Straight Up Studios
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2018
- HeadquartersVenice, United States
- Headcount1–10
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingServices
What Straight Up Studios does
Straight Up Studios (SUS) is a full-service production company headquartered in Venice, California, with a London office, founded by Emmy Award-winning producer Stephen Zelenka. The company produces feature films, documentaries, television specials, live music broadcasts, music festivals, branded content, and native advertising for major recording artists (Lady Gaga, Kanye West, Muse, Post Malone, Annie Lennox), consumer brands (7UP, Miller Lite, Samsung, Adidas, American Family Insurance, US Cellular, Barco), broadcast networks (ABC, PBS, BBC), and live event operators (Live Nation, AEG). Projects span end-to-end production, post-production, and global delivery to digital platforms, linear television, in-cinema events, and theatrical releases.
Beyond core production services, SUS operates two proprietary technology ventures: Cascade, an interactive multi-channel video streaming platform for live streaming, native advertising, and branded media content distribution; and Real Machine, an immersive location-based entertainment offering experiential content for festivals, concerts, and branded experiences. The firm also runs an entertainment and technology financing arm — under VP Scott Duncan — that has structured over $1 billion in strategic partnerships and funds across media and entertainment verticals over the past two years. Leadership includes Zelenka (Founder/Executive Producer), Duncan (VP, Finance & Strategic Partnerships), Tan Zvirawa and Christian Themistocleous (Executive Producers, Capital Team), and Sarah Sims (VP, Operations). The firm operates on a B2B, project-based, quote-priced engagement model with no publicly disclosed pricing or revenue.
Straight Up Studios firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Straight Up Studios
- Legal name
- Straight Up Studios
- Website
- https://straightupstudios.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2018
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 1–10 employees
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Straight Up Studios industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Entertainment Production Services
- NAICS
- Motion Picture and Video Production (51211), Motion Picture and Sound Recording Industries (512)
- SIC
- Services-Motion Picture & Video Tape Production (7812), Services-Motion Picture & Video Tape Distribution (7822)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Content Studio & Creative Resourcing (In-house/Embedded Teams) (BPAFAIAJ)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Cloud & Distributed Real-Time Production (Remote ICVFX, Multi-site) (MPAHADAJ), Virtual/Hybrid Conference Production & Platform Management (THAHACAM)
Keywords
Where Straight Up Studios is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Venice
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices2 records
Markets served
Straight Up Studios business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales
Revenue model
- Film and Television Production: Full-service production of feature films, documentaries, and television content. Portfolio includes Lady Gaga & Tony Bennett 'Cheek to Cheek' film, Annie Lennox 'Nostalgia' TV special, The Drifter documentary, and MUSE 'Drones Tour' film.
- Live Music Events Production: Livestream and live broadcast production for major music events including Post Malone, Halsey, Zedd, Bruce Springsteen, Kanye West, Lady Gaga, Governors Ball, Electric Daisy Carnival, Imagine Dragons. Covers production, post-production, and delivery.
- Branded Content and Native Advertising: Production of branded media content for major advertisers including 7UP (Electric Daisy Carnival), Barco (Sensation, Jazzfest), American Family Insurance, US Cellular, Miller Lite, Samsung, and others.
- Global Sales and Distribution: Entertainment and technology financing arm with worldwide content sales and licensing to digital platforms, linear television networks, in-cinema events, and theatrical releases.
- Cascade Streaming Platform: Proprietary interactive multi-channel video streaming platform operating as a venture under SUS. Scott Duncan oversees financing and operationalization of the Cascade venture.
- Real Machine Immersive Entertainment: Immersive location-based entertainment venture. Part of SUS's expansion into experiential content delivery.
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels5 records
Marketing channels3 records
Straight Up Studios product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Straight Up Studios is a full-service production company producing feature films, documentaries, television specials, live music event broadcasts, and branded content for artists, brands, networks, and live event promoters. The company also operates two proprietary technology ventures — Cascade (an interactive multi-channel video streaming platform) and Real Machine (an immersive location-based entertainment venture) — alongside an entertainment and technology financing arm and global sales and distribution services.
Product overview
Straight Up Studios (SUS) is a full-service production company with a portfolio that extends beyond traditional production into technology ventures. The company operates two proprietary products: Cascade, an interactive multi-channel video streaming platform for native advertising and branded media content, and Real Machine, an immersive location-based entertainment venture. SUS also maintains an entertainment and technology financing arm alongside global sales and distribution services.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- Cascade: Proprietary interactive multi-channel video streaming platform
- Real Machine
Products and services
- Feature Film, Documentary, and Television Production Full-service production of feature films, documentaries, and television specials for music artists, record labels, and broadcast networks. Portfolio includes work for Lady Gaga, Tony Bennett, Annie Lennox, Muse, and Waylon Payne.
- Live Music Event Production and Broadcast Livestream and live broadcast production services for major music concerts and festivals, covering production, post-production, and delivery for clients such as Post Malone, Halsey, Zedd, Bruce Springsteen, Kanye West, Imagine Dragons, and festivals including Governors Ball, Electric Daisy Carnival, and New Orleans Jazz Festival.
- Branded Content and Native Advertising Production Production of branded media content and native advertising for major consumer brands and advertisers, including work for 7UP, Barco, American Family Insurance, US Cellular, Miller Lite, Samsung, Adidas, and Universal Music Group.
