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Wednesday, June 17, 2015
Independent or Not? It DOES Matter!
1099 or W-2? That's the question.
1099, is the answer given by the California labor commission on Tuesday in regards to whether or not Uber drivers are independent contractors or employees. Uber has come to be known as the "next big thing" in transportation, often being a much more popular choice than taxi cabs or rental cars in some instances. A passenger puts in their request and a "regular person" in a "regular car" shows up to pick you up to take you to your destination. Although under the Uber name, some would feel that this "regular person" is no different than the independent taxi driver. However, the CA labor commission doesn't think so. Per Claire Zillman for Fortune, "The degree of control that Uber has over its drivers makes all the difference. Uber drivers must pass background and DMV checks, they must register their cars with Uber, and their cars must be less than 10 years old. Drivers’ passenger approval rating must not fall below a certain score. And Uber sets the price for each trip and the driver receives a non-negotiable service fee." While the ruling isn't final, this could be a major shift for the company worth almost $40 billion because that could mean paying minimum wage, employee expenses, and workplace benefits, back-dated and current.
Why does that matter?
For most states, an hourly employee starts to receive overtime pay of 1 1/2 times their pay once they work more than 40 hours. In the state of California, an employee earns 1 1/2 times their pay once they work more than 8 hours in a day, and 2 times their pay once they work more than 12 hours in a day. Those hours include the time that the employee is under the control of the employer, meaning all of the time that an employee is permitted to work, whether or not they are required to do so, per the Media Services site. Just think of all of the hours that an Uber driver can work since they typically choose when they want to work and where. That's great for the employee but not so great for Uber. If this ruling sticks, the best way out would be for Uber to let go of some of their control by loosening the requirements and ultimately pushing themselves back into the much wanted "company-independent contractor" space.
I'm interested to see how this turns out.
Monday, June 8, 2015
What's the Deal With Entertainment Accounting?
I'm a fan of being entertained and sometimes I enjoy entertaining others. I also love accounting. Why not mix both worlds?
In the world of multi-million and multi-billion dollar project deals, accounting is an extremely important factor to make sure the artists, writers, producers, etc. get paid what they're due, but also to make sure that the media giants are profitable.....the giants that make everything possible for movies to make it to the big screen and for shows to make it to the small screen. I mean, if there's no money in it, why do it, right?
From the outside looking in, most regular people like you and I probably assume that all of the celebrities that we see all over social media and on our screens, both big and small, simply just have it made. But do they really? Maybe if they have a great team of attorneys and CPAs behind them. A lot of people never stop to think about the relationships between the movie studios and the television networks. Let me tell you why this can be important if you are interested in entertainment. This is particularly true for a star actor of a TV show or a writer or studio head whose residual compensation is based on the profits of one of their major projects. If you're set to get 3 percent of past and future profits on that project based on a contract with the studio, and that studio happens to own a network that airs your project, the accounting can get pretty tricky. If you are a studio, you don't have to pay Why would you want to charge yourself a high dollar amount for the rights to air something? You wouldn't.....especially if that high dollar amount can result in income to a person that you don't particularly like. There are no politics in entertainment though, right? Wrong. In a 1995 Newsweek article, these types of issues and more were pointed out.
Since situations like those mentioned above can become quite volatile, the importance of accountants in film production companies and recording studios can be critical. Some of the functions that accountants can play in those environments include "distributing royalties, calculating, production costs and budgeting for concert tours" according to Monster writer, John Rossheim. For the opportunity to potentially work near their favorite entertainers, lots of "starry-eyed CPAs" have primarily flocked to Southern California, per Rossheim. If you're a CPA that handles the personal finances of certain celebrities you might do things like help a client purchase an exotic sports car, sell a mansion, handle their investments, estate planning and even get into much more personal things. As a financial advisor, you're privy to so many aspects of a person's life that confidentiality is critical. Considering that fact, most business of this sort is generated by word of mouth according to Evan Bell, a NYC CPA in this article. He and other business managers charge most entertainers anywhere from 3 - 5 percent of their annual income.
