Alabama to expand Entertainment Industry Incentive Act

IT INTO LAW. BUT ONE OF THE BILLS THAT HAS BECOME LAW TONIGHT, SENATE BILL 177, IT MAKES SEVERAL CHANGES TO THE ENTERTAINMENT INDUSTRY HERE IN ALABAMA. WVTM 13 JARVIS ROBERTSON TOOK A CLOSER LOOK AT THIS NEW LAW. JARVIS, WHAT ARE THE BIG CHANGES? WELL, FOR STARTERS, THE CHANGES. THE NAME OF THE ALABAMA FILM OFFICE TO THE ALABAMA ENTERTAINMENT OFFICE. NOT ONLY WILL THE FILM INDUSTRY BENEFIT FROM PRODUCTION IN OUR STATE, THE MUSIC INDUSTRY WILL SOON BE ABLE TO TAKE ADVANTAGE OF DIFFERENT INCENTIVES. IT WILL CREATE JOBS FOR ALABAMIANS, BUT ALSO, YOU KNOW, HELP ALABAMA COMPETE. WE COULD SOON EXPECT MORE MOVIES AND MUSIC ALBUMS TO BE PRODUCED IN ALABAMA THANKS TO SB 177, WHICH GOVERNOR IVEY HAS SIGNED INTO LAW. THE ENTERTAINMENT INDUSTRY INCENTIVE ACT INITIALLY OFFERED REBATES FOR FILMMAKERS, BUT THIS EXPANSION ADDS MUSIC PRODUCTION TO THE LIST. THE STATE WILL CAP OUT AT $30 MILLION IN INCENTIVES. WE STOPPED BY WORKPLAY IN BIRMINGHAM BECAUSE THIS EXPANSION IS HUGE FOR ARTISTS WANTING TO EXPRESS THEIR CREATIVE SIDE IN SWEET HOME, ALABAMA, WE’VE GOT LOCAL BANDS, REGIONAL BANDS AND NATIONAL BANDS THAT ARE THAT ARE COMING IN HERE FOR STUDIO TIME. JOSHUA WILLIAMS IS THE GENERAL MANAGER AND CO-OWNER OF WORKPLAY. HE SAYS ALABAMA CAN BE MORE COMPETITIVE FOR THOSE DIFFERENT ENTERTAINMENT PROJECTS. BEFORE THEY WERE GOING TO GEORGIA AND LOUISIANA TO DO THESE THINGS. LOOKING THROUGH THE STATE’S FILM INDEX, THE LAST TEN YEARS HAVE BEEN RECOGNIZABLE FOR ALABAMA BECAUSE MANY FILMS HAVE BEEN SHOT HERE, ESPECIALLY IN BIRMINGHAM. THIS MEANS FILM CREWS, ACTORS AND OTHERS ARE BEING HIRED FROM OUR STATE. AT WORKPLAY, THEY SEE THIS AS AN OPPORTUNITY TO BE A PART OF THE PRODUCTION, NO MATTER THE AVENUE FOR US, WE’VE GOT THE SOUNDSTAGE, WHICH WAS BUILT FOR FILM PRODUCTION. WE THROW CONCERTS IN THERE, BUT ALSO, YOU KNOW, WE WE DO FILM PRODUCTION IN THE SOUNDSTAGE TOO. BUT THEN WE’VE ALSO GOT TWO DIFFERENT MUSIC STUDIOS HERE. SO THE CHANGES TO THE ENTERTAINMENT INDUSTR