People were worried that Los Angeles might become like Detroit, a city that lost its main industry. This worry was talked about at a meeting for the film and TV industry. They discussed why fewer movies and TV shows are being made in Hollywood and California. They also talked about asking the state to give more money to help make films and shows.

On Monday night, the event talked about a later part of making movies and TV shows that is also having problems now: adding music and finishing the work.

Noelle Stehman said that if we don't do something, the film and TV business in California could become like the car industry in Detroit.

A plan to give more tax money to movie companies is at an important point in making laws. Senator Ben Allen and Assemblyman Rick Zbur were there to try and get enough votes. Some politicians think this is just giving money to big companies. But Senator Allen thinks this is not true.

He said the film companies don't care where they work; they will work anywhere. He told this to many people in a recording studio in Burbank, which used to be a cinema. He also said, "They are still making shows. Many of our friends don't understand that this problem affects normal working people. The people who run the studios will always be rich."

This is not a tax gift, Zbur said. This plan helps people keep their jobs and their homes. If we don't do this, it will cost a lot more than these tax credits.

He said, "I ask my friends at work: Why do other countries have tax plans for rich people? It's because they earn money and help create jobs that people want. Why are we just watching while others take the jobs we created here?"

Many people from the film and music industries came to the event. Important people like the head of the Recording Academy and the head of the California Film Commission were there. They talked about how film work is leaving Los Angeles. This is bad for businesses and the people who work in film.

This happened just a few hours after FilmLA shared new information about filming. This information showed that filming days in the first three months of 2025 were 22% less than in the same time the year before.

The jobs didn't disappear, they just went to other places, said Alex LoVerde, the boss of ProdPro. He said that the US makes 26 percent less than before 2022. But Australia makes 14 percent more.

Talks about making movies and music showed that it has been hard for people who work in these areas. A sound expert, Bobbi Banks, said she only worked for three months in the last year and a half. She even had someone learning from her during that time. She asked the people listening, "What should I tell them?" when she talked about the person wanting to move to Los Angeles to find a job. A visual effects artist, Efram Potelle, said he had difficult talks with his family about money.

The part about music was even more serious. Music experts Peter Rotter and Jasper Randall said that the number of days for recording music in L.A. has gone down a lot. In 2022, they had 127 days, but this year they only had 11 so far. They also said that doing music work is much cheaper in Vienna, Austria, and even cheaper in Bratislava, Slovakia.

Karen Baker Landers, who works with sound for movies, wanted a special rule for the part after filming. She said places like New York, Louisiana, Australia, and Spain have these rules, and this helps them get more movie work.

Movies used to be finished in California, even if they were filmed in other places. But this is changing now. Jobs like special effects and music are moving to other places because of lower taxes. This has caused California to lose many jobs in the movie business and other businesses that help them.

Leaders in the state know it's a very serious problem. The governor, Gavin Newsom, wants to give more than double the money the state gives to help movies and TV shows. Other leaders want to pass two new laws to make the current system bigger and better. If these new laws pass, the state could give 35% of the money back, and short TV shows, cartoons, and some reality shows could also get this help.

The group that planned the event on Monday said these ideas could be part of the answer, but they are not the complete answer. They said that more than just tax help is needed to make L.A.'s entertainment business strong again for a long time.

This event happened because many people want to bring movie and TV work back to Los Angeles. Before, hundreds of people met to say they wanted this work to stay here. After that, some important people and groups wrote a letter to big companies. They asked these companies to make more movies and shows in Hollywood.

But the industry also needs to ask its own people for answers. A senator said that groups of workers and people working in the arts should talk to each other, because "difficult talks must happen between workers and bosses." The leader of a music group for workers agreed and said her group was ready to talk.

Landers said, "I think people around the world are watching what California does with these programs. They know that if we do a good job, California can be successful again."