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What's up with the Entertainment Industry in Texas?


citykid09

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So would like to see more of the entertainment industry in Houston? And LOL! I already knew who the "good o'le boys" where, I just wanted to make sure we were thinking the same thing. Why do these stuck up goons fix with all their might to make Texas as dull as possible? I think K Bailey Hutchinson is a little more progressive then the those others, she says she is for rail transportation at least. I guess things won't really change until those people are pushed out of their positions.

Everyone knows the real reason that the entertainment industry is so lucrative in Atlanta is that there's nothing else to do but listen to the radio as you're sitting in traffic. And the Atlanta's goons clearly recognize that luring entertainers is a good means of abating the rate of on-the-road suicides.

j/k

Actually, it's mostly what crunch said, especially as it pertains to non-syndicated media that specificially targets a particular media market (i.e. local news). But the national/global entertainment industry is guided to certain localities over others not only by various state and local incentives, but on account of economies of agglomeration.

The media/entertainment industry concentrates in particular cities for the same reason that it makes sense for oil & gas headquarters (Houston, Dallas, Tulsa, Midland, New Orleans), refining (Houston, Beaumont, Lake Charles, New Jersey), biotech (Boston, San Francisco, San Diego), banking (New York, Chicago, San Francisco, Dallas, Charlotte), logistics/distribution (Chicago, Los Angeles, Dallas, New Jersey), beer brewing (St. Louis, Milwaukee, Denver), the military (San Antonio, San Diego, Washington D.C.), and inumerable other industries to concentrate in particular locales. Once there's enough of a particular kind of company in one place, a highly-talented labor pool can be easily tapped, support firms that specialize in niche roles have enough work to justify their existence, and--generally speaking--the cost of doing business is structurally lower in those cities. Over time, firms that were scattered throughout the country concentrate in only a handful of cities.

Bear in mind that Texas is not, itself, an economic unit. As far as businesses are concerned, the only thing that is the same about any of our cities--big or small--is the State tax treatment. To be clear: Houston is not Dallas. Dallas is not Beaumont. Beaumont is not Amarillo. Amarillo is not Brownsville. Brownsville is not Odessa. Odessa is not El Paso. El Paso is not Austin. Austin is not San Antonio. San Antonio is not College Station. College Station is not Corpus Christi. Corpus Christi is not Lufkin. Lufkin is not Temple. And none of these cities are comprised of one monolithic demographic that consumes the same kind of media; you have to segment each of these unique media markets before you've got anything useful to go off of.

FWIW, Austin is a music hotbed, at least for the cultivation and harvesting of talent. It doesn't seem to translate very well to other forms of media, but it is at least the kind of place where someone can still aspire to 'make it'. Having said that, so many people who want to 'make it' are in Austin, including all of the pathetic wannabes, that pay for gigs is very very low. If you're a musician that just likes playing music and that has realistic expectations of themselves, playing private parties in Dallas or Houston is the thing to do. And that's especially true if your musical interests are either very traditional (i.e. classical or blues) or very experimental.

Citykid, I think what you really desire is for there to be more pop music (and I use that term broadly) coming out of Houston. That's why you're catching so much flak. If you're actually into music--which is to say, not a regurgitated corporatized sound with a very specific target demographic as delineated by numerous highly-paid consultants--you'd figure out pretty quickly that Houston ain't that bad.

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I'll stay away from some weird Molly Hatchet / Marilyn Manson tangent (even though I do have an MM story involving a blue chicken)

I need to hear that story. My business partner used to lease a recording studio in S. Florida to the person who's character is Marilyn Manson. I haven't delved too deep into the stories, but apparently he really, reallly, really likes peanut butter.

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Everyone knows the real reason that the entertainment industry is so lucrative in Atlanta is that there's nothing else to do but listen to the radio as you're sitting in traffic. And the Atlanta's goons clearly recognize that luring entertainers is a good means of abating the rate of on-the-road suicides.

j/k

Actually, it's mostly what crunch said, especially as it pertains to non-syndicated media that specificially targets a particular media market (i.e. local news). But the national/global entertainment industry is guided to certain localities over others not only by various state and local incentives, but on account of economies of agglomeration.

The media/entertainment industry concentrates in particular cities for the same reason that it makes sense for oil & gas headquarters (Houston, Dallas, Tulsa, Midland, New Orleans), refining (Houston, Beaumont, Lake Charles, New Jersey), biotech (Boston, San Francisco, San Diego), banking (New York, Chicago, San Francisco, Dallas, Charlotte), logistics/distribution (Chicago, Los Angeles, Dallas, New Jersey), beer brewing (St. Louis, Milwaukee, Denver), the military (San Antonio, San Diego, Washington D.C.), and inumerable other industries to concentrate in particular locales. Once there's enough of a particular kind of company in one place, a highly-talented labor pool can be easily tapped, support firms that specialize in niche roles have enough work to justify their existence, and--generally speaking--the cost of doing business is structurally lower in those cities. Over time, firms that were scattered throughout the country concentrate in only a handful of cities.

