New York’s New Win: Tax Incentives Hit the Right Notes for Film Scoring

June 1, 2025

IM  -  

In a boost for music jobs across New York State, scoring work for the television and film industry will now be considered a “qualified cost” under the New York State Film Production Tax Credit program.

Prior to 2010, New York and Los Angeles served as primary hubs for film scoring. Advances in technology facilitated a gradual but dramatic shift to cheap nonunion orchestras in Eastern European countries. Even though scoring is a minimal part of a blockbuster film’s budget (as little as .05%), by 2018 most nonsignatory film productions had moved their scoring overseas.

Local 802 (New York City) realized that an effective way to fight offshoring of music scoring could be through legislation. The new provision, just finalized in the New York State budget, was a result of major legwork by the AFM and Local 802 staff and officers, including AFM President Tino Gagliardi, former Local 802 President Sara Cutler, and current Local 802 President Bob Suttmann, who traveled to Albany to lobby state legislators and build meaningful relationships.

Over the past several months, they visited legislators and New York Governor Kathy Hochul to make their case, explaining that the provision would:

• Create significant employment opportunities for New York musicians.
• Strengthen New York’s position as a complete film production hub.
• Support the cultural and artistic ecosystem of the state.
• Have minimal fiscal impact on the tax credit program.

Under the new provision, if film or TV producers hire at least five musicians to record a qualified project in New York, they will receive a 10% uplift rebate or tax credit on scoring costs from the state, on top of the standard 40% credit. If scoring is conducted in Upstate New York, there is an additional 10% uplift, meaning producers could see rebates of scoring costs as high as 60%.

Producers now have a financial incentive to also score Made in New York films in the state. The scoring tax credit is in addition to other New York film production incentives.

“Local 802 thanks Governor Kathy Hochul and all of our allies who delivered this tax credit that will help working musicians,” said Suttmann. “This new provision has the potential to bring more scoring work to New York, including New York City. It means that more audiences will hear the work of the best musicians in the world. This is a win for musicians, and it also represents Local 802’s growing strength in state politics.”

Building strong relationships with our elected leaders is key to delivering wins for our members. Encouraging producers to hire more New York musicians is good for the entire cultural landscape of New York.

—This story was excerpted with permission from a story written by Local 802 Chief of Staff Dan Point, which was published in June 2025 Allegro, the magazine of Local 802.

---