The Cinema Audio Society

What The Cinema Audio Society does

The Cinema Audio Society (CAS) is a 501(c)(6) non-profit professional membership organization founded in 1964 and headquartered at 827 Hollywood Way #632 in Burbank, California. It is the only organization exclusively dedicated to sound mixing professionals working in the motion picture and television industry, serving production sound mixers, re-recording mixers, post-production sound professionals, sound mixing students, and filmmakers through a six-tier membership structure governed by a Board of Directors elected from the membership base.

CAS's core products and programming include the annual CAS Awards (currently in its 62nd year, with the 63rd scheduled for March 2027), which recognize outstanding achievement in sound mixing across motion pictures (live action, animated, documentary), television series, and limited series categories. The organization publishes the CAS Quarterly, a member-contributed educational journal; produces the 'In Conversation' podcast series featuring Oscar- and Emmy-winning mixers; distributes video content covering panel discussions; and administers multiple named awards including the CAS Career Achievement Award, CAS Filmmaker Award, CAS Student Recognition Award, and the newly inaugurated Jeffrey S. Wexler Award for Advancement in Sound Technology. The organization also maintains a CAS Mixer Merch store and a downloads library containing bylaws, entry rules, and educational materials.

The business model is a membership-fee-funded non-profit supplemented by event revenues, sponsorship (Dolby, Warner Bros., IATSE Local 695), and merchandise sales. Membership applications are reviewed quarterly by the Board and require current-member sponsorship. Revenue, dues pricing, membership count, and headcount are not publicly disclosed. Distribution and marketing are multi-channel, including the official website (cinemaaudiosociety.org), social media (YouTube, Facebook, Twitter/X, Instagram), the podcast series, the quarterly publication, regional in-person events (mixers, picnics, screenings, panel discussions), and the flagship Beverly Hilton awards ceremony. Strategic partnerships include co-production of 'The Sounding Board' panel series with MPSE, speed mentoring with EIPMA, and collaboration on Academy Oral History Projects with the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.

Name

The Cinema Audio Society

Legal name

Cinema Audio Society

Website

https://cinemaaudiosociety.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1964

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

The Cinema Audio Society is a 501(c)(6) non-profit professional membership organization founded in 1964 and headquartered in Burbank, California, exclusively serving sound mixing professionals in motion picture and television through annual awards, education, and community programming.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Professional Industry Association

NAICS

Promoters of Performing Arts, Sports, and Similar Events with Facilities (71131), Other Performing Arts Companies (71119)

akta.pro primary industry

Audio QC & Compliance (Loudness Specs, Technical QC, Platform Deliverables) (MPAHAEAM)

akta.pro secondary industry

Professional & Association Conferences (MPAGAGAB)

Keywords

• Professional sound association
• Film television sound mixing
• Industry awards recognition
• Audio professionals membership
• Production sound mixers

Headquarters

HQ city

Burbank

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels9 records

Core offering

The Cinema Audio Society (CAS) is a non-profit professional membership organization founded in 1964 that serves sound mixers and audio professionals in the motion picture and television industry. It operates an annual CAS Awards program recognizing excellence in sound mixing, publishes the CAS Quarterly journal, produces the "In Conversation" podcast series, and provides member services including networking, advocacy, mentorship, and standards advancement. Membership spans six categories and applications are reviewed quarterly by the Board of Directors.

Product overview

The Cinema Audio Society (CAS) operates as a unified professional organization offering a portfolio of services centered on recognizing and advancing excellence in sound mixing for film and television. The core offerings include the annual CAS Awards program (encompassing Motion Pictures, Television Series, and special category awards), the CAS Quarterly publication, the In Conversation podcast series, video content, and membership services. The organization also administers the Student Recognition Award, Career Achievement Award, Filmmaker Award, and the newly established Jeffrey S. Wexler Award for Advancement in Sound Technology. A downloadable resources section provides bylaws, entry rules, and educational materials. Together, these products form a comprehensive ecosystem supporting sound mixing professionals from education through career achievement recognition.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• CAS Awards

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Ten partnerships are on record, tiered core, major and supporting.

