Breakdown Services

What Breakdown Services does

Breakdown Services, Ltd. is a privately held Los Angeles-based software company founded in 1971 by Gary Marsh, operating as the de facto industry-standard casting infrastructure for scripted film, television, theatre, commercial, voice, and animation projects in North America. The company built and operates an integrated ecosystem of platforms that cover the full casting lifecycle: Actors Access serves as the free actor profile portal (with a $68/year Plus subscription tier); Breakdown Express is the subscription platform for talent representatives (agents and managers), casting directors, and filmmakers to view breakdowns and submit talent; the Enterprise platform gives studios, networks, and streaming services centralized oversight across multiple casting accounts; and the Eco Cast suite handles audition capture across remote (Eco Cast Live), self-tape, and in-person (Eco Cast Desktop, a proprietary MacOS application) modalities. Adjacent modules include The Grid (project tracking and development intelligence at $80/month), CastingAbout (casting staff research), Talent Link (actor-representation matching expanded across seven North American regions), SlateShot (seven-second video headshots), Secure Sides and Sides Creator (script parsing and watermarked material distribution).

The underlying platform is a web-based SaaS architecture with proprietary client software (Eco Cast Desktop) and a mobile app, complemented by server-side workflow tools. Breakdown Services monetizes through recurring subscriptions to Actors Access Plus, Breakdown Express, The Grid, and Enterprise, with optional per-transaction marketing purchases (additional headshots and SlateShots) and per-project submission fees for non-subscribed actors. The customer base spans four enterprise platforms and studios (every major studio, network, and streaming service in North America per company claims), talent representation firms, professional casting directors, independent filmmakers, student filmmakers, and a long tail of individual actors. The company claims over 97% of scripted North American projects requiring actors flow through its services, with offices in Los Angeles, New York, Vancouver, and Toronto.

Name

Breakdown Services

Legal name

Breakdown Services, Ltd.

Website

https://breakdownservices.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1971

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

Breakdown Services operates the dominant North American casting ecosystem — Actors Access, Breakdown Express, Eco Cast, and Enterprise — connecting studios, casting directors, talent representatives, and actors across the full breakdown-to-booking workflow since 1971.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Casting and Audition Software

NAICS

Agents and Managers for Artists, Athletes, Entertainers, and Other Public Figures (7114), Motion Picture and Video Production (51211), Other Motion Picture and Video Industries (512199)

SIC

Services-Allied To Motion Picture Production (7819), Services-Employment Agencies (7361)

akta.pro primary industry

Talent Casting & Auditions (Casting Directors, Open Calls) (HSACAHAL)

akta.pro secondary industries

Casting & Talent Services (Casting, Background, Talent Holding) (MPADAFAI), Production & Talent Services (Casting, Crew, Production Management) (MPAAAMAF)

Keywords

• Casting management software
• Talent submission platform
• Audition management tools
• Actor profile portal
• Breakdown distribution services

Headquarters

HQ city

Los Angeles

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices4 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Software

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Actors Access Plus Subscription: Paid annual or monthly subscription for actors providing full access to submit to all projects and roles released on Actors Access. Free tier exists for basic profile creation and limited access. Upsell from free to paid Plus tier is a key revenue driver.
2. The Grid Subscription: Monthly subscription for project tracking and development information. Special discount available for Breakdown Express talent representatives.
3. Breakdown Express Subscription: Subscription service for talent representatives (agents and managers) to view breakdowns, make submissions, manage rosters, and track client auditions. Also for casting directors and filmmakers to manage projects, breakdowns, and Eco Casts.
4. Enterprise Platform Subscription: Subscription platform for studios and networks to manage all projects across multiple casting accounts, view auditions from all casting directors, and oversee projects from start to finish.
5. Optional Marketing Material (Per-Transaction): Actors can purchase optional marketing material including additional headshots and SlateShots beyond the free allocations included in the free account.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels6 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Breakdown Services operates an integrated SaaS ecosystem for the professional casting industry, connecting actors, talent representatives, casting directors, and studios through a unified platform. Its core offerings include Actors Access (free actor profile portal with paid PLUS subscription), Breakdown Express (subscription platform for agents, managers, casting directors, and filmmakers), the Enterprise solution for studios and networks, and the Eco Cast suite covering remote, self-tape, and in-person audition capture. The platform handles over 97% of all scripted projects requiring actors in North America across film, TV, theatre, commercial, voice, and animation.

