What Sonic Gods does

Sonic Gods (operating as Sonic Gods Studios) is a Los Angeles-based independent entertainment studio founded in 2015 that develops and produces original unscripted TV formats and documentary series. Its portfolio centers on the multi-season business competition show '60 Day Hustle' (where twelve founders compete in a 60-day accelerator for a $100,000 prize), the motorsport documentary 'Just Hands: For the Love of Racing,' and the forthcoming sci-fi series 'Solus.' The company also offers a Brand Integration Model service through which marketers are embedded into the studio's entertainment content as brand partners, exemplified by named collaborations with Chime (official brand partner) and Udemy (which co-produced the free '60 Day Accelerator' course tied to the flagship show). Content is distributed globally across Amazon Prime Video, Tubi, Roku, Netflix, and Ion TV, reaching 200 million+ Prime subscribers and reportedly delivering 30 million brand impressions per partnership cycle. Revenue is generated through brand integration/sponsorship deals, content licensing to streaming platforms, and integrated 360 marketing campaigns. The studio was co-founded by Chris Hayman (former film composer at EMI and Universal), Michelle Delamor (American Idol finalist and founder of the No Girl Left Behind movement), and Adam Horner (film and television production). The firm operates with 11–50 employees and is privately held with no disclosed funding rounds beyond a 2019 $0 entry attributed to XRM Media, indicating the business has historically been self-funded.

Name

Sonic Gods

Legal name

Sonic Gods

Website

https://sonicgods.media

Company type

Private

Founded year

2015

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Sonic Gods Studios is a Los Angeles-based independent entertainment studio that produces original unscripted TV formats and documentary series, monetizing through brand integration partnerships and content licensing to major streaming platforms serving global audiences.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Los Angeles

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Brand Integration and Sponsorship: Revenue generated through integrating brands into entertainment content, with brands paying for placement in TV formats and related campaigns
2. Content Licensing and Distribution: Revenue from licensing original content to streaming platforms such as Amazon Prime Video, Tubi, Roku, Netflix, and Ion TV
3. 360 Marketing Campaigns: Integrated marketing campaigns combining series content with brand messaging across multiple touchpoints

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Sonic Gods Studios is an end-to-end entertainment studio that develops and produces original unscripted TV formats and documentary series, including the business competition show '60 Day Hustle,' the motorsport documentary 'Just Hands: For the Love of Racing,' and the sci-fi series 'Solus.' The studio's commercial offering centers on a Brand Integration Model that integrates partner brands into entertainment content through storytelling and 360 marketing campaigns. Revenue is generated from brand integration fees, advertising sponsorships, and content licensing to major streaming platforms such as Amazon Prime Video, Tubi, Roku, Netflix, and Ion TV.

Product overview

Sonic Gods Studios is an end-to-end entertainment studio that creates unscripted TV formats and documentary series. The core product portfolio includes 60 Day Hustle (a business competition reality show in Seasons 1-3), Just Hands (a motorsport documentary), and Solus (an upcoming sci-fi series). The studio also offers a Brand Integration Model service that connects brands with audiences through culturally-driven content, and a 60 Day Accelerator course developed with Udemy for entrepreneurial education.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• 60 Day Hustle: High-stakes competition TV show where twelve early-stage founders compete in a 60-day real-world accelerator with $100,000 prize. Features world-class mentors and iconic brand partners.
• Just Hands
• Solus

Products and services

• 60 Day Hustle A high-stakes competition TV show where twelve early-stage founders compete in a 60-day real-world business accelerator challenge for a $100,000 prize, guided by world-class mentors and featuring brand partnerships. Available on Amazon Prime Video with multiple seasons.
• 60 Day Hustle Casting Casting platform for early-stage entrepreneurs to apply for participation in the 60 Day Hustle competition show. Operates as a dedicated sub-product on Sonic Gods' website.
• Just Hands: For the Love of Racing Documentary series following quadriplegic racer Torsten Gross as he strives to compete in GT motorsport, showcasing themes of resilience, relentless drive, and breaking through impossible barriers.
• Solus Sci-fi series about a lone space miner risking everything to secure a future for his family on Earth, confronting isolation and mortality in deep space.
• Brand Integration Model A brand integration service that seamlessly integrates brands into engaging entertainment stories through sports, business, entrepreneurship, and women's lifestyle content themes, with supporting 360 marketing campaigns delivering 30 million brand impressions per partnership.