• Motion Picture Sound Editors (MPSE)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 20 November 2021Co-producer of 'The Sounding Board' event series - a series of panel discussions about the practical, creative, and technical art of sound for picture. Multiple versions (v1.0 through v5.0) have been produced annually since 2021.
• Entertainment Industry Professionals Mentorship Alliance (EIPMA)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership for speed mentoring events benefiting CAS Student Recognition Award finalists and MPSE Verna Fields Award recipients. Joint mentoring programs for students seeking careers in audio.
• Academy of Motion Picture Arts and SciencesmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaboration on Academy Oral History Projects, including 'A Visual History' featuring production sound mixer Simon Kaye CAS interviewed by Chris Munro CAS.
• DolbysupportingGTM or Marketing PartnerSponsors screenings and events including Star Trek: The Motion Picture restoration screening at Dolby Hollywood Vine Screening Room.
• Warner Bros.supportingGTM or Marketing PartnerHost of Student Recognition Award Finalists Day and studio tours for CAS student award participants.
• Loyola Marymount UniversitysupportingGTM or Marketing PartnerVenue host for The Sounding Board v5.0 event on November 2nd 2025.
• University of Southern California (USC)supportingGTM or Marketing PartnerVenue host for The Sounding Board v4.0 event on October 20th 2024.
• IATSE Local 695supportingGTM or Marketing PartnerOrganization representing production sound mixers; CAS sponsors their holiday celebration and events.
• MPTF (Motion Picture Television Fund)supportingGTM or Marketing PartnerCAS sponsors MPTF Day at the Ranch fundraising event annually.
• Ethel Crutcher FoundationsupportingGTM or Marketing PartnerCAS supports MPSE's Ethel Crutcher Foundation at fall family picnic events.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Television Academy: Organization behind the Emmy Awards, where CAS Vice President Amanda Beggs serves on the Sound PGEC. Multiple CAS board members have won Emmys, positioning the Television Academy as both a peer recognition body and a venue for CAS-officer engagement.
• Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS): Broader industry organization that collaborates with CAS on oral history projects and whose Sound Branch includes many CAS members. Operates the Academy Awards, which sit at the top of the recognition hierarchy that CAS Awards feed into.

Direct peers

• Audio Engineering Society (AES): International professional society dedicated to audio engineering, with CAS board member Sara Glaser serving on the LA chapter board. Targets an overlapping technical-audio professional membership base with a broader scope including music and broadcast.
• American Society of Cinematographers (ASC): Honorary society for cinematographers with a comparable membership-vetting model, lifetime achievement-style honors, and similar positioning as a craft guild within the motion picture industry. Represents the visual counterpart to CAS's sound-mixing focus.
• Hollywood Professional Association (HPA): Trade organization for the post-production community that sits adjacent to CAS's membership base. Hosts its own awards (HPA Awards) recognizing post-production excellence, overlapping significantly with CAS's re-recording mixer constituency.
• American Cinema Editors (ACE): Honorary society of film editors that, like CAS, hosts annual Eddie Awards recognizing editing excellence. Operates the same professional-association model with membership vetting, awards ceremonies, and educational programming for a complementary film post-production craft.
• Society of Camera Operators (SOC): Professional society for camera operators with a similar structure: membership categories, awards program, educational events, and a focus on a specific motion-picture craft community. Closely aligned operational model to CAS.
• The Recording Academy (Grammys): Professional society for music recording professionals that hosts the Grammy Awards, analogous to CAS's awards function. CAS President Peter Kurland is a two-time Grammy winner, illustrating the cross-pollination between music recording and film sound mixing professional communities.
• Motion Picture Sound Editors (MPSE): Professional association for sound editors that directly partners with CAS on The Sounding Board event series and competes with the CAS Awards through its own Golden Reel Awards. Both organizations serve the sound community in motion pictures and television.

Others

• IATSE: International labor union representing entertainment industry workers, including CAS's overlap union IATSE Local 695 (production sound mixers). CAS maintains deep ties with the union but is not itself a labor organization; rather, it is a complementary professional society.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/CinemaAudioSoc
• YouTubeyoutube.com/cinemaaudiosociety
• Facebookfacebook.com/CinemaAudioSociety
• Instagraminstagram.com/cinemaaudiosociety

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles19 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 The Cinema Audio Society