BILLBOARD — A seven-year campaign to establish a tax incentive for Georgia's music industry is coming closer to reality. The House of Representatives (157-11) and state Senate (46-7) voted last night (March 30) in favor of the Georgia Music Investment Act (House Bill 155), which is aimed at creating more than 10,000 new job opportunities and boosting the state’s overall economy. The pending legislation -- the first targeted tax incentive for music in Georgia -- now awaits Gov. Nathan Deal's review and signature.

"Simply put, it's a job creator," says Phil Tan. The Atlanta-based, Grammy Award-winning music/audio engineer’s credits includes projects by Mariah Carey, Rihanna, Coldplay and Ludacris. "Local industry folks have worked very hard for this," he continues, "knowing how important it was to get this done. This is a very important step."