- Cascade Streaming Platform Proprietary interactive multi-channel video streaming platform enabling live streaming, native advertising, and branded media content delivery across multiple channels. Operates as a venture under SUS with Scott Duncan overseeing financing and operationalization.
- Real Machine Immersive Entertainment Immersive location-based entertainment venture offering experiential content and event production capabilities for festivals, concerts, and branded experiences.
- Global Sales and Distribution Services Worldwide content sales and licensing services for SUS-produced content, distributing to digital platforms (Amazon Music, YouTube, Tidal), linear television networks (ABC, NBC, FOX, MTV, PBS, BBC), in-cinema events, and theatrical releases.
- Entertainment and Technology Financing Financing arm structuring strategic partnerships and funds across media, entertainment, and adjacent verticals, providing flexible deal structures for content investment and partner acquisition.
Quantifiable outcome
- Over $1 billion in strategic partnerships and funds structured over two years
- +1 more outcomes
Companies that use Straight Up Studios
Customer profileNamed customers26 records
Segments4 records
Ideal customer profiles4 records
Straight Up Studios technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature2 records
Straight Up Studios partnerships and signals
Strategic signalScale indicators2 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights5 records
Straight Up Studios competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Smuggler: Smuggler is a globally recognized commercial, film, and music content production company. It is a direct peer because it competes with SUS for premium brand, music, and documentary production assignments with a similar boutique-but-premium positioning.
- Pulse Films: Pulse Films is a music-video, documentary, and branded content production company. It is a direct peer because its core offering — premium music-driven film content and brand partnerships — closely mirrors SUS's film/TV, music documentary, and branded content work for similar artist and brand clients.
- Radical Media: Radical Media is a full-service film, documentary, music, and branded content production studio. It is a direct peer because of its parallel end-to-end production capability spanning documentary, music content, and brand-funded campaigns delivered to similar premium clients.
- Hungry Man: Hungry Man is a film and commercial production company specializing in entertainment-led content. It is a direct peer because its branded, music-adjacent, and celebrity-driven production work overlaps directly with SUS's branded content and live music event production.
- RSA Films: RSA Films (Ridley Scott Associates) is a premium film, commercial, and branded content production company. It is a direct peer because it competes for the same A-list brand and entertainment clients with end-to-end production capabilities analogous to SUS's branded content and film services.
Broad incumbents
- Live Nation Entertainment: Live Nation is the world's largest live entertainment company and an existing SUS partner. It is comparable as a broad incumbent across live music event production, festival broadcast, and content distribution — the same end-to-end live music pipeline SUS operates at a smaller scale.
- Fremantle: Fremantle is one of the largest global television production and distribution companies. It is a broad incumbent peer because of its end-to-end production plus worldwide distribution model, which parallels SUS's combination of production services with global content sales and licensing.
- AEG Presents: AEG is a global live entertainment and venue operator and an existing SUS partner. Comparable as a broader incumbent in live music event production, concert broadcast, and branded festival content where SUS also operates.
- VICE Media: VICE is a youth-focused media company producing documentaries, branded content, and live programming, and is also an existing SUS client. It is comparable as a broader media-content incumbent with overlapping production, branded content, and music-related programming capabilities.
Others
- Endeavor (WME): Endeavor (parent of WME) is a global entertainment, sports, and content company. It is an adjacent peer because it represents the same A-list artist and brand clients SUS serves, and increasingly bundles production, content, and IP services — making it both a partner ecosystem and a competitive force in premium entertainment production.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses2 records
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
Straight Up Studios social profiles
Digital presenceStraight Up Studios financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Straight Up Studios leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles5 records
Straight Up Studios funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Straight Up Studios M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Straight Up Studios
What does Straight Up Studios do?
Straight Up Studios is a full-service production company producing feature films, documentaries, television specials, live music event broadcasts, and branded content for artists, brands, networks, and live event promoters. The company also operates two proprietary technology ventures — Cascade (an interactive multi-channel video streaming platform) and Real Machine (an immersive location-based entertainment venture) — alongside an entertainment and technology financing arm and global sales and distribution services.
Is Straight Up Studios a public or private company?
Straight Up Studios is a private company. It is classified as founder individual operated bootstrapped and is currently operating.
When was Straight Up Studios founded?
Straight Up Studios was founded in 2018. It employs 1 to 10 people.
Where is Straight Up Studios based?
Straight Up Studios is headquartered in Venice, United States, in the North America region.
How does Straight Up Studios make money?
Six revenue lines are on record. Film and Television Production is the primary driver. The others are live Music Events Production, branded Content and Native Advertising, global Sales and Distribution, cascade Streaming Platform and real Machine Immersive Entertainment.
Who are Straight Up Studios's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Smuggler, Pulse Films, Radical Media, Hungry Man and RSA Films. Broad incumbents are Live Nation Entertainment, Fremantle, AEG Presents and VICE Media. Endeavor (WME) is listed as an others.
Does Straight Up Studios have an API?
No public API is recorded for Straight Up Studios.
What industry is Straight Up Studios in?
Straight Up Studios's product category is Entertainment Production Services. Its primary akta.pro industry code is BPAFAIAJ, Content Studio & Creative Resourcing (In-house/Embedded Teams), with a secondary code of MPAHADAJ, Cloud & Distributed Real-Time Production (Remote ICVFX, Multi-site). Its NAICS code is 51211 and its SIC code is 7812.