An article recently posted by Katie Kilkenny of the Hollywood Reporter presents the results of a recent economic study that puts growth of LA’s film and digital media industries as topping that of New York…
Despite attractive tax incentives in other states and changing consumer behaviors, the film and digital media workforce in Los Angeles County is growing faster than in the New York metro area and is becoming increasingly more diverse, a new study has found.
That study, commissioned by the Los Angeles County Chief Executive Office, surveys film and digital media industries as an integrated “cluster” (acronym: FDMI). As streaming and digital video blur the lines between film and television and digital media, the authors argue, the two sectors are increasingly collaborating and integrating. Undertaken by the independent research and consulting firm Beacon Economics, the report provides a generally positive overview of L.A.’s role in the shifting media landscape. Still, its authors also single out housing affordability and cost of living as remaining issues for the industry, and provide policy recommendations to strengthen its position.
A central finding of the study is that L.A. county’s FDMI employment is growing faster than the nationwide average and New York City’s, with jobs increasing by 23 percent between 2011 and 2016. (In New York employment grew by 12 percent, while that of the nation grew by 15 percent.) Today, direct FDMI jobs and jobs created by the industry account for 17 percent of L.A. County’s total workforce, while the business has a $158.3 billion economic impact on the county
To read the full article on the Hollywood Reporter, click here.
To go directly to the report by Beacon Economics, click here for the PDF.
