ABOUT US
What is CAST?
CAST is a membership organisation sitting at the intersection of entertainment and technology. We exist to ensure that the entertainment industry, from organisations to individuals are not left behind as technology moves faster than ever before.
Our Vision
A future where the entertainment industry and technology work side-by-side to create what comes next. Where the people building culture have a genuine voice in the tools being built to support it.
How We Drive Change
We believe lasting change in the entertainment industry needs to move through five interconnected stages.
1 - Awareness
Change begins with visibility. The industry needs to see what is being built. The more the industry can see what’e being built, the better placed it is to engage on its own terms.
2 - Education
Visibility creates the appetite to understand. Moving from observation to understanding. Real products, practical use cases, and tangible takeaways that organisations can act on.
3 - Connection
Understanding creates the appetite for relationship. Bringing both sides into genuine, ongoing collaborations. When culture-makers have a voice in the tools, the results are better for everyone.
4 - Pathways
Connection needs commercial reality behind it. Clear routes between founders and real customers make building within entertainment more attractive.
5 - Investment
When the industry is engaged, informed, and open to new technology, external capital follows. Reaching this stage signals that the industry has taken ownership of its own future and is actively shaping what comes next both with their own money and external investment.
The culmination of years of industry experience
Gav Parry
General Manager
For over a decade, I've seen firsthand how powerful networks are in propelling success. In the music industry, collaboration fuelled the rise of artists and projects.
Witnessing this same dynamic within startups – where I built communities for pre-series A companies, surrounded by successful founders and VCs who were pouring billions into startups – I saw an urgent need for change within entertainment.
While leading Entain's Australian innovation strategy (a global entertainment giant), I witnessed the flip side: many startups struggled to connect with corporates. This experience ignited a mission to bridge the gap between the industry and the innovators.
By leveraging my experience alongside our advisors, who bring 30+ years of senior executive experience in government and the private sector, with strong networks across sports, music, innovation, and the broader entertainment industry, CAST is making innovation visible within the entertainment industry.
Emily Copeland
Previous Head of Music ABC, Director of Innovation and Partnerships ARN/CADA and currently Music Australia and Good Authority)
Andrew Reid
Previously TEG Pty Ltd, dentsu and Nielsen.
Loretta Johns
Previous Sydney Swans, Carlton Football Club, Seven Network and 3AW
