Reza Izad, talent manager, author, and entrepreneur, is co-founder and Chairman of Studio71. The talent management and entertainment company works with online creators.
As a former agent in the music industry, Izad has worked with international celebrities such as Eminem and Linkin Park. Now, Izad leverages his experience to help internet stars partner with brands and produce content for digital platforms. In 2019, 10 years after its foundation, Studio71 was working with 800 YouTube channels.
“When you start it’s you, a camera, and your computer,” Izad told Business Insider.
Reza Izad: Professional Talent Manager
Most of Izad’s professional experience is as a talent manager in the music industry. First he was a partner with one of the world’s largest management firms, The Collective Management Group, for 15 years. There, Izad headed the music department. Izad worked with big names including Kanye West, Alanis Morrissette, and Enrique Iglesias.
Before the Collective, Izad was an agent with the United Talent Agency (UTA) and a partner with BOX Entertainment. At UTA, he launched and maintained the agency’s music and branded entertainment sectors. Big names including Prince, Eminem, and Justin Timberlake made up his clientele. Izad also worked with Fortune 500 companies to build brand integration campaigns.
At UTA “I started in the mail room, and I didn’t really know anything,” Izad shared on The Michael Harrison Interview podcast. “These agencies are really good places if you’re interested in the business side…to just get a lot of exposure to things…If you’re willing to get an education and go through the mail room to assistant to agent process, you are definitely getting a higher education in how Hollywood works.”
Most recently, Izad founded the management company Underscore Talent in 2021. Similarly to Studio71, Underscore Talent caters to digital-first creators and entrepreneurs. He currently acts as partner.
With decades of experience, Izad co-wrote the book Create Great Videos (2018). The book draws on the wisdom of 50 internet stars for those also looking to establish their presence online.
Young Reza Izad breaks into the entertainment industry
Growing up, Izad consumed loads of film and music.
“I was a big record collector and I happened to be a major film buff,” said Izad. “We lived in Malibu, and for some reason my dad didn’t love television. He refused to connect the cable to our home…We were literally the largest renter of movies from blockbuster and the local video chain…So I watched a ton of movies and I listened to a ton of music as a kid.”
In high school, Izad scored an internship with actor Dom DeLuise.
“I think Candid Camera was the show,” recalled Izad. “I was amazed that people got paid for that…So when I went to USC, I started the path very early. It was very clear that that was the world I wanted to be in somehow someway.”
“I can definitely talk and I’m good with numbers, so the business end is where I gravitated towards.”
Izad graduated from the University of Southern California.
Reza Izad founds Studio71 for digital media talent
Izad started Studio 71 in 2009 to cater to talent operating out of the growing digital world. The company emerged from The Collective Management Group.
“[Studio 71] came out of our music management business,” explained Izad. “This was a period of time when – and this is the early 2000s…where it was a mad dash to reach your audience directly…This was when Myspace, Facebook, and Twitter were starting up…where artists could have direct communication with their fanbase. We believed over time, that would yield a lot of incremental value to artists.”
Studio 71 partners with and streams content on several platforms. In 2019, the company had grown to gather up to 11 billion views per month. Studio71 also helps growing social media personalities to create and manage content.
“The audience on TikTok, YouTube, Snap, Instagram, are all radically different. If you can, it’s ideal to be on all of them,” Izad told Business Insider.
Because Studio71 works with content creators, influencers make up a large portion of the company’s clientele. Many got their start on YouTube and are now looking to grow. Studio71 specifically helps facilitate partnerships between brands and talent.
“We use [first party] data to inform partnerships for brands,” described Izad. “They’re going to partner with one talent or another, and based on their goals and the demographics and all the things that they want to reach, we can marry the best talent with the best brand opportunity.”
Studio71 boasts big YouTube star clients including Lilly Singh, Roman Atwood, and Rhett & Link. Dwayne (The Rock) Johnson also launched a YouTube channel with the company in 2016.
“We definitely help enable them to monetize and sort of grow their offering,” Izad told Vox. “Whether it’s with advertisers, merchandising, and obviously intellectual property has been a big part of creating…Intellectual property’s been a big part of our business.”
Check out Studio71’s website here to find out more!
