The Georgia Music Investment Act (House Bill 155) is being put before the Income Tax Subcommittee Meeting at the Georgia State Capitol. The bill, recently introduced by Representative Amy Carter (R. Valdosta, GA), will act as a tax incentive that will create more than 10,000 new job opportunities for Georgia’s diverse music industry by attracting recording and scoring projects as well as live tour rehearsals. This legislation resembles Georgia’s successful film and video game incentive — not only creating new jobs but also providing a significant boost to Georgia’s economy overall. The music industry currently generates $3.7 billion in annual revenue for Georgia. The Bill is supported by Georgia Music Partners along with nearly 200 other music businesses both inside and outside of the state.

Earlier this month, both the House of Representatives and the State Senate recognized the impact of Georgia’s music industry with “Georgia Music Day.” Artists from diverse genres and music business leaders came out to celebrate Georgia’s music industry and reinforce the importance of HB 155.

“We need to retain the talent being developed in Georgia while also attracting economic development in the state. The bill focuses on sectors that will boost the entire music industry in the state,” said Georgia Music Partners Legislative Affairs Chair Mala Sharma. “In recent years, businesses and talent have left for other markets. We strongly believe this incentive will help us compete with other strong music markets to create musical recordings, recording/scoring for film, TV or video games and tour origination rehearsals. We are grateful to have Representative Carter leading the way with this new legislation.”

HB 155 will offer a 20-25 percent refundable tax incentive for projects recorded or scored in Georgia, and for tours that rehearse and start their tours here. To qualify, a production company must meet a minimum threshold of $300,000 for live performance rehearsals, $150,000 for stand-alone scoring projects and $70,000 for recorded music performances. In addition, if the production or recorded product includes a Georgia-made music logo, it can qualify for an additional 5 percent refund.

“This bill will attract productions already taking place in other states by offering targeted incentives similar to the successful film, TV and gaming industry incentives which has made Georgia’s $7 billion production industry so successful,” said Georgia Music Partners President Tammy Hurt. “All around this great state our industry is diverse, our professional orchestras are world-class, and our post-secondary music programs teach everything from music technology to music theory — we are proud of this, and want it to grow and prosper. In its entirety, HB 155 would make this possible.”

“It has been well established that incentives create investment, jobs and activity in the entertainment sector,” said Monarch Private Capital CFO Craig Hoffman. “HB 155 will help create opportunities so that Georgia made music will succeed in an ever growing global music marketplace.”