Bear in mind that Texas is not, itself, an economic unit. As far as businesses are concerned, the only thing that is the same about any of our cities--big or small--is the State tax treatment. To be clear: Houston is not Dallas. Dallas is not Beaumont. Beaumont is not Amarillo. Amarillo is not Brownsville. Brownsville is not Odessa. Odessa is not El Paso. El Paso is not Austin. Austin is not San Antonio. San Antonio is not College Station. College Station is not Corpus Christi. Corpus Christi is not Lufkin. Lufkin is not Temple. And none of these cities are comprised of one monolithic demographic that consumes the same kind of media; you have to segment each of these unique media markets before you've got anything useful to go off of.

FWIW, Austin is a music hotbed, at least for the cultivation and harvesting of talent. It doesn't seem to translate very well to other forms of media, but it is at least the kind of place where someone can still aspire to 'make it'. Having said that, so many people who want to 'make it' are in Austin, including all of the pathetic wannabes, that pay for gigs is very very low. If you're a musician that just likes playing music and that has realistic expectations of themselves, playing private parties in Dallas or Houston is the thing to do. And that's especially true if your musical interests are either very traditional (i.e. classical or blues) or very experimental.

Citykid, I think what you really desire is for there to be more pop music (and I use that term broadly) coming out of Houston. That's why you're catching so much flak. If you're actually into music--which is to say, not a regurgitated corporatized sound with a very specific target demographic as delineated by numerous highly-paid consultants--you'd figure out pretty quickly that Houston ain't that bad.

I already know Houston "ain't that bad," but I want the rest of the nation to know that as well. I honestly think that the Astrodome studio idea, will be the start of something great that will have a domino affect on the entertainment industry in Texas and Houston.

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So when you say "good ole' boys" who are they? And when you say Houston is "different" than Atlanta, what do you mean, less progressive?

Yep. Backwater conservative workhorses like Tom Delay and all those damn Republican judges held this city in a vice grip for way too long. Most of the media is liberal, and Houston was not. Therefore the media didn't want to be around Houston. Plus the city of Houston deliberately tries to portray itself as the "most normal" big city (i.e. the place where Conservatives can enjoy city life without worrying with all of those nasty progressive people). That's been this city's mantra for ever. But now even that attitude has begun to change and if anyone has noticed, Houston's been getting more national press lately. It's because we're becoming more open as a city.

And I'm going to try and take the high road from a racial standpoint, but it's sufficient to say that Tyler Perry's work has found a reliable audience, so it must not be "crap". $300 million in movie sales to date, and $200 million sitcom contract. Better than most.

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Plus the city of Houston deliberately tries to portray itself as the "most normal" big city (i.e. the place where Conservatives can enjoy city life without worrying with all of those nasty progressive people). That's been this city's mantra for ever.

Replace the word "Houston" with "Dallas" and I think you have a point. They have a much more entrenched position among bible belt cities and have no conception of 'weird'. Dallas has rigid zoning and a patchwork of numerous little zoned suburbs that informally but feircely compete with one another for an idyllic conception of suburban quality of life, each trying to be more clean-cut than the other. Austin is just the opposite in terms of stated goals, yet the mentality used to accomplish their aims is virtually identical to Dallas' in that they seek to create order and then publicize it.

In contrast, Houston is this abberant monolithic entity that just sort of does its own thing. Houston and Pasadena are the two largest cities in the country not to have zoning; there are a lot of large and medium-sized cities, with both predominantly Red and Blue constituencies, but all of them have zoning. We have the Orange Show, the beer can house, the art car parade, and a much more multi-ethnic sensibility. It's all very local, low-key, and ultimately hedonistic (and neither political party embraces hedonism). We let our funkiness hang out, but we don't call attention to it either. It's actually pretty cool to live in a city so far outside of the mainstream culture. San Antonio is also kind of like that.

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Everyone knows the real reason that the entertainment industry is so lucrative in Atlanta is that there's nothing else to do but listen to the radio as you're sitting in traffic. And the Atlanta's goons clearly recognize that luring entertainers is a good means of abating the rate of on-the-road suicides.

j/k

Actually, it's mostly what crunch said, especially as it pertains to non-syndicated media that specificially targets a particular media market (i.e. local news). But the national/global entertainment industry is guided to certain localities over others not only by various state and local incentives, but on account of economies of agglomeration.

