As I have read a lot of the blogs on this site, I can’t help but notice that everyone is extremely passionate about Detroit. There are a lot of great suggestions on how we can make Detroit better from urban design and development to assisting in the arts.
All these suggestions have great merit. In order to effectively create change we as a community must first think out side the box. With the economic condition or shall we call “recession”, we must consider all options in creating new economic opportunities within the Detroit community small and large. We must also look at the demographics of the community in order to maintain the youth of the community.
By focusing on specific sectors of the industry and developing niche industries, we can create a diverse economy that will prosper in the future. The entertainment community can become a major force within this economy with proper direction. From the cultural arts community to production facilities, these sectors of the economy will infuse new opportunities. With the help from local and regional leaders, we can advocate new ideas to compete with other states that currently have fresh bold initiatives in the works.
The primary idea being a tax break for all production companies that specialize in broadcast, feature films, web and print to help foster new economic growth. New Mexico has already implemented such an idea and has attracted major studios within its community.
A few years ago, New Mexico had zero production companies within it’s economic model. With some forth thought, New Mexico has create a new industry with very little investment from the state.
Michigan needs to look at that model to see how this concept could help this economy and bring new business opportunities. There is currently a tax rebate within Michigan for feature film production, why not extend that same concept to all production within Michigan.
There are several groups that help foster these economic opportunities within South East Michigan. The first being the Detroit Renaissance is a great organization advocating economic transformation within Detroit and Southeast Michigan. This organization could assist in the lobbying for new economic stimulus package to continue to build this sector of the entertainment community.
The newest group is spearheaded by Crain’s Detroit Business, which is the Detroit Creative, which will go live sometime in Q2. This group will also be a great avenue to help foster change within our own backyard. Detroit, this is the time when we need to look at new economy opportunities and see how we can advocate change.