Although everyone probably expects to hear of such "glitz and glam" in Los Angeles and New York, there are many states like Georgia, Louisiana, and even Connecticut, Michigan and Texas that are contenders in the race for revenue from film projects. This is primarily due to large tax credits and lower production costs, i.e. wages. According to the Georgia site, there are production incentives up to 30% available for grabs for qualifying productions. The increased demand has caused a shortage in available crew members in Georgia according to the Wall Street Journal. They quoted Georgia governor Nathan Deal saying, " Georgia cannot afford for another state to do to us what we are doing to Hollywood". His solution: create a state-run Georgia Film Academy as a partnership between the state's university and technical college systems. He has a great reason to put funding behind this film academy since the film industry generated an economic impact of $5.1 billion for the state in 2014 according to the Georgia site. They also mentioned that the Governor has even added training incentives to support getting eligible workers up to speed to be able to work on projects that come to the state.
So if you're on the outside wondering how you can get in on the fun, what do you do? How do you go about entering this market with no real skills or connections? If you're in Georgia, parties interested in anything from crew calls to locations are advised to search the Georgia Sourcebook. If you want to stay informed about what's going on in the Atlanta film scene, check out CinemATL. Organizations such as Women In Film and Television Atlanta (WIFTA) and sites such as Reel Scout and this one that lists current projects in production are also great ones to start with.
In the world of multi-million and multi-billion dollar project deals, accounting is an extremely important factor to make sure the artists, writers, producers, etc. get paid what they're due, but also to make sure that the media giants are profitable.....the giants that make everything possible for movies to make it to the big screen and for shows to make it to the small screen. I mean, if there's no money in it, why do it, right?
From the outside looking in, most regular people like you and I probably assume that all of the celebrities that we see all over social media and on our screens, both big and small, simply just have it made. But do they really? Maybe if they have a great team of attorneys and CPAs behind them. A lot of people never stop to think about the relationships between the movie studios and the television networks. Let me tell you why this can be important if you are interested in entertainment. This is particularly true for a star actor of a TV show or a writer or studio head whose residual compensation is based on the profits of one of their major projects. If you're set to get 3 percent of past and future profits on that project based on a contract with the studio, and that studio happens to own a network that airs your project, the accounting can get pretty tricky. If you are a studio, you don't have to pay Why would you want to charge yourself a high dollar amount for the rights to air something? You wouldn't.....especially if that high dollar amount can result in income to a person that you don't particularly like. There are no politics in entertainment though, right? Wrong. In a 1995 Newsweek article, these types of issues and more were pointed out.
Since situations like those mentioned above can become quite volatile, the importance of accountants in film production companies and recording studios can be critical. Some of the functions that accountants can play in those environments include "distributing royalties, calculating, production costs and budgeting for concert tours" according to Monster writer, John Rossheim. For the opportunity to potentially work near their favorite entertainers, lots of "starry-eyed CPAs" have primarily flocked to Southern California, per Rossheim. If you're a CPA that handles the personal finances of certain celebrities you might do things like help a client purchase an exotic sports car, sell a mansion, handle their investments, estate planning and even get into much more personal things. As a financial advisor, you're privy to so many aspects of a person's life that confidentiality is critical. Considering that fact, most business of this sort is generated by word of mouth according to Evan Bell, a NYC CPA in this article. He and other business managers charge most entertainers anywhere from 3 - 5 percent of their annual income.
Although everyone probably expects to hear of such "glitz and glam" in Los Angeles and New York, there are many states like Georgia, Louisiana, and even Connecticut, Michigan and Texas that are contenders in the race for revenue from film projects. This is primarily due to large tax credits and lower production costs, i.e. wages. According to the Georgia site, there are production incentives up to 30% available for grabs for qualifying productions. The increased demand has caused a shortage in available crew members in Georgia according to the Wall Street Journal. They quoted Georgia governor Nathan Deal saying, " Georgia cannot afford for another state to do to us what we are doing to Hollywood". His solution: create a state-run Georgia Film Academy as a partnership between the state's university and technical college systems. He has a great reason to put funding behind this film academy since the film industry generated an economic impact of $5.1 billion for the state in 2014 according to the Georgia site. They also mentioned that the Governor has even added training incentives to support getting eligible workers up to speed to be able to work on projects that come to the state.
So if you're on the outside wondering how you can get in on the fun, what do you do? How do you go about entering this market with no real skills or connections? If you're in Georgia, parties interested in anything from crew calls to locations are advised to search the Georgia Sourcebook. If you want to stay informed about what's going on in the Atlanta film scene, check out CinemATL. Organizations such as Women In Film and Television Atlanta (WIFTA) and sites such as Reel Scout and this one that lists current projects in production are also great ones to start with.
