Is the Hollywood Music Industry on the Brink of Collapse?

Published: January 21, 2025 Photo by Denisse Leon on Unsplash Is the Hollywood Music Industry on the Brink of Collapse? By Movieguide® Contributor

Peter Rotter, a music and orchestra contractor who has worked on over 1,000 projects in the entertainment industry, is warning that Hollywood's music scoring industry is on the brink of collapse due to outsourcing.

Considered by many to be one of the most senior voices in the scoring community, Rotter's warning is substantial as he calls for studios to return work to LA. Though the industry used to have sound stages on nearly every studio lot, the only ones still in use are owned by Sony, Fox and Warner Bros. Discovery and often sit empty.

"As a native Angeleno who grew up and resided in L.A. my entire life, my heart is devastated by the recent wildfires that have impacted so many within our community," Rotter wrote in a letter to the industry. "When one hurts, we all hurt…and with that in mind, I needed to reach out and share my heart with you all."

"We have seen work move out of L.A. due to many reasons…As a leader and someone who cares so much about this industry and its people, I needed to reach out personally to see what might be done to keep, bring back or use in part that community that needs you and your workflow now more than ever. Our stages are and have been sitting empty most of the time, with their stage crews having to get part time jobs to supplement their incomes…" he continued. "The musicians are not able to make ends meet as the amount of scoring here in L.A. has fallen off [a] cliff…I need to wave the flag of deep concern as I see the infrastructure of the L.A. recording industry about to fail."

"We are all aware that we need to work together to make this a better workplace for everyone, to discuss work and current business models, to gain tax credits here in L.A. and to make the union restrictions less restrictive so that you WANT to work here," Rotter continued. "These things MUST take place…Our town has become silent, still and devoid of music making. Let us collectively revive the art form that was once heard so loudly from our historic stages."

Along with many other areas of the entertainment industry, the scoring scene has been spread out both across the country and the world. This dispersion has come from cheaper work due to tax credits and the opportunity for lower payment when working with professionals overseas.

READ MORE: WILL CALIFORNIA DOUBLE IT'S ENTERTAINMENT TAX CREDITS

California has recently recommitted itself to the entertainment industry, more than doubling its entertainment tax credits to $750 million per year. While this change will help bring filming back to the city, it may not have as large of an effect on areas of the industry like scoring. Studios may have to make more of an effort to revive that part of the industry.

"Postproduction is leaving at an alarming rate, and the loss of musicians is only the beginning of it," a postproduction executive said, per the Hollywood Reporter.

Recent events like the LA fires, SAG-AFTRA and WGA strikes and the pandemic have also resulted in the industry leaving Hollywood, Axios reported.

"If we don't step up and revive what we have here in L.A., we will wake up one day and it's not going to be here," Rotter added. "And we're a lot closer to that than people think."

READ MORE: RECORD LABELS SUE AI MUSIC COMPANIES FOR COPYRIGHT INFRINGEMENT