LA Still Dominates Soundstage Market- But Other Locales Are Catching Up Quickly

In the last year or so, we’ve seen the battle of the filming locations heat up significantly. From increasing tax incentives for shoots in the area, right through to a boom in the development of soundstage space and other production hubs, the days when LA and New York dominated the location industry may well be drawing to a close. For now, LA remains the area with the greatest availability of soundstage space- but will it keep that title for much longer? Entertainment lawyer from Blake & Wang P.A, Brandon Blake, analyzes the stats.

Brandon Blake


6.2M Square Feet of Space

With around 6.2M square feet of soundstage space, LA still tops the global list, but that is a factor that’s evolving fast. We’ve seen a lot of investment from private equity groups as well as other partners into soundstages of late, as the boom in content development for hungry streamers is leading more and more studios to look for near-permanent availability for projects.


Currently, the UK is chasing LA quite closely, with over 5.4M square feet of dedicated stage space available. Only 3 years ago, that figure was 3.5M. Intriguingly, Ontario closes the top 3, with 3.8M square feet available. Close behind we have Georgia (with 3M), New York (with 2.8M), and British Columbia (with 2.4M).

New Developments Increasing

Nor are those figures going to remain static for long. As jurisdictions seek to compete on the global production stage, we’ve seen multiple multi-million dollar projects launched, be it to expand existing infrastructure with fully new developments or revamps and expansions of existing spaces. For jurisdictions able to combine that new space with attractive tax incentives and other perks aimed at drawing productions to their area, that can be a compelling package indeed. We’ve already seen a decrease in active shoot days for LA, with an almost 20% drop.


While LA will always remain an attractive location for shoots, if it wants to maintain its competitive edge, they will need to work a little harder than before to attract attention back to the area, especially with more states seeking to lure productions to their home turf.



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