Quantifiable outcome

• 30 million brand impressions per partnership
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers2 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature1 record

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• UdemycoreGTM or Marketing PartnerUdemy partnered with Sonic Gods to provide a free '60 Day Accelerator' course that distills mentorship, frameworks, and growth tactics from the '60 Day Hustle' show. This allows viewers to learn entrepreneurship skills from the show's content.
• ChimecoreGTM or Marketing PartnerOfficial Brand Partner for '60 Day Hustle', integrating Chime's financial services brand into the show's content and marketing campaigns.
• LayerminorGTM or Marketing PartnerBrand partner integrated into the 360 marketing campaign hub featured in the brand model page.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Propagate: Propagate is a global content studio founded by Ben Silverman that produces and distributes unscripted and scripted programming for streaming and broadcast partners, often with brand-funded elements. Its model of building a slate around platform and sponsor demand closely mirrors Sonic Gods' brand-integration approach.
• Participant Media: Participant produces impact-driven film, TV, and digital content with a long-standing model of attracting brand and foundation partners aligned with social themes. Sonic Gods' mission-driven, brand-funded entertainment thesis most closely tracks Participant's playbook, though Participant skews scripted and theatrical.
• Bunim/Murray Productions: Bunim/Murray pioneered modern reality TV with The Real World and produces Project Runway and a deep unscripted slate across streamers. Like Sonic Gods, it monetizes unscripted formats through brand integrations, platform licensing, and format extensions — making it a directly comparable mid-size production peer.
• Magical Elves: Founded by Dan Cutforth and Jane Lipsitz, Magical Elves is a long-standing unscripted production company behind Top Chef, Last Chance Kitchen, and numerous Netflix competition formats. It is one of the closest direct peers given its focus on premium unscripted series for streamers, comparable to Sonic Gods' 60 Day Hustle model.
• Tastemade: Tastemade is a digital-first content studio producing lifestyle, food, and travel programming tightly integrated with brand sponsorships and distribution across streaming platforms. Its brand-funded digital-to-streaming content model is highly comparable to Sonic Gods' brand integration engine.
• Hello Sunshine: Hello Sunshine (Reese Witherspoon's media company) develops premium, mission-driven narrative and unscripted content while monetizing through brand partnerships and platform deals. Its combination of impact-driven storytelling and brand-funded monetization closely parallels Sonic Gods' positioning.

Broad incumbents

• Fremantle: Fremantle (RTL Group/Bertelsmann) produces unscripted hits like American Idol, Got Talent, and The X Factor globally. It is a broad incumbent that competes for streaming unscripted commissions, brand sponsorships, and talent — providing a benchmark for what scaled version of Sonic Gods' model could look like.
• Imagine Entertainment: Imagine Entertainment (Ron Howard and Brian Grazer) produces scripted and unscripted film and television, with growing brand-funded and impact-oriented partnerships. As a broad incumbent with crossover into branded entertainment, it overlaps with Sonic Gods' mission-driven, brand-integrated content strategy.
• Endemol Shine Group: Endemol Shine (now part of Banijay) is one of the world's largest unscripted producers behind Big Brother, Deal or No Deal, and MasterChef. As a broad incumbent it competes for the same streaming budgets and advertiser dollars Sonic Gods targets, but at vastly greater scale and library depth.

Others

• Chicken Soup for the Soul Entertainment: Chicken Soup for the Soul Entertainment operates the Crackle streaming network alongside original content production and film distribution. It is thematically adjacent via its entertainment-and-streaming combination and shows how a small studio can vertically integrate content and distribution, though its scale and capital base are far larger than Sonic Gods'.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/sonic-gods-studios
• Instagraminstagram.com/sonicgods
• Xx.com/sonic_gods

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds1 record

Investors1 record

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 Sonic Gods