Deep South Studios in New Orleans will become Louisiana’s first Qualified Entertainment Company under a new state program aimed at cultivating sustainable jobs in the motion picture, digital, music and theatrical industries, Louisiana Economic Development has announced.
As the first company to participate in the program, Deep South Studios, which has a site along the Mississippi River, expects to complete the first three of its studio buildings in early 2018. The buildings will comprise 35,500 square feet of production and support space, according to a news release. The studio envisions a final complex of 11 buildings spanning 262,000 square feet, with a capital investment of $63.5 million.
Qualified Entertainment Companies must be engaged in the development or distribution of audio, visual or audio-visual entertainment products for public consumption, and be approved by LED’s secretary.
The state began offering the incentive this year as a way to reward entertainment companies for creating permanent “quality jobs” for Louisiana residents, the agency says.
“Any company creating five net new jobs paying the statutory minimum annual salaries and complying with the performance-based rules of the program – while sustaining those net new jobs – could be eligible for QEC,” the agency says. “These must be permanent, year-round, full-time jobs held by Louisiana residents who are engaged in the development or distribution of audio, visual, or audio-visual entertainment products for public consumption.”
Unlike Deep South—a newer studio, Celtic Studios in Baton Rouge does not qualify for the incentive program because it’s not in the process of creating and hiring for new jobs. The studio has been around since 2006, is established and has no expansion plans at the moment, says Celtic’s Aaron Bayham says.
LED says the intent of QEC is to pivot toward sustainability by growing the state’s base of permanent, full-time jobs in the entertainment industry.
Under the program, a QEC employer is eligible for a 15% payroll tax credit in exchange for creating jobs that pay $45,000 or more annually, LED says. The credit increases to 20% for new jobs paying more than $66,000 annually.
The program is performance-based, and QEC applicants may qualify for up to $1 million in payroll credits per year.
Companies may be eligible for the payroll tax credit for five years, with an option to renew for five additional years, by creating and maintaining a minimum of five new jobs. A similar incentive—the Qualified Music Company program, or QMC—is available for music-related companies.
