By Hannah E. Jones
Over the years, Georgia has increasingly become a hotspot within the world of film and T.V. Wanting to further analyze the impact of the local entertainment industry, Georgia State University’s Creative Media Industries Institute (CMII) released “Building Georgia’s Digital Entertainment Future.”
The report offers a comprehensive look at Georgia’s media — including film and television production, digital media, gaming, music, and emerging technologies — through a lens of workplace opportunities, rural and suburban development and impact on the local economy.
The study explores how Georgia’s investment in the film industry has helped shape Georgia’s current and future success stories. The information was pulled from various sources, including the Georgia Screen Entertainment Coalition, the Georgia Production Partnership, the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the Motion Picture Association and others.
It also tells a larger story — one where Georgia has shifted into a frontline player within the entertainment industry — giving folks a different perspective of the state and, arguably, the South as a whole.
Over the years, Georgia has increasingly become a prominent fixture within media industries. For example, from 2009 to 2019, Georgia had a 210 percent growth in its creative sector, the largest in the nation. Additionally, 412 productions were filmed in-state in 2022 with $4.4 billion in direct spending.
“It’s really a significant economic success story,” CMII Executive Director Brennen Dicker said.
The arts have also brought many jobs to the state and, according to the report, the film industry is predicted to be the leading producer of higher-paying jobs in Georgia. These jobs aren’t exclusive to Atlanta but have expanded to suburban and rural communities. In the Georgia Mountains Region, which encompasses Gainesville and Dahlonega, the creative workforce grew by 170 percent from 2001 to 2021.
“The impact of the creative sector aligns with the significant legislative priorities to drive resources to rural communities across the state,” Dicker noted.
The increasing demand for creative education can be seen at GSU’s CMII. When Dicker stepped into his role in 2018, there were about 100 students enrolled at CMII. This year, there are around 800.
“We’re looking towards, hopefully, having students stay in Georgia rather than having to go outside of Georgia to California or New York to get work,” Dicker said.
The report points to Georgia’s tax incentive as a critical component of the entertainment empire that’s being built here. Passed in 2005, production companies that spend at least $500,000 on qualified productions — including movies, T.V. shows and music videos — receive an income tax credit. While centered around T.V. and film, Dicker believes the tax incentive is key for attracting other types of creative projects, like gaming and virtual reality.
“With the film and television incentive that was enacted [18] years ago, we saw not only the film and television industry boom but also these other ecosystems in entertainment,” Dicker said. “I think companies really started looking at Atlanta and Georgia as a place that they could do business, and it was friendly toward the entertainment industry. That really helped fuel a lot of these different companies that we see now coming into the market.”
However, other states are looking to get in on the action. Over the last two years, Texas distributed $45 million to film and TV production companies. But according to the Austin Chronicle, Texas legislators are considering bolstering that fund to between $150 to $300 million for the next two years. To that end, Dicker emphasizes the importance of maintaining an attractive tax incentive.
“As long as we remain competitive with our incentives, we are going to continue to see this growth,” Dicker said. “This is always a very competitive industry, and people understand the economic value of having the industry here.”
Ultimately, Dicker and the CMII team hope that the new report shows how critical Georgia’s creative sector is for the overarching success of the state. Dicker has high hopes for Georgia’s future.
“At CMII, we really want to educate the public and the legislature on where we were, where we are and where we’re going,” he said. “We’re as big as New York and California as far as entertainment is concerned, and we want to remain there. I would love to see us surpass New York and California, but we’re really one of the global leaders when it comes to film and television now. I think we have the opportunity, moving forward, to increase that scope by looking at gaming, animation [and] all these other different ecosystems in the entertainment field that will be attracted here.”
For a closer look at “Building Georgia’s Digital Entertainment Future,” click here.
Leave a comment