Could a state office boost the music industry like it has Georgia film?

A group of lawmakers, industry leaders and advocates want to change that and help Atlanta compete with Nashville, New York and Los Angeles.

Senate Bill 182, introduced by state Sen. Sonya Halpern, D-Atlanta, calls for the creation of a Georgia Music Office to support and promote music production in the state, attract music-related investment and workforce development opportunities and serve as a liaison between music companies and governmental agencies, among other responsibilities. The office will also certify cities and counties seeking to promote music-related economic development in their areas as “Music Friendly Georgia Certified Communities.”

Credit: Elissa Eubanks/eeubanks@ajc.com

Credit: Elissa Eubanks/eeubanks@ajc.com

The proposed office is similar to the Georgia Film Office, which along with generous incentives, has helped make the Peach State a top filming destination in the U.S.

The bill cleared the Economic Development and Tourism subcommittee Monday. An identical bill was introduced in the House earlier this month by Rep. Devan Seabaugh, R-Marietta.

The creation of the office could be a starting point in growing the presence of music businesses, manufacturers, record labels and talent agencies with footprints in the state, which legislators say could bring jobs and open opportunities for students pouring out of state schools with music programs.

The industry says it has an economic impact figure of $5 billion and supports 70,000 jobs statewide. However a report conducted by Georgia Tech in 2016 had far smaller numbers. That year, the music industry in Georgia supported 27,495 jobs, $1.2 billion in labor income and about $112 million in state and local tax revenues, the report found.

“The bottom line: music is economic development,” Halpern said during the subcommittee hearing. “Georgia has the talent, the history and the momentum and we cannot afford to fall behind other states that are already investing in their music industries.”

‘Connect the dots’

Music is a vital part of Georgia’s identity. Atlanta is considered the rap capital of the world, as the home base of artists such as Outkast, 21 Savage and Young Thug, producers such as Metro Boomin and powerhouse labels such as Jermaine Dupri’s So So Def Recordings or Quality Control. Athens has produced a number of rock bands over the past few decades, including The B-52’s and R.E.M. Macon, Savannah and Augusta have their own share of household names: Little Richard, Johnny Mercer, Ray Charles, Gladys Knight.

There is infrastructure to support the industry. The state has more than 100 recording studios and rehearsal spaces, as well as dozens of multi-purpose venues, nightclubs, bars and restaurants with music programs. It’s worth mentioning that the advancement of technology is such that hundreds of musicians in the state record and produce music from their bedroom without having step foot in a studio.

But policy hasn’t supported the music industry in the same way it has for other industries in Georgia, notably film, which boomed after the city expanded its production incentive in 2008. Georgia created a limited music incentive that ended in 2023.

Matt Still, a Grammy-winning engineer and producer who has worked in Georgia for his entire career, knows first hand how helpful these offices can be. In 2008, Still flew to Calgary to work with Elton John on a song for Baz Luhrmann’s film “Australia.” The two needed to find a studio, so he connected with the regional music office. They put him in touch with the studio itself, session musicians, engineers and equipment rental companies, among other resources he needed to make the session go smoothly.

Credit: Robb D. Cohen/ www.RobbsPhotos.c

Credit: Robb D. Cohen/ www.RobbsPhotos.c

“Having something like that in Georgia that can connect the dots, especially for people coming from outside the state into the state, goes such a long way,” Still said. “To boosting the economy, to helping small businesses, to keeping everyone in touch and communities engaging with one another.”

Musicians, producers and budding executives say they often have to leave the state to find opportunities in more established music and entertainment networks.

“When I go to New York, Los Angeles, Nashville or Toronto, all those cities have spaces, buildings and C-suite executives on the ground that have the power to create deals,” said Richard Dunn, the serial music entrepreneur who has worked in production and promotions with a range of artists, in an interview with The Atlanta Journal-Constitution in 2023. “I never got a check from the music business that didn’t say Broadway or Wilshire. Nobody is writing checks on the music side that says Peachtree Street.”

Credit: Robb Cohen for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Credit: Robb Cohen for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution

This isn’t the first time a bill calling for the creation of a state music office has been introduced, nor similar policy measures to boost the music industry. During the 2022 session, a study committee was created to assess the economic impact of the music industry in Georgia and the best ways to measure, expand and promote the music economy. In its final report, the committee recommended establishing a competitive music tax incentive, music grant opportunities and a dedicated office.

The proposed office resembles that of the Georgia Film Office, which serves as the key marketing entity for the state’s film industry, an information clearinghouse for its tax credit and has its own local liaison program called “Camera Ready Communities.” But it was modeled off music offices established in other states, including Texas and Tennessee, said Mala Sharma, the president of music business advocacy organization Georgia Music Partners.

Credit: Robb Cohen for the Atlanta Journ

Credit: Robb Cohen for the Atlanta Journ

Texas’ office was established in 1990 under the state’s economic development and tourism department. In January, the state said its music industry, which spans music-related businesses, education programs and tourism, generates about $4.9 billion in annual earnings and about 86,000 permanent jobs.

The new Senate bill would establish the office within the state Department of Community Affairs, not the Department of Economic Development, which is the home of the Georgia Film Office. During the hearing, Halpern said housing the office under the DCA will ensure it will “have the resources, coordination and statewide reach to make an impact beyond our major cities.”

If approved, the state will need to appropriate funds to start it. During the hearing for the identical House Bill 353, Seabaugh estimated the amount would be around $2.5 million. Brian Hudson, a lobbyist representing the Recording Industry Association of America and the Recording Academy, estimated a much lower number — “a couple hundred thousands, maybe half a million.”

However attracting musicians to the state is not always a matter of proactive marketing. Georgia’s film industry is supported by its generous incentive program, which offers production companies an income tax credit of up to 30%.

During the House subcommittee hearing, Rep. Spencer Frye, D-Athens, pointed toward Tennessee’s lack of a state income tax.

“The way Georgia can be Nashville is if we quit taxing the income that the musicians make in Georgia,” Frye said. “Any sort of royalties, tax abatement on that, would naturally uplift the music industry here in the state relative to Nashville.”