Sunday, May 17, 2015
Goodbye to the King of Blues
This week the country lost another great musician. Blues legend B.B. King (born Riley B. King) died Thursday, May 14, 2015 in Las Vegas. He’d announced that he was in hospice care on May 1st. King was from my home state of Mississippi where he was born September 16, 1925 in Itta Bena, MS near Indianola where he will be laid to rest at his request in the upcoming week or so according to USA Today. They announced that the public would be able to view the body at Palm South Jones Mortuary on Friday, May 22nd from 3-7pm in Las Vegas.
In Mississippi, Blues and Soul music are just as popular as country music is in Nashville, TN. I grew up listening to my granddaddy “Bubba” and my uncles and aunts as they played lots of it around the house. They played such artists as Bobby “Blue” Bland, Bobby Womack, Al Green, The Staple Singers, Bobby Rush, Betty Wright, ZZ Hill, Shirley Brown and so many more. I’d learn the songs and sing along with my step-mother and her friends as we hung out on the porch, and I’d revel in the joy I’d see in their faces that good music brought to them. Unfortunately, as it is with most children, I started rejecting things that the adults were into as I became a teenager and later as a young adult. I didn’t have an appreciation for any of that music at the time although I knew the many, many levels that music can take a person to emotionally even back then.
My cousins and others my age started embracing that same music even more as we all got older and they became to their children who our older adult family members were to us back in the day. I thought that it had everything to do with the fact that they were still in Mississippi, a place that I moved away from about 15 years ago. However, it wasn’t until recently that I opened my ears to music that’s not mainstream and one of the first artists that struck that old familiar feeling in me was Mr. B.B. King himself. The Thrill is Gone will always be one of his most popular and most memorable songs to me. It’s also the title of a blog post on his website requesting his fans to share their thoughts on the man and his music. Mr. King earned the title of “The King of Blues” many years ago and he wore it well up until his recent death. Recent work for Mr. King included his appearance in a commercial in the past several months with his famed guitar Lucille, the movie of his life, The Life of Riley that hit theaters in May 2014, and his steady round of shows on the road up until his health started declining last fall.
Riley B. King made a huge impact on the music of today and he’s touched fans around the world. He will be missed, but his legacy will live on through the music. R.I.P.
In Mississippi, Blues and Soul music are just as popular as country music is in Nashville, TN. I grew up listening to my granddaddy “Bubba” and my uncles and aunts as they played lots of it around the house. They played such artists as Bobby “Blue” Bland, Bobby Womack, Al Green, The Staple Singers, Bobby Rush, Betty Wright, ZZ Hill, Shirley Brown and so many more. I’d learn the songs and sing along with my step-mother and her friends as we hung out on the porch, and I’d revel in the joy I’d see in their faces that good music brought to them. Unfortunately, as it is with most children, I started rejecting things that the adults were into as I became a teenager and later as a young adult. I didn’t have an appreciation for any of that music at the time although I knew the many, many levels that music can take a person to emotionally even back then.
My cousins and others my age started embracing that same music even more as we all got older and they became to their children who our older adult family members were to us back in the day. I thought that it had everything to do with the fact that they were still in Mississippi, a place that I moved away from about 15 years ago. However, it wasn’t until recently that I opened my ears to music that’s not mainstream and one of the first artists that struck that old familiar feeling in me was Mr. B.B. King himself. The Thrill is Gone will always be one of his most popular and most memorable songs to me. It’s also the title of a blog post on his website requesting his fans to share their thoughts on the man and his music. Mr. King earned the title of “The King of Blues” many years ago and he wore it well up until his recent death. Recent work for Mr. King included his appearance in a commercial in the past several months with his famed guitar Lucille, the movie of his life, The Life of Riley that hit theaters in May 2014, and his steady round of shows on the road up until his health started declining last fall.
Riley B. King made a huge impact on the music of today and he’s touched fans around the world. He will be missed, but his legacy will live on through the music. R.I.P.
Thursday, May 7, 2015
Who's In YOUR Five? The Top Five Wealthiest Artists in Hip-Hop 2015
While the ranking order of the filthy rich "Haves" matters very little to the "Have Nots" of the world, there are those of us that are envious and just a little curious to know how they do it and how they do it so well. Forbes has published its 2015 list of the wealthiest hip-hop artists, and while there's very little surprise as to the people that top the