Otis Report Shows Growth Over The Years, But Decline As Compared to '09 Report
The creative community is a leading contributor to the Greater Los Angeles economy, as substantiated in the 2010 Otis Report prepared for the Otis College of Art and Design by the Los Angeles Economic Development Corporation (LAEDC). For example, the arts, design and entertainment industries combined in ’09 to represent 835,000 direct and indirect jobs (almost one in every six in the L.A. region) and some $113 billion in sales/receipts in L.A. and Orange counties. More than $4.6 billion in state and local tax revenues were generated in ’09 by art and design-oriented businesses spanning the entertainment, toy, digital media, fashion, architecture, interior design, industrial design, and communication arts industries, as well as fine and performing arts.
However, as impressive as these numbers are, they represent a decline from those in the ’09 Otis Report which tallied nearly one million direct and indirect jobs, almost $140 billion in sales/receipts, and over $5.1 billion in state and local tax revenues in ’08. Clearly the overall global economic downturn impacted the latest set of numbers as did arguably such dynamics as runaway production to other states and for that matter countries with more inviting tax breaks and financial incentive packages.
Still in the big picture, the economic barometer has risen steadily since 2003 in Greater L.A. Between ’03 and ’08, employment in the service-oriented creative industries of L.A. grew by 9.9 percent, and by two percent in Orange County.
Narrowing results down to the entertainment industry, the 2010 Otis Report found nearly 119,000 people working directly in the business during ’09 in L.A. County. The estimated direct sales numbers were huge, $48.3 billion in ’09, most of which came from the film production industry. The total economic impact was 354,900 direct and indirect jobs, and estimated total output of over $129 billion. State and local taxes generated directly and indirectly by this sector totaled $2.4 billion in ’09.
The creative economy represents the second largest regional business sector in Greater Los Angeles, surpassed only by the tourism and hospitality industry, according to the Otis Report, which estimates the creative community’s total economic impact in L.A. and Orange counties as having been some $286.3 billion in ’09. The LAEDC factors each direct job as supporting roughly one-and-a-half indirect jobs in the marketplace. And the creative economy includes the largest segment of self-employed people (independent artists, writers, performers) in the L.A. region.
In terms of employment trends, the creative economy in L.A. is projected to be on the upswing through 2014–but that growth will be slow, with an estimated 6.7 percent increase in the number of jobs. Helping to drive that growth is the digital media market, which has already exhibited its ability to buck the recession with 700 additional jobs in ’09 as compared to ’08.
SAG-AFTRA Calls For A Strike Against “League of Legends”
"League of Legends" is caught in the middle of a dispute between Hollywood's actors union and an audio company that provides voiceover services for the blockbuster online multiplayer game.
The Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists called a strike against "League of Legends" on Tuesday, arguing that Formosa Interactive attempted to get around the ongoing video game strike by hiring non-union actors to work on an unrelated title.
Formosa tried to "cancel" the unnamed video game, which was covered by the strike, shortly after the start of the work stoppage, SAG-AFTRA said. The union said when Formosa learned it could not cancel the game, the company "secretly transferred the game to a shell company and sent out casting notices for 'non-union' talent only." In response, the union's interactive negotiating committee voted unanimously to file an unfair labor practice charge against the company with the National Labor Relations Board and to call a strike against "League of Legends" as part of that charge.
"League of Legends" is one of Formosa's most well-known projects. The company provides voiceover services for the game, according to SAG-AFTRA.
SAG-AFTRA has accused Formosa of interfering with protections that allow performers to form or join a union and prevent those performers from being discriminated against — a move the union called "egregious violations of core tenets of labor law."
Formosa did not immediately respond to a request for comment. "League of Legends" developer Riot Games said that the company "has nothing to do" with the union's complaint.
"We want to be clear: Since becoming a union project five years ago, 'League of Legends' has only asked Formosa to engage with union... Read More