Digital Onboarding Paperless digital onboarding service for crew start paperwork, integrated with I-9 verification, provided free with the payroll service.
• Purchase Cards for Crew (Media P-Cards) Production purchase card (p-card) giving full control over crew spending, with mobile app for receipt capture, spend limits, and category restrictions, powered by PEX technology.
• Digital Purchase Order (DPO) Cloud-based procurement system designed for the entertainment industry, offering 24/7 online and mobile access, customizable reporting, and sync with Showbiz Budgeting.
• Self-Service Payroll Reports Secure 24/7 online access to production payroll reports including Detailed Payroll Journal, Payroll Data Report, Timecard Report, Employee Roster, and Invoice Package Reports.
• Secure File Uploads / Client Portal Client Portal space for secure upload and download of payroll files, with messaging interface for communication with payroll professionals.
• Mobile Timecards Contactless mobile time entry system allowing crew members to input hours and signatures via mobile device, included free with the payroll service.

Quantifiable outcome

• No setup fees, no deposits, no minimums
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers6 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration2 records

AI capability2 records

Feature11 records

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered core and infrastructure.

• PEXcoreTechnology or IntegrationPEX provides the Media P-Cards (purchase card technology) for crew spending control. The partnership enables petty cash management for productions with real-time receipt capture and automated notifications.
• AWS (Amazon Web Services)infrastructureTechnology or IntegrationAll systems hosted on AWS servers with highest grade of protection for clients' and payees' sensitive information.
• TiM (Time is Money)coreTechnology or IntegrationTiM digital onboarding service integrated with Media Services payroll for paperless crew start paperwork. Free with payroll service.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Entertainment Partners: The largest specialized entertainment payroll, production accounting, and tax incentives provider. Directly competes with Media Services across film, TV, and streaming payroll, and is also commonly bundled into the same production services suites.
• Wrapbook: Modern, API-first production payroll and production accounting platform. Targets the same film, TV, and commercial production customers as Media Services with a more tech-forward, self-serve onboarding experience.
• GreenSlate: Entertainment payroll and production accounting specialist serving film, TV, and commercial productions. Closely comparable in target market and service mix to Media Services, with overlap in union payroll handling and residuals.
• Cast & Crew: Sister company and parent conglomerate of Media Services. Offers overlapping entertainment payroll, production accounting, and residuals services under the same corporate roof, making it a directly comparable — and partially overlapping — competitor.
• ABS Payroll Services: Smaller entertainment payroll services firm serving production companies and crew across film and TV. Competes with Media Services for mid-market and independent productions requiring union-compliant payroll.

Broad incumbents

• ADP: Largest U.S. payroll and HCM incumbent. While not entertainment-specialized, ADP serves large studios and production-adjacent employers and represents the broad-incumbent alternative to specialized entertainment payroll vendors.
• Paychex: Major SMB and mid-market payroll and HR services incumbent. Acts as a broad alternative in the broader payroll market, occasionally serving entertainment-adjacent employers with simpler payroll needs.
• Paylocity: Mid-market HCM and payroll platform with growing entertainment vertical exposure. Represents a tech-forward broad incumbent that competes for the same production-company finance leader buyer as Media Services.
• Workday: Enterprise cloud HCM and finance platform used by large studios and media holding companies. Competes at the enterprise procurement layer where Media Services must integrate as a specialist point solution.
• Ceridian (Dayforce): Global HCM and payroll platform with workforce management capabilities. Serves large, multi-country media employers and represents the broad-incumbent alternative for production-adjacent payroll needs.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/mediapays
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/mediaservicespayroll

Compliance2 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Media Services