LISTEN: Another popular bill on Kemp's desk has driven Georgia's music industry advocates for years. It would create a Georgia Music Office — similar to the state's film office — to promote and support Georgia music. GPB’s Orlando Montoya reports.
Georgia lawmakers gave advocates for the state’s music industry one of their high-priority wishes in this year’s General Assembly.
After pushing for many years to create a Georgia Music Office, lawmakers passed such a bill, aimed at promoting and supporting Georgia music.
It’s one of several popular, bipartisan pieces of legislation from this year’s session that Gov. Brian Kemp currently is waiting to sign.
The bill’s backers say it would function a lot like the Georgia Film Office, which has been credited with helping to expand the state’s film business.
Mala Sharma, representing the advocacy group Georgia Music Partners, said the office will amplify job creation already taking place across the state.
She points to recent venue expansions, recording studios being built, and projects being recorded in the state that have reached No.1 on the charts.
"But without a statewide office sharing and amplifying that message, some of that information just isn’t out there, it’s not readily available," she said. "It’s also the connective tissue for industry as a whole, working throughout the state, so that we can do more collaborative projects."
She said similar offices in Texas, Tennessee and North Carolina have shown that such an office in Georgia would not just benefit the state’s largest metro area, Atlanta, which has gained international fame as a crucible for hip-hop.
"We are seeing that the biggest impact is actually in the smaller towns and counties around their states," she said. "And we expect kind of the same sort of numbers here in Georgia."
The Georgia Music Office is expected to help cities and counties strengthen their local music economies by certifying them as "Music Friendly Georgia Certified Communities."
To qualify for such a certification, local governments would be required to create a local advisory board to promote music-related economic development in their communities.
The bill’s sponsor, Sen. Sonya Halpern (D–Atlanta), said if Gov. Brian Kemp signs the bill into law, the Legislature would need to appropriate funds through the Department of Economic Development to staff it.
"Music is already a $5 billion economic impact to our state," she said. "And I think we have nothing but promise and opportunity to grow that with that really dedicated, intentional focus that a music office would bring … We’re doing everything in our power to push [Kemp] to a 'yes' decision on this piece of legislation."
The governor has until May 12 to sign or veto bills, or let them become law without his signature.
