A newly formed coalition of major Hollywood talent agencies and independent producers is backing a proposed 20% federal tax incentive for domestic film and television production, while warning that the measure will not be enough on its own to rebuild the industry.
The American Entertainment Alliance, whose members include CAA, WME and UTA, said Thursday that it is in “strong support” of the proposal. Independent producers Blumhouse, Imagine Entertainment and MRC are also part of the alliance.
The group characterized the incentive as an urgent opening move toward returning production jobs to the United States. At the same time, it plans to seek targeted changes intended to improve the legislation for independent producers.
“This legislation is an urgent first step toward bringing production jobs home, and with targeted adjustments, it can also help level the playing field for independent producers,” the AEA said. “We will work closely with lawmakers and industry partners to strengthen the bill and shepherd the measure through the legislative process.”
The federal proposal contains a 5% bonus for independent productions. Under the bill’s current language, an independent producer is defined as a company that is not publicly traded.
A Broader Campaign for Independents
The tax incentive is only one part of the AEA’s policy agenda. The coalition is also advocating for a modern revival of the financial interest and syndication rules that helped independent television producers flourish during the 1970s and ’80s.
The alliance announced its formation last week through a New York Times story in which agents and producers called for legislation requiring streaming services to purchase 50% of their original programming from independent production companies. The proposal would also place time limits on exclusivity windows.
According to the AEA, those changes are necessary to restore competition and creativity to the television business. The coalition also wants creators to be able to retain and reinvest the long-term value of their work.
Those ownership and content-purchasing proposals have been discussed over the past year, but they were not included in the federal tax credit bill introduced in Congress in September. The alliance now intends to pursue that legislation separately in the 120th Congress.
“A tax credit alone will not restore a competitive American marketplace,” the coalition said. “That is why the AEA is advocating to restore a competitive American film and television market by pushing both for production incentives and a modern approach to creative ownership for the streaming era.”
The group added that it looks forward to working with lawmakers and industry counterparts in the next Congress on policies designed to expand opportunities for independent producers and strengthen competition.
ShowBiz Take
The AEA’s endorsement gives the proposed production incentive support from a coalition spanning major talent agencies and independent companies. That backing is significant because the 20% federal incentive already has broader industry support, and advocates hope it can pass by the end of the year.
But the alliance is attempting to balance two distinct objectives: securing immediate federal support for domestic production and pursuing larger structural changes in the streaming marketplace. Its campaign to mandate that streamers obtain half of their original content from independent producers goes considerably beyond the tax measure currently in Congress.
That broader agenda could complicate the effort to pass the production incentive. For now, however, the AEA is drawing a clear procedural line between the two campaigns: support and refine the existing tax proposal, then pursue its ownership, purchasing and exclusivity policies through separate legislation.
What Happens Next?
The coalition says it will work with lawmakers and industry partners to strengthen the federal incentive and guide it through the legislative process. Advocates are aiming for passage by the end of the year, although no outcome is assured.
The AEA’s more expansive proposals—including the 50% independent-content requirement and limits on exclusivity windows—are expected to follow a separate path in the 120th Congress. The immediate question is whether the group can press that wider agenda without disrupting momentum behind the production tax incentive it calls a necessary first step.