The media/entertainment industry concentrates in particular cities for the same reason that it makes sense for oil & gas headquarters (Houston, Dallas, Tulsa, Midland, New Orleans), refining (Houston, Beaumont, Lake Charles, New Jersey), biotech (Boston, San Francisco, San Diego), banking (New York, Chicago, San Francisco, Dallas, Charlotte), logistics/distribution (Chicago, Los Angeles, Dallas, New Jersey), beer brewing (St. Louis, Milwaukee, Denver), the military (San Antonio, San Diego, Washington D.C.), and inumerable other industries to concentrate in particular locales. Once there's enough of a particular kind of company in one place, a highly-talented labor pool can be easily tapped, support firms that specialize in niche roles have enough work to justify their existence, and--generally speaking--the cost of doing business is structurally lower in those cities. Over time, firms that were scattered throughout the country concentrate in only a handful of cities.

Bear in mind that Texas is not, itself, an economic unit. As far as businesses are concerned, the only thing that is the same about any of our cities--big or small--is the State tax treatment. To be clear: Houston is not Dallas. Dallas is not Beaumont. Beaumont is not Amarillo. Amarillo is not Brownsville. Brownsville is not Odessa. Odessa is not El Paso. El Paso is not Austin. Austin is not San Antonio. San Antonio is not College Station. College Station is not Corpus Christi. Corpus Christi is not Lufkin. Lufkin is not Temple. And none of these cities are comprised of one monolithic demographic that consumes the same kind of media; you have to segment each of these unique media markets before you've got anything useful to go off of.

FWIW, Austin is a music hotbed, at least for the cultivation and harvesting of talent. It doesn't seem to translate very well to other forms of media, but it is at least the kind of place where someone can still aspire to 'make it'. Having said that, so many people who want to 'make it' are in Austin, including all of the pathetic wannabes, that pay for gigs is very very low. If you're a musician that just likes playing music and that has realistic expectations of themselves, playing private parties in Dallas or Houston is the thing to do. And that's especially true if your musical interests are either very traditional (i.e. classical or blues) or very experimental.

Citykid, I think what you really desire is for there to be more pop music (and I use that term broadly) coming out of Houston. That's why you're catching so much flak. If you're actually into music--which is to say, not a regurgitated corporatized sound with a very specific target demographic as delineated by numerous highly-paid consultants--you'd figure out pretty quickly that Houston ain't that bad.

Finally someone in this thread who somewhat understands the entertainment industry and why it is centralized in certain locals. Some of you here don't seem to understand why Houston isn't a giant meca of the entertainment industry. I'm in it, and have been for 25 years (top 50 album, etc) and can tell you that it has NOTHING to do with Republican politics. I'm not taking up for Republicans, but I know that it has nothing to do with them.

If your somewhat successful today you either move to LA, Nashville, or New York. There is almost nowhere else to make your mark, that is unless your lucky. That will never change, at least in our lifetimes. The only two cities that carved into the big three markets were Seattle in the early 90's, and Boston in the 70's, and even then everybody went to LA afterwards. You had to, that's where everything was/is.

As Niche said, and I paraphrase, if you want some form of the entertainment industry in Texas move to Austin. Those of course in the know understand that there is very little pay for a fulltime musician. For those that do gain a regional following in Austin, that's generally as far as it goes when considering that style of music doesn't sell well nationally.

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Replace the word "Houston" with "Dallas" and I think you have a point. They have a much more entrenched position among bible belt cities and have no conception of 'weird'. Dallas has rigid zoning and a patchwork of numerous little zoned suburbs that informally but feircely compete with one another for an idyllic conception of suburban quality of life, each trying to be more clean-cut than the other. Austin is just the opposite in terms of stated goals, yet the mentality used to accomplish their aims is virtually identical to Dallas' in that they seek to create order and then publicize it.

In contrast, Houston is this abberant monolithic entity that just sort of does its own thing. Houston and Pasadena are the two largest cities in the country not to have zoning; there are a lot of large and medium-sized cities, with both predominantly Red and Blue constituencies, but all of them have zoning. We have the Orange Show, the beer can house, the art car parade, and a much more multi-ethnic sensibility. It's all very local, low-key, and ultimately hedonistic (and neither political party embraces hedonism). We let our funkiness hang out, but we don't call attention to it either. It's actually pretty cool to live in a city so far outside of the mainstream culture. San Antonio is also kind of like that.

You've just described what I love so much about this city. There's nothing tacky, forced or contrived about this place. It just is, and you can like it or you can hate it, but you can't deny its originality or call the place phony.

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Finally someone in this thread who somewhat understands the entertainment industry and why it is centralized in certain locals. Some of you here don't seem to understand why Houston isn't a giant meca of the entertainment industry. I'm in it, and have been for 25 years (top 50 album, etc) and can tell you that it has NOTHING to do with Republican politics. I'm not taking up for Republicans, but I know that it has nothing to do with them.

