Filming in Los Angeles has been on the decline in recent years, as production companies are lured to other states by generous tax incentives. Now a new report by the Los Angeles Economic Development Corporation shows that the entertainment industry in the city has lost more than 9,000 jobs since 2007.
Specifically, film/video production is down 7,800 jobs. Some of the loss can be blamed on the recession during that time period, but another large factor is the loss of productions in the area. According to the report, there were 132,900 jobs in the entertainment industry in 2012, a drop of 6.6 percent over five years.
In 2012, Governor Brown extended a tax credit for California television and film productions for another two years. The $100 million annual subsidy was designed to put the breaks on runaway productions.
The report is not all negative. Radio stations added 350 jobs, television broadcasting added 1,700 and post-production jobs rose by 530.
What does this report say about the state of the entertainment industry? What is being done to help keep productions local?
Guest:
Kimberly Ritter-Martinez, Associate Economist for the LA County Economic Development Corporation, a non-profit organization that works to create jobs in LA.
Amy Lemisch, Director of the California Film Commission
Yusef Robb, Director of Communications, Office of Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti