With support from the Recording Academy™, new tax incentives seek to bring additional scoring projects to Tennessee
NASHVILLE – The Tennessee Entertainment Commission (TEC), with support from the Nashville and Memphis Chapters of the Recording Academy™, today announced the launch of a new Scoring Incentives Program for companies producing original music scores for films, television, video games and other digital media projects in Tennessee.
TEC’s scoring incentives offer up to a 25 percent rebate on qualified expenditures for music scoring projects that spend at least $50,000 in the Nashville area or at least $25,000 in other parts of Tennessee. The rebate covers costs for musicians, producers, engineers, recording studios, instruments and other qualified expenses.
“We are excited to launch Tennessee’s first music focused incentives program,” said Tennessee Entertainment Commission Executive Director Bob Raines. “Scoring has been a growth sector of Tennessee's music industry in recent years. It is our goal to make Tennessee the No. 1 destination for these types of media projects and to create high quality job opportunities for Tennessee musicians and engineers, while expanding our existing production infrastructure.
The Recording Academy’s Nashville and Memphis Chapters worked with TEC and played a pivotal role in shaping the Scoring Incentives Program. TEC and the Recording Academy plan to partner and advocate for further advances for the state’s music industry in the future.
“As the home to so many talented working music creators, this new incentive further emphasizes Tennessee’s dedication to music and the composers who create some of our favorite soundtracks,” said Daryl Friedman, Chief Industry, Government & Member Relations Officer, Recording Academy. “More than a decade in the making, we thank Gov. Bill Haslam, the Tennessee Entertainment Commission, and the leaders of the Academy’s Nashville and Memphis Chapters to bring forward more opportunities for music creators across all aspects of the recording industry.”
More than 6,725 Tennesseans work in the recording industry across nearly 1,100 businesses. Tennessee has the highest concentration of musicians, music directors and publishers in the United States. It has the second highest concentration of sound engineers.
“It only makes sense for us to leverage Tennessee’s unparalleled concentration of music talent and production services to attract additional music scoring projects,” Raines added. “As Tennessee attracts more scoring projects through TEC’s new program, it will allow our creative class and content creators to showcase their superb quality to audiences across the globe.”
“I have always wished that the arts were better supported in America, and this incentive gives me hope that this is happening,” said John McBride, owner of Blackbird Studio in Nashville. “There is a substantial amount of work in the field of orchestral recording for not just music projects but also films, television and gaming. Nashville is the perfect place for this recording to be produced. We have state-of-the-art studios, producers, engineers, composers, arrangers and players. I believe this will increase the incentive to use Nashville as a focal point in future orchestral productions, which is great for both the players and production people involved, as well as the entire state of Tennessee. This city has world-class production capability and we need to show the world.”
More details about TEC’s new scoring incentives are available here.
About the Tennessee Entertainment Commission
The Tennessee Entertainment Commission’s mission is to increase high quality job opportunities for Tennessee’s creative and technology class. TEC promotes and implements initiatives that reinforce the State as a destination for the production and development of multimedia and entertainment projects.
About The Recording Academy
Best known for the GRAMMY Awards®, the Recording Academy is the only organization that exists to champion the voices of performers, songwriters, producers, and engineers. With no corporate members, the Recording Academy directly and solely represents music creators, working tirelessly to protect their rights and interests. From strong representation in Washington, to mobilizing the industry and organizing grassroots movements across all 50 states, we use advocacy, education, and dialogue to raise awareness about pressing music issues, develop policy, and advance key legislation. Our purpose is to give back to music makers by making sure that they're compensated fairly for their work today and have greater opportunities to prosper tomorrow.
For more information about the Recording Academy's ongoing advocacy work, visit www.grammy.com/advocacy, follow @GRAMMYAdvocacy on Twitter, and "like" GRAMMY Advocacy on Facebook.
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