If your somewhat successful today you either move to LA, Nashville, or New York. There is almost nowhere else to make your mark, that is unless your lucky. That will never change, at least in our lifetimes. The only two cities that carved into the big three markets were Seattle in the early 90's, and Boston in the 70's, and even then everybody went to LA afterwards. You had to, that's where everything was/is.

As Niche said, and I paraphrase, if you want some form of the entertainment industry in Texas move to Austin. Those of course in the know understand that there is very little pay for a fulltime musician. For those that do gain a regional following in Austin, that's generally as far as it goes when considering that style of music doesn't sell well nationally.

How could you not recognize the scene in Atlanta and how its pulling talent from cities including Houston, Dallas, New York and LA.

And even if Houston has not been the place to be in the past, it has come close a few times and who is to say it can be one of those entertainment cities in the future.

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How could you not recognize the scene in Atlanta and how its pulling talent from cities including Houston, Dallas, New York and LA.

And even if Houston has not been the place to be in the past, it has come close a few times and who is to say it can be one of those entertainment cities in the future.

We've had a few instances of nacent music scenes popping up here or talent coming from here, but that is not the same thing as having an industry. We've never really had a substantial industry here, nor have we ever really come close.

Consider that a related indicator of media/entertainment industry presence is the number and quality of ad agencies in one's city. When I've had to get good professional graphic designers in the past, I always tried local talent first but eventually got screwed by them (time and time again) and ended up pulling from Dallas. It sucks, but that just seems to be the way it is.

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I look at it by state, Texas is 2nd to California, yet...

State has nothing to do with it. As has been pointed out twice already, certain cities - not states - are synonymous with certain types of media. If someone is going to have a good chance of making it big in theater, their best bet is New York City - not all of New York state. Film; Los Angeles- not all of California. Television; Los Angeles or New York City - not all of California & New York state. Opera; San Francisco or New York City - not all of California, or New York state.

Also, you're dealing with (in a positive way for the various types of media) many decades of media-specific infrastrucure. Media corporations\organizations and their industry support are not going to move or substancially expand away from the well-oiled machines that those cities are. There is no reason to. In fact, there are many reasons not to.

Houston is medicine, oil, & space exploration. We have a very respected world presence. It just happens not to be as recognized to the masses who aren't directly involved because it's not media or pop culture-driven.

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State has nothing to do with it. As has been pointed out twice already, certain cities - not states - are synonymous with certain types of media. If someone is going to have a good chance of making it big in theater, their best bet is New York City - not all of New York state. Film; Los Angeles- not all of California. Television; Los Angeles or New York City - not all of California & New York state. Opera; San Francisco or New York City - not all of California, or New York state.

Also, you're dealing with (in a positive way for the various types of media) many decades of media-specific infrastrucure. Media corporations\organizations and their industry support are not going to move or substancially expand away from the well-oiled machines that those cities are. There is no reason to. In fact, there are many reasons not to.

Houston is medicine, oil, & space exploration. We have a very respected world presence. It just happens not to be as recognized to the masses who aren't directly involved because it's not media or pop culture-driven.

I knew it was by city and not state.

What I really want to get at is just because Houston doesn't have a great media presence now, doesn't mean it couldn't change. There is interest in this State, but the State has to offer incentives to get them to come. Look at Louisiana and other States that have taken a slice of Hollywood, Texas could easily take all of that business by undercutting the competing States. Just imagine the how the States surrounding Texas (& Las Vegas) would be doing if Texas legalized gambling. New Mexico, Louisiana, and Oklahoma would all suffer because the majority of their business comes from Texas. The point that I am trying to make is this State has a lot of power, but lately it hasn't been taking full advantage of it.

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How could you not recognize the scene in Atlanta and how its pulling talent from cities including Houston, Dallas, New York and LA.

And even if Houston has not been the place to be in the past, it has come close a few times and who is to say it can be one of those entertainment cities in the future.

The scene in Atlanta? What's that? I'm pretty involved with the entertainment industry in Atlanta (mainly music) and it's not like the place is brimming with talent. In fact, I would venture to say that Houston and Dallas have more. Seriously though, Atlanta isn't a pimple on the butt of the big 3 and will never come close. Yeah they get some exposure, but with the exception of hip hop every single artist ATL eventually hopes to hop on the train to LA. There are of course some exceptions with those that don't have the same oppurtunity in the big markets, and thus move to a smaller market in order to get a job. That's the way it works.

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I knew it was by city and not state.

What I really want to get at is just because Houston doesn't have a great media presence now, doesn't mean it couldn't change. There is interest in this State, but the State has to offer incentives to get them to come. Look at Louisiana and other States that have taken a slice of Hollywood, Texas could easily take all of that business by undercutting the competing States. Just imagine the how the States surrounding Texas (& Las Vegas) would be doing if Texas legalized gambling. New Mexico, Louisiana, and Oklahoma would all suffer because the majority of their business comes from Texas. The point that I am trying to make is this State has a lot of power, but lately it hasn't been taking full advantage of it.

Are you seriously advocating corporate welfare?

Texas is not obligated to give incentives or subsidy to lure domestic industries away from their current locales. However under the Perry administration it has been doing quite of bit of this, but that does not mean it's a regular state policy.

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I knew it was by city and not state.

What I really want to get at is just because Houston doesn't have a great media presence now, doesn't mean it couldn't change. There is interest in this State, but the State has to offer incentives to get them to come. Look at Louisiana and other States that have taken a slice of Hollywood, Texas could easily take all of that business by undercutting the competing States. Just imagine the how the States surrounding Texas (& Las Vegas) would be doing if Texas legalized gambling. New Mexico, Louisiana, and Oklahoma would all suffer because the majority of their business comes from Texas. The point that I am trying to make is this State has a lot of power, but lately it hasn't been taking full advantage of it.

What does gambling have to do with Hollywood?

And as for incentives to lure films here, don't you think that those resources might be better allocated to improving our transportation infrastructure or the quality of education, both issues that directly affect all residents?

And if we are going to go out and give incentives to firms that locate in Texas (such as we already are), shouldn't it be to firms that can lure numerous high-paying job opportunities to our residents? Let's face facts; most of the entertainment industry does not pay especially well, nor does it provide a career path for most people. Locales such as Las Vegas, Nashville, and Orlando are renowned among apartment developers as cities where 20-somethings have crap jobs and take roommates just to get by...and in recessionary times, those cities offer very little aside from luxury services, so they suffer disproportionately. The creative talent in big cities is feeling it too, although in places like NYC and Atlanta, their problems are overshadowed by the financial crisis.

Texas--and Houston in particular--can do better by playing to its relative strengths. And in Houston, we're already attractive to energy, engineering, manufacturing, and distribution industries. The business infrastructure is in place, the labor market is attractive, and these are economic roles that represent the backbone of an economy, which is to say that they're relatively safer. It's low-hanging fruit, it tastes good, and its good for you.

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Texas--and Houston in particular--can do better by playing to its relative strengths. And in Houston, we're already attractive to energy, engineering, manufacturing, and distribution industries. The business infrastructure is in place, the labor market is attractive, and these are economic roles that represent the backbone of an economy, which is to say that they're relatively safer. It's low-hanging fruit, it tastes good, and its good for you.

I'd like to add a question to this for citykid if I may. In what way, aside from public perception, would Houston be benefitted by the entertainment industry's presence here? As TheNiche pointed out earlier, Houston is weel known and well respected around the world for mastering the industries that dominate in this town. I really see no way the entertainment industry would have any positive impact on this city other than upping the cool factor. And really, who gives a crap about that?

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What does gambling have to do with Hollywood?

And as for incentives to lure films here, don't you think that those resources might be better allocated to improving our transportation infrastructure or the quality of education, both issues that directly affect all residents?

And if we are going to go out and give incentives to firms that locate in Texas (such as we already are), shouldn't it be to firms that can lure numerous high-paying job opportunities to our residents? Let's face facts; most of the entertainment industry does not pay especially well, nor does it provide a career path for most people. Locales such as Las Vegas, Nashville, and Orlando are renowned among apartment developers as cities where 20-somethings have crap jobs and take roommates just to get by...and in recessionary times, those cities offer very little aside from luxury services, so they suffer disproportionately. The creative talent in big cities is feeling it too, although in places like NYC and Atlanta, their problems are overshadowed by the financial crisis.

Texas--and Houston in particular--can do better by playing to its relative strengths. And in Houston, we're already attractive to energy, engineering, manufacturing, and distribution industries. The business infrastructure is in place, the labor market is attractive, and these are economic roles that represent the backbone of an economy, which is to say that they're relatively safer. It's low-hanging fruit, it tastes good, and its good for you.

I wasn't saying gambling had anything to do with Hollywood, I was just giving an example of the power of Texas. I was explaining how the reason the surrounding States are so successful in gambling is because of Texas. If Texas Legalizes gambling, then the gambling industries in the States will likely lose out just like Houston did when those States took the away the movies that would have usually taped in Houston.

I know you want to explain why the entertainment industry isn't for or won't come to Houston, but what do think about the Astrodome Studios idea? Is that something you are completely against because you don't think the mainstream entertainment industry is for Houston?

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Why?

Because fame begets fame.

Like I told an aspiring DJ from upstate New York -- get out of your backwater town and move to NY, LA, or Atlanta. When a famous DJ wants to hang out with some new talent at 2am on a Thursday is he going to call that promising kid from down the street he heard spinning at the club the other night, or is he going to call that promising kids who's a three-hour drive away?

Just like sales people and business managers will tell you -- no matter how much Cicso pushes teleconferencing, there's nothing like being in the room.

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Because fame begets fame.

Like I told an aspiring DJ from upstate New York -- get out of your backwater town and move to NY, LA, or Atlanta. When a famous DJ wants to hang out with some new talent at 2am on a Thursday is he going to call that promising kid from down the street he heard spinning at the club the other night, or is he going to call that promising kids who's a three-hour drive away?

Just like sales people and business managers will tell you -- no matter how much Cicso pushes teleconferencing, there's nothing like being in the room.

So you know that Atlanta is a place for talent. Atlanta created this environment from scratch why can't Houston? Why not? And for y'all to say get out of Canada if you are in the entertainment industry, thats where a lot of American entertainment is going.

After reading so many of you all's post on this subject I see now that its the natives that just don't aspire for this type of businesses. It seems that the artist that make it from Texas leave because thats what they expect they have to do and that is what people have always done. If I was an entertainer I would probably go somewhere else at first, but after making it big I would move back to Texas and get this State going in the entertainment industry. This has been done in the past, but the artist never seem to get enough steam going to get whats going on recognized.

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After reading so many of you all's post on this subject I see now that its the natives that just don't aspire for this type of businesses.

Bingo. Most Texans, especially Houstonians, are pragmatic folks. We appreciate art and beauty, but if there's no viable reason to surround ourselves with the vapidity and inanity of the entertainment industry, we won't. We can hop on a plane and spend a couple nights on the doorstep of Disneyland, spending our evenings on the Hollywood walk of fame, if we want to see celebrities.

This has been done in the past, but the artist never seem to get enough steam going to get whats going on recognized.

Or, as someone mentioned earlier, much earlier, Texas artists (the Austin musician types) eschewed fame and fortune to retain their artistic integrity. So, as was mentioned earlier, the big record companies moved on to greener pastures in Seattle.

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Bingo. Most Texans, especially Houstonians, are pragmatic folks. We appreciate art and beauty, but if there's no viable reason to surround ourselves with the vapidity and inanity of the entertainment industry, we won't. We can hop on a plane and spend a couple nights on the doorstep of Disneyland, spending our evenings on the Hollywood walk of fame, if we want to see celebrities.

Or, as someone mentioned earlier, much earlier, Texas artists (the Austin musician types) eschewed fame and fortune to retain their artistic integrity. So, as was mentioned earlier, the big record companies moved on to greener pastures in Seattle.

I take back when I said the people of Houston don't want the entertainment industry, the people on this board for the most part don't want the entertainment industry. I have noticed that the Houston is very self-conscious and wants attention from the nation but always gets ignored. Houston loved it when the Latin Grammys was in the city and wanted it to continue to be there, but it left. They also loved the Superbowl. How else can Houston get the attention it has always wanted if it doesn't pursue the entertainment industry? I'm not saying its the only way, but media is where people get their information from, if your not seeing Houston in it, its won't be relevant.

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I take back when I said the people of Houston don't want the entertainment industry, the people on this board for the most part don't want the entertainment industry. I have noticed that the Houston is very self-conscious and wants attention from the nation but always gets ignored. Houston loved it when the Latin Grammys was in the city and wanted it to continue to be there, but it left. They also loved the Superbowl. How else can Houston get the attention it has always wanted if it doesn't pursue the entertainment industry? I'm not saying its the only way, but media is where people get their information from, if your not seeing Houston in it, its won't be relevant.

I can assure you, with our without Hollywood-stylee glamour, Houston is relevant. Just because it's not on the radar of Us Magazine readers doesn't doom us. For the people with money and power, Houston is very important.

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Anyone can start their own record label and still get national attention with good music.

Thats true!

I wanted to add that the State of Connecticut just took several TV production shows from Chicago and New York areas including the Jerry Springer and Maury by offering incentives.

http://newsblogs.chicagotribune.com/towerticker/2009/02/jerry-springer-poised-to-leave-chicago-for-connecticut.html

Oh and take a look at this: http://governor.state.tx.us/film/incentives/miiip/

It seems that the State of Texas is interested in the entertainment industry. Offering incentives like Connecticut for:

* Feature Films

* Documentaries

* Episodic Television Series

* Television Episodes

* Television Movies

* Miniseries

* Reality Television

* Interstitial Television Programming

* Nationally Syndicated Talk Shows

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So you know that Atlanta is a place for talent. Atlanta created this environment from scratch why can't Houston?

No, Ted Turner created it from scratch because it was his hometown. Atlanta's entertainment industry merely added fuel to the fire that Turner started. Ted Turner parlayed WTBS into a huge cable TV empire. For a while when cable was starting to spread the only channels on cable were HBO and his. Turner spent a lot of money building a telecommunications infrastructure in Atlanta, not because it made sense (it would make more sense to locate in the center of the country), but because he wanted to. The Weather Channel launched out of Virginia, but moved to Atlanta because of its teleport. At the time, teleports were pretty rare things. I remember it being a big deal when the Staten Island teleport went online so that New York had one. This was well after the Turner Broadcasting empire was already established.

At the same time, Atlanta was becoming known as a great place for black people to live. There have been several thread on HAIF about it, and I'm sure we've all seen a magazine cover or two proclaiming Atlanta to be the "best place in America" for black people to live. That went on for a few years. Then things changed. The headlines went from "best place for blacks to live" to "best place for black businesses." A lot of what's listed in the rest of this thread as examples of entertainment industry success in Atlanta are more accurately examples of black business success in Atlanta.

Why not? And for y'all to say get out of Canada if you are in the entertainment industry, thats where a lot of American entertainment is going.

Not exactly. The left and right coast productions run up to Canada, film, then run back to New York and L.A. to edit and produce the pieces. The reasons for Canada becoming America's back lot are simply taxes and unions. A full-blown production can be done in half the time for half the money if it's done in Vancouver, compared with LA or NY. Since Houston's not unionized, Houston could be the next big thing if the city and state's leaders decide it's what they want. But it's not what they want. It would be somewhat difficult getting re-elected in Conroe after giving Barbara Streisand a massive tax break.

After reading so many of you all's post on this subject I see now that its the natives that just don't aspire for this type of businesses. It seems that the artist that make it from Texas leave because thats what they expect they have to do and that is what people have always done. If I was an entertainer I would probably go somewhere else at first, but after making it big I would move back to Texas and get this State going in the entertainment industry. This has been done in the past, but the artist never seem to get enough steam going to get whats going on recognized.

Unless you were a brazillionaire, you'd need the state's help. And to be honest -- the Texas film office is pretty lame, even compared to lame states like Illinois.

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Anyone can start their own record label and still get national attention with good music.

Or with bad music and enough money.

More to your point -- the internet has been great for leveling the playing field for a lot of musicians. When you see so many long established acts suddenly having to actually work and tour and put out new material like the newcomers, you can tell there's been a big change in the way things are done.

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No, Ted Turner created it from scratch because it was his hometown. Atlanta's entertainment industry merely added fuel to the fire that Turner started. Ted Turner parlayed WTBS into a huge cable TV empire. For a while when cable was starting to spread the only channels on cable were HBO and his. Turner spent a lot of money building a telecommunications infrastructure in Atlanta, not because it made sense (it would make more sense to locate in the center of the country), but because he wanted to. The Weather Channel launched out of Virginia, but moved to Atlanta because of its teleport. At the time, teleports were pretty rare things. I remember it being a big deal when the Staten Island teleport went online so that New York had one. This was well after the Turner Broadcasting empire was already established.

At the same time, Atlanta was becoming known as a great place for black people to live. There have been several thread on HAIF about it, and I'm sure we've all seen a magazine cover or two proclaiming Atlanta to be the "best place in America" for black people to live. That went on for a few years. Then things changed. The headlines went from "best place for blacks to live" to "best place for black businesses." A lot of what's listed in the rest of this thread as examples of entertainment industry success in Atlanta are more accurately examples of black business success in Atlanta.

Not exactly. The left and right coast productions run up to Canada, film, then run back to New York and L.A. to edit and produce the pieces. The reasons for Canada becoming America's back lot are simply taxes and unions. A full-blown production can be done in half the time for half the money if it's done in Vancouver, compared with LA or NY. Since Houston's not unionized, Houston could be the next big thing if the city and state's leaders decide it's what they want. But it's not what they want. It would be somewhat difficult getting re-elected in Conroe after giving Barbara Streisand a massive tax break.

Unless you were a brazillionaire, you'd need the state's help. And to be honest -- the Texas film office is pretty lame, even compared to lame states like Illinois.

Editor, that is exactly what I have been wanting to hear. Houston (Texas) can be the next big thing for the entertainment industry, but It would take some work. You have mentioned that Atlanta has always been on top for black people, but Houston has always been on those list as well always in the top 5, and in the early part of the 2000s was the #1 city for blacks when Lee Brown was mayor, the city had a black police cheif, black HISD superintendent, etc.

And this may sound like a dumb question but what is a teleport? And does Houston have one?

Also what is the Fox Sports control facility in The Woodlands? Is that a television production studio?

And I agree with your last post about the internet. If it wasn't for the internet I'm sure none of the current hip hop music coming out of Dallas would be recognized.

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Wow a lot has been said citykid, and I would say most of the posts have been correct on some level. However I think the best responses I've read so far have been from JLWM8608. I think many of the others may be approaching this from a different perspective. JLWM8608 was correct in that Houston being "different" than Atlanta and his explanation was right on target. It's about those in power and the people of Texas and Houston and their priorities and desires. You asked the question of whether JLWM8606 would like to see more of the entertainment industry here. Well, you and I probably would, however for the most part as been expressed on this board, the answer would be no for most others. It took me a while to realize that but it's the truth. Houston is indeed "different" than many of it's counterparts and that is sometimes good and despite what some here might say, sometimes it's bad.

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Do you remember when they had The Stellar Awards here a few years back? There's a reason why they haven't come back.

Or even WORSE, when the Essence Festival was brought to Houston because of Katrina. Since I've been in Houston, if EVER there was a wasted opportunity, it was that one.

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Editor, that is exactly what I have been wanting to hear. Houston (Texas) can be the next big thing for the entertainment industry, but It would take some work.

Not work. Money. Match the tax breaks and incentives that Vancouver offers and you'll have Hollywood racing down I-10 to set up shop in Houston. The production studios will do the work for us.

Hollywood would find it easier in terms of visas and customs and immigration a lot of other hassles to head down I-10 to Houston instead of up I-5 to Vancouver. Houston wouldn't even have to beat Vancouver's offer -- just match it. The savings in time and money and hassle from doing it in the same country would be incentive enough to switch to Texas.

And this may sound like a dumb question but what is a teleport? And does Houston have one?

A teleport is a large facility with the ability to beam TV and radio signals to satellites. Back in the 70's and 80's these were very rare and massively expensive. It used to be that if you had a TV station in say... Houston... that you wanted to put on a satellite full-time, you'd lease a dedicated line from AT&T between your station and the nearest teleport in say... Tulsa. When your signal got to Tulsa it would go up to an east coast satellite and a west coast satellite, and from there down to the entire continent. For decades it was the best way to distribute a signal nationally.

With changes in technology, teleports are not as necessary as they used to be since you can uplink pretty good quality video from a transmitter in a mini van these days. Changes in technology also made it cheaper for individual companies to build their own teleports, rather than rely on an outside service. For example, DirecTV has at least two to constantly feed its satellites. But some companies still rely on the teleports because they're super high quality, super reliable, secure, and it's sometimes easier and cheaper to outsource something like that. I saw a national cable channel install a new transmitter a couple of years ago, and they're still using a massive six meter wide dish because of the low power required (probably around eight watts) and high quality.

Houston has three teleports, but they're somewhat different than what we're talking about here. The Houston ones are designed for oil and gas exploration and marine support services, not broadcasting.

Also what is the Fox Sports control facility in The Woodlands? Is that a television production studio?

I've heard people mention this, but I don't know it personally. My understanding is that it's just a master control facility. I would guess that the programs come in from the 20 or so regional Fox Sports cable channels to the Woodlands facility (likely by VYVX) and the computers in The Woodlands insert the commercials and squirt the signals up to the satellite for distribution. The Woodlands (or really anywhere in eastern Texas) is a good location for this because you can hit both the eastern and western satellites. In case you aren't aware, you need two satellites to cover CONUS (the continental United States). Or in the case of Fox Sports, they're probably just sending the east regional feeds to an eastern satellite and the west regional to a western satellite. By doing all of the networks in one location, it helps reduce costs. Computers are cheap. People are expensive. You can have 10 people in the Woodlands do the work of 200 people across a dozen cities.

I don't know why The Woodlands was chosen specifically. It would be equally easy to set up in Dallas or Kansas City or Chicago or Minneapolis or any centrally located city. Heck, if I was going to do it I would put it in Tulsa since that's where most of the TV fiber in America goes through anyway.

What you're seeing is the legacy of Randy Michaels. He's the person people love to hate for turning tiny CitiCasters into Jacor into the beast that became Clear Channel and ate radio as we knew it. He did a lot of things that people hate him for in terms of radio. But the man was an absolute visionary. He wasn't (and still isn't) afraid to spend money on computer hardware if it will solve a wetware (human) problem. He saw the possibilities of using technology to consolidate redundancies 20 years before anyone else did. I worked for his company when I was in Cincinnati. I didn't understand what he was doing then. I understand it now. I think he'll get his own chapter in the business textbooks of the future. Today, Randy is trying to work the same trick he did with radio with the newspaper industry. I suspect he has some new tricks up his sleeves, though. His biggest problem will be the unions.

And I agree with your last post about the internet. If it wasn't for the internet I'm sure none of the current hip hop music coming out of Dallas would be recognized.

I've heard people on HAIF mention hip hop music out of Dallas, but I've never heard of it anywhere else. NY, Atlanta, LA. Occasionally Detroit. Never Dallas. But then, I don't listen to hip hop music so I'm hardly an expert in these sorts of things (my current musical fix: http://www.kdfc.com )

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