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DeKalb County: Entertainment industry has $2 billion economic impact

Scenes from the drama "Greenleaf” on the Oprah Winfrey Network are shot in multiple DeKalb County locations.

Credit: Rodney Ho

Credit: Rodney Ho

Scenes from the drama "Greenleaf” on the Oprah Winfrey Network are shot in multiple DeKalb County locations.
By
June 12, 2018

A new report from the DeKalb Entertainment Commission says the total impact of the film, television, music and digital arts industry on the county is $1.98 billion.

That amount reflects the jobs and income created directly and indirectly by these productions, as well as spending by employees within the county.

VIDEO: Previous coverage of this issue

The county says it has an easy permitting process, a skilled workforce and major studios in the area.

Over the past five years, jobs directly tied to the industry have increased 12 percent from 5,344 to 5,988, the report said. In total, 14,700 jobs are either directly or indirectly tied to entertainment companies or created by those employees’ spending, according to the report.

The Entertainment Commission, a subsidiary of Decide DeKalb economic development agency, is tasked with promoting TV, film, music and digital arts in the county.

About the Author

Tia Mitchell is the AJC’s Washington Bureau Chief. In this role, she writes about Georgia’s congressional delegation, campaigns, elections and the impact that decisions made in D.C. have on residents of the Peach State.

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