Product overview

Breakdown Services operates a unified, fully integrated ecosystem of casting and audition management platforms. The core portfolio centers on Actors Access (free actor profile portal) and Breakdown Express (submission platform for talent representatives and casting directors), supplemented by Enterprise for studio/network oversight. The Eco Cast suite provides audition management across all modalities—Eco Cast Live for remote auditions, Eco Cast Self-Tape for submissions, Eco Cast Desktop for in-person MacOS sessions, and Eco Cast Presentations for collaborative viewing. Additional modules include The Grid (project tracking), CastingAbout (casting director research), Talent Link (agent-actor connections), SlateShot (video headshots), Secure Sides (secure audition material), and Sides Creator (script parsing). The ecosystem serves the full casting workflow from breakdown distribution through audition capture to final booking.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Actors Access: Portal for actors to view breakdowns, manage profiles, submit to projects, receive Eco Cast invitations and self-tape requests
• Actors Access PLUS
• Breakdown Express
• Eco Cast
• Enterprise
• The Grid
• CastingAbout
• Secure Sides
• Sides Creator
• Talent Link
• SlateShot
• CastingAbout for Industry
• Education and Outreach Initiatives

Products and services

• Actors Access

Quantifiable outcome

• Over 97% of all scripted projects requiring actors in North America rely on Breakdown Services
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers4 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature12 records

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Casting Networks: Casting Networks operates one of the closest direct competitors to Breakdown Express, providing casting submission and audition management platforms (L.A. Casting, NY Casting, etc.) to talent representatives, casting directors, and actors in the U.S. market.
• Backstage: Backstage runs a competing casting/audition marketplace where actors subscribe to access breakdowns and submit to film, TV, theater, and commercial projects. It is one of the most established direct competitors in the actor-facing casting listings category.
• Mandy.com: Mandy.com is a global casting and crew marketplace connecting actors and crew with film, TV, and theater projects, overlapping with Breakdown Services' actor and project-listing functionality.

Others

• Actors Access (reference; same group): Listed as the subject company's own portal — included only to clarify that within the group, Actors Access is the consumer/actor-facing brand while Breakdown Express/Enterprise target talent reps and studios.

Emerging players

• Now Casting: Now Casting provides online casting tools and breakdowns for casting directors and actors in film and television, overlapping with Breakdown Express and Actors Access in core submission and audition workflows.
• Explore Talent: Explore Talent is an online talent-discovery platform that lists auditions and casting calls for actors and models, comparable to the lower-end of Breakdown Services' Actors Access audience.
• Stage 32: Stage 32 is an online community and marketplace for film/TV creatives and actors with job listings, casting notices, and project collaboration tools — adjacent to but smaller in scale than Breakdown Services' offerings.

Broad incumbents

• IMDbPro: IMDbPro (Amazon-owned) is an industry data and talent-representation platform serving casting professionals, agents, and actors with profiles, representation data, and project listings — overlapping with CastingAbout and Actors Access.

Regional players

• Spotlight: Spotlight is the dominant UK casting directory serving actors, agents, and casting directors for British film, TV, and theatre. It represents the international equivalent of Actors Access and is the most relevant comparable for Breakdown Services' UK expansion thesis.
• StarNow: StarNow is an international talent platform for actors and models, with particularly strong presence in the UK, Australia, and New Zealand. Comparable in actor-profile and audition-listing functionality to Actors Access, especially for international expansion context.

Market position

Strengths1 record

Weaknesses1 record

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks7 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/breakdownsvs
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/breakdown-services

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Subsidiaries11 records

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 Breakdown Services