Senator Reverend Warnock is championing bipartisan legislation to further incentivize film, television, and music production in the United States, boosting Georgia’s economy

Georgia is often referred to as the “Hollywood of the South” with entertainment productions providing billions of dollars in economic impact and thousands of Georgia jobs

Senator Warnock: “Our continued investments in incentivizing domestic production for film, television, and music benefit our culture and our economy. That is why I am proud to help lead this bipartisan legislation to support domestic entertainment productions that will continue creating good-paying jobs”

Washington, D.C. – This week, U.S. Senators Reverend Raphael Warnock (D-GA) and Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) introduced bipartisan legislation to extend and expand tax credits for American-based film, television, and live theatre productions. The Creative Relief and Expensing for Audio and Television Enterprises (CREATE) Act would support the film, TV, and music recording industries by extending a tax provision that allows these businesses to deduct expenses incurred in the United States more quickly than they would otherwise be able to. 

This would increase the incentive to keep production in the United States. The legislation would also extend the tax credits to now include music recording productions. Georgia is often referred to as the “Hollywood of the South” with entertainment productions providing billions of dollars in economic impact and thousands of Georgia jobs. 

“From productions like The Color Purple, to The Hunger Games, and the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Georgia has become a national leader in the arts and entertainment industry,” said Senator Reverend Warnock. “Our continued investments in incentivizing domestic production for film, television, and music benefit our culture and our economy. That is why I am proud to help lead this bipartisan legislation to support domestic entertainment productions that will continue creating good-paying jobs and unleash economic opportunity.”

“Thousands of singers and songwriters call Tennessee home, and they should be able to write off recording production expenses that are critical to their work,” said Senator Blackburn. “The CREATE Act would support creators and keep America’s music industry strong by ensuring they can still count on this tax relief.”

The CREATE Act would: 

• Extend the expiration date of Internal Revenue Code (IRC) Section 181 from 2025 to 2030.
• Make it more financially viable to shoot films and television shows in the United States, rather than moving to lower-cost foreign locations.
• Provide predictable long-term planning through annual cost-of-living adjustments starting in 2027 to ensure that the dollar limits keep pace with rising production costs over time.

The CREATE Act is endorsed by the Motion Picture Association, the Independent Film & Television Alliance, the Recording Industry Association of America, the American Association of Independent Music, and the Recording Academy.

“This legislation reflects a bipartisan, bicameral effort to strengthen the U.S. film and TV industry, which proudly supports more than 2.32 million jobs nationwide,” said Charles Rivkin, Chairman and CEO of the Motion Picture Association (MPA). “Extending and strengthening Section 181 will lead to more domestic film and TV production, and more American jobs. The MPA applauds Senators Blackburn and Warnock, alongside Representatives Malliotakis and Chu, for introducing the bill in their respective chambers and looks forward to Congress enacting this vital legislation.”

“The Independent Film & Television Alliance® (IFTA®) deeply appreciates the leadership of Senators Marsha Blackburn and Raphael Warnock in championing the independent sector through their introduction of legislation to extend Sec. 181 of the Internal Revenue Code,” said Jean Prewitt, IFTA’s President and CEO. “Since 2004, this important provision has supported independent producers and played a vital role in keeping film and television production, and the jobs it creates, here in the U.S., contributing to local economies nationwide. We applaud their support in advancing this critical measure.”

“RIAA applauds Senators Blackburn and Warnock and Representatives Malliotakis and Chu for their leadership strengthening and extending Internal Revenue Code Section 181 including the newly enacted HITS Act, which will boost America’s music economy by allowing production expenses to be deducted when they are incurred. Without Congressional action, the HITS Act and all of Section 181 will expire this year, unnecessarily putting tens of thousands creative community jobs at risk and dragging down one of America’s strongest export sectors,” said Mitch Glazier, Chairman & CEO of the Recording Industry Association of America.

“With sound recording production finally eligible for the Section 181 domestic production incentive, A2IM is proud to support this bill, which would help independent labels support more great artists as they contribute to economic growth. America leads the globe in creating film, television, theater, and music that entertains and inspires the rest of the world. Congress can make sure we have every tool to continue this important work by extending this commonsense provision,” said Dr. Richard James Burgess, President and CEO of American Association of Independent Music.

“The CREATE Act will protect and extend the important victory we achieved this year for independent music through the HITS Act. The Recording Academy appreciates Senators Blackburn and Warnock and Reps. Chu and Malliotakis for their commitment to the creative community, and we look forward to working with them to advance this legislation,” said Todd Dupler, Chief Advocacy & Public Policy Officer of the Recording Academy.

Senator Warnock is a proud supporter of Georgia’s arts and entertainment scene. In June 2024, Senator Warnock urged the Sundance Institute to give a full and fair consideration of Georgia’s three bidding cities to host the Sundance Film Festival.

The bill text can be found HERE.

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