Support for LAist comes from
Audience-funded nonprofit news
Stay Connected
Audience-funded nonprofit news
Listen

Share This

Arts and Entertainment

The disappearing act of the entertainment industry's middle class

The Hollywood sign is seen as it is repainted in preparation for its 100th anniversary in 2023, in Hollywood on Sept. 28, 2022.
The Hollywood sign is seen as it is repainted in preparation for its 100th anniversary in 2023, in Hollywood on Sept. 28, 2022.
(
Robyn Beck
/
AFP via Getty Images
)

With our free press under threat and federal funding for public media gone, your support matters more than ever. Help keep the LAist newsroom strong, become a monthly member or increase your support today. 

Topline:

After taking a buyout from a major company, an L.A.-born producer is struggling to make ends meet, illustrating how locals working in the entertainment industry are being priced out of their own city.

Why it matters: Those who enter Hollywood from a middle-class L.A. background don’t have a Midwestern family to run home to — and they aren’t keen to uproot themselves to move somewhere else. With a consulting gig that offers freedom but requires constant hustle, once the basics are accounted for in Los Angeles, there’s not only no money left for a retirement fund for this person who’s 43 years old, but also no vacations and relying on their parents’ Costco runs for such basics as toilet paper and paper towels.

A producer’s predicament: This development producer accepted a voluntary buyout from a major entertainment company. Now working as an independent consultant, their salary is approximately $3,000 to $4,500 a month, and they and their spouse stick to a rigid budget, allowing for only the occasional indulgence ($100 monthly to splurge on an excursion or other treats).

Support for LAist comes from

Keep on going: The producer says there are days so depressing, particularly when they hear of friends and colleagues being laid off, that they don’t want to get out of bed. But they choose to forge ahead anyway, developing projects, supporting creatives and building community.

For more... read the full story on The Ankler.

This story is published in partnership with The Ankler, a paid subscription publication about the entertainment industry.

At LAist, we believe in journalism without censorship and the right of a free press to speak truth to those in power. Our hard-hitting watchdog reporting on local government, climate, and the ongoing housing and homelessness crisis is trustworthy, independent and freely accessible to everyone thanks to the support of readers like you.

But the game has changed: Congress voted to eliminate funding for public media across the country. Here at LAist that means a loss of $1.7 million in our budget every year. We want to assure you that despite growing threats to free press and free speech, LAist will remain a voice you know and trust. Speaking frankly, the amount of reader support we receive will help determine how strong of a newsroom we are going forward to cover the important news in our community.

We’re asking you to stand up for independent reporting that will not be silenced. With more individuals like you supporting this public service, we can continue to provide essential coverage for Southern Californians that you can’t find anywhere else. Become a monthly member today to help sustain this mission.

Thank you for your generous support and belief in the value of independent news.

Chip in now to fund your local journalism
A row of graphics payment types: Visa, MasterCard, Apple Pay and PayPal, and  below a lock with Secure Payment text to the right
(
LAist
)

Trending on LAist