Entertainment

Louisiana has become a premiere destination for the film and television industry, thanks in large part to the state's unique tax incentive package, established in 2002. Since 2006, Louisiana has produced more than 300 motion pictures — Shreveport was recently ranked No. 3 for independent film.

Louisiana's skilled crew base has grown by over 400 percent since the start of the tax incentive program, and infrastructure has developed to answer demand from film and television producers - Louisiana now boasts world-class, state-of-the-art facilities throughout the state, including multi-million dollar stages and post-production houses.

The Celtic Media Centre in Baton Rouge, La., is the largest design-built studio in the U.S., handling such productions as "Twilight: Breaking Dawn" and "Battle Los Angeles." Second Line Studios in the heart of New Orleans is the first, independent green film studio in the U.S. Other soundstage and post production facilities include, Beven Street Film Studio (Harahan, La.), Digital FX (Baton Rouge, La.), Hooperwood Studios (Baton Rouge, La.), Horizon Entertainment (New Orleans), The Louisiana Wave Studio (Shreveport, La.), The Nims Center (Harahan, La.), Seven Arts Post Production (New Orleans), The St. John Center (LaPlace, La.), Stageworks of Louisiana (Shreveport, La.) and VoX Studios (St. Gabriel, La.).

This well-developed infrastructure, along with the tax credits and talented workforce are helping to create a holistic package of entertainment services that create great filmmaking experiences. And with the variety of locations, unique spirit and the overwhelming support of Louisiana's citizens, directors and producers keep coming back to Louisiana.

Motion Picture Industry Development Tax Credit
A transferable credit of 30% for qualified motion picture expenditures and an additional 5% on Louisiana labor. For more information, click here.

The hallmark of Louisiana's entertainment scene, the live performance industry continues to gain momentum in a state filled with creativity. The state offers tax incentives, industry expertise and opportunities for collaboration with the state's top education institutions to the owners, developers and producers of live performance infrastructure and production projects. For example, Northwestern State University's Department of Theatre and Dance, one of only 150 programs in the U.S. accredited by the National Association of Schools of Theatre, is designated as the Center for Excellence in the Arts for the University of Louisiana System, providing a pipeline of industry talent and collaboration opportunities.

With the nation's first tax incentive package focused solely on the creation, growth and expansion of the concert and theatrical industries, Louisiana is committed to supporting construction, renovation and expansion of live performance venues around the state. Louisiana offers up to a 35% transferable or refundable tax incentive to performances that originate in the state, helping reduce production costs for businesses like yours.

Musical and Theatrical Production Tax Incentive
Provides a tax credit of up to 35% of production and infrastructure expenditures. For more information, click here.

Jazz. Cajun. Zydeco. Brass. R&B. Funk. Swamp pop. Perhaps no other Louisiana export enjoys as much worldwide popularity and historical significance as its music. The Louisiana music industry is as vibrant as ever, and the state is expanding the cultural economy and creating new opportunities for artists and musicians. Louisiana offers not only strong infrastructure in recording or production studios, but it also is quickly becoming a hot spot for film scoring as veteran Hollywood music supervisors discover the combination of incentives, facilities, symphonic and other musicians that deliver a first-rate scoring performance.

With sound studios around the state, including Blade Studios in Shreveport, La., which has the largest live, large-volume tracking studio in Louisiana, Socket Studios in Baton Rouge, La., and Dockside Studio in Vermilion Parish, your company can take advantage of a skilled and knowledgeable workforce, cutting-edge technology and a low-cost business environment anywhere in state.

The Louisiana Sound Recording Investor Tax Credit was created with the entertainment industry in mind. Much like the state's highly successful film program, the credit rebate has advanced to 25% and is designed to boost recorded music production development by reducing the cost of making new master music recordings, whether distributed by CD, digital download or as part of a soundtrack.

Sound Recording Investor Tax Credit
A refundable tax credit of 25% for qualified sound recording production expenditures. For more information, click here.