The Wrap
An influential digital trade publication covering the business of entertainment and media
Overview
The Wrap is a digital-native entertainment trade publication founded in 2009, covering the business of entertainment, media, and technology. It has established itself as a credible alternative to the legacy trades with fast reporting and strong investigative journalism.
The site covers film, television, streaming, technology, and awards season with a focus on business strategy and deal-making. Its coverage of emerging platforms and media economics provides useful context for understanding where the industry is headed.
How It Works
For actors, The Wrap offers valuable insight into streaming platform strategies, production spending trends, and the evolving landscape of content creation. Understanding these dynamics helps you identify which outlets are growing and where future opportunities lie.
Most content is free to read, with some premium content available through a subscription. The free tier provides comprehensive coverage of breaking news and industry developments.
Who Uses It
The Wrap is worth adding to your daily reading rotation, particularly for its coverage of streaming economics and technology's impact on entertainment. It complements the traditional trades with a forward-looking perspective. Founded by former LA Times business editor Sharon Waxman, The Wrap brought investigative journalism standards from mainstream media into entertainment coverage, and its editorial team has broken significant stories including early reporting on the Harvey Weinstein scandal that helped catalyze the #MeToo movement. The publication's WrapPRO subscription tier provides premium content for industry professionals, while its free coverage offers substantial value for actors seeking to understand the business forces shaping their career landscape. For actors who want to understand where the industry is headed rather than just where it is today, The Wrap's forward-looking business analysis is essential reading.
Pricing & Plans
The Wrap operates on a freemium model with the majority of content available for free and premium content accessible through WrapPRO, which costs approximately $10 per month or $100 per year. The free tier includes breaking news, general industry coverage, awards season reporting, and many features and interviews. WrapPRO unlocks exclusive analysis, detailed data reports, and premium features focused on business strategy, streaming platform performance, and industry economics. The Wrap's pricing is notably lower than the premium tiers of Variety and THR, making it an accessible option for actors who want business intelligence without the higher cost of legacy trade subscriptions. The site also produces a range of podcasts and video content available for free, including interview series and panel discussions from industry events.
Pros & Cons
What's Great
The Wrap's greatest strengths include its investigative journalism credentials, which bring a level of accountability and fact-finding rigor that distinguishes it from outlets that primarily aggregate industry press releases and announcements. The publication's coverage of streaming platform economics, content spending trends, and the ongoing transformation of media distribution is among the most thorough available, providing actors with essential context about which platforms are growing, which are contracting, and where future production spending is likely to concentrate. The Wrap's awards season coverage, including its annual screening series and For Your Consideration events, provides direct access to nominated films and panel discussions with creative teams. The site's coverage of technology's impact on entertainment — including AI, virtual production, and social media — helps actors understand how emerging technologies are reshaping the industry and the skills that will be required in the future. The Wrap's editorial voice is distinctly entrepreneurial and forward-looking, which provides a refreshing complement to the more traditional perspectives of legacy trades.
What Could Be Better
The Wrap, while a credible and respected publication, does not have the century-plus editorial history of Variety or the institutional authority of The Hollywood Reporter, which means its coverage may carry less weight with some industry professionals who rely on the legacy trades for definitive reporting. The site's premium content is less comprehensive than the premium tiers of Variety or THR, which may disappoint subscribers expecting the same depth of exclusive business intelligence. The Wrap's coverage can sometimes feel stretched thin compared to larger outlets with bigger editorial teams, resulting in less comprehensive coverage of certain beats including international markets, theater, and music. The advertising experience on the free tier can be intrusive, and some readers find the site layout less polished than its more established competitors. The Wrap's audience is smaller than Deadline or Variety, which means its stories may generate less industry conversation and carry less influence in shaping the daily media narrative.
Our Recommendation
The Wrap is a valuable addition to any actor's media diet, particularly for its forward-looking coverage of streaming economics, technology, and the evolving business of entertainment. The free tier provides more than enough content for most actors' needs, but those who want deeper business analysis should consider WrapPRO as a more affordable alternative to premium subscriptions at Variety or THR. Pair The Wrap with one or two other trade publications to ensure comprehensive industry coverage — it works best as a complement to Deadline for breaking news and Variety or THR for traditional trade coverage. If you are particularly interested in how technology and streaming are reshaping the entertainment landscape, The Wrap's coverage of these topics is among the best available and directly relevant to understanding the opportunities and challenges facing working actors in the evolving media environment.
Pro Tips
Subscribe to The Wrap's daily email newsletter for a curated summary of the most important stories — it is free and provides an efficient way to stay current without browsing the full site. Follow The Wrap's investigative reporting, as its accountability journalism has been instrumental in exposing industry abuses and driving policy changes that directly affect working conditions for performers. Pay particular attention to The Wrap's streaming platform analysis when evaluating where to focus your career efforts, as its reporting on subscriber growth, content spending, and platform strategy provides actionable intelligence about which outlets are most likely to be producing content that requires casting. Use The Wrap's coverage of industry technology trends — AI, virtual production, LED volume stages — to stay informed about skills and knowledge that will be increasingly relevant to your work as an actor. When The Wrap reports on business developments that could affect your career — production slowdowns, platform mergers, labor negotiations — discuss these developments with your representatives to ensure you are proactively adapting your strategy to the evolving landscape.