California is taking a major step to invest in the state's creative economy. After months of industry advocacy, including a direct messaging campaign led by the Recording Academy, Gov. Gavin Newsom signed AB 2319 into law on Sept. 18, marking a significant victory for California's music and entertainment workforce.

California's existing production tax credit incentivizes projects that film in the state, but it provides limited support for productions that shoot elsewhere and bring their editing, sound, visual effects, and music work back to California. Meanwhile, other states such as New York, Georgia, Louisiana, and New Mexico, along with the U.K., Canada, and Australia, have implemented post-production credits. As a result, California has been losing scoring work to cities out of state, even on movies and shows made by California-based studios.

Effective Jan. 1, 2027, AB 2319 closes that gap. The legislation recognizes post-production, including music scoring, as an economic engine, rather than simply the final stage of physical production.

Specifically, AB 2319 provides a tax credit covering 35 percent to 50 percent for qualifying projects. The base credit is 35 percent of qualifying post-production costs, such as picture editing, sound editing and mixing, Foley, ADR, music editing and scoring, visual effects, color correction, and mastering. From there, most categories can climb toward a 50 percent cap, but only by stacking location-based bonuses: an extra 5 percent if the work happens outside the Los Angeles zone, plus another 10 percent for wages paid to California residents doing that out-of-zone work.

Music scoring receives an especially significant boost. Rather than relying on location-based bonuses, qualifying scoring projects receive an automatic 15 percent increase on top of the 35 percent base credit, regardless of where in California the scoring takes place or where the project was filmed. As a result, qualifying music-scoring projects are eligible for the full 50 percent credit automatically, making scoring the only category guaranteed the top rate regardless of location.

"The signing of AB 2319 is a monumental victory for the workforce powering film and television behind the scenes, including the countless music professionals who bring stories to life," Recording Academy CEO Harvey Mason jr. said. "From scoring to sound editing, music is a vital part of film and television post-production work. We are grateful to Assemblymember Nick Schultz for his tireless work on this bill, and to Gov. Newsom for continuing to be a champion of this industry that calls California home."

In addition to the Recording Academy, the California Post Alliance (CAPA) and the Motion Picture Editors Guild (IATSE Local 700), SAG-AFTRA, the California IATSE Council, the Motion Picture Editors Guild, Warner Bros. Discovery, Sony Pictures Entertainment, Universal Music Group, and the American Federation of Musicians (AFM) all championed AB 2319.

California's entertainment economy extends far beyond the film set. After the cameras stop rolling, composers, songwriters, session musicians, producers, and engineers continue working behind the scenes to score, edit, mix, and master the music that brings film and television to life. Now, the signing of AB 2319 ushers in a meaningful step forward for the composers, musicians, producers, engineers, and other music professionals whose work is essential to California's entertainment industry. The Recording Academy is proud to have advocated for this legislation and to have worked alongside partners across the industry to help secure this important investment in California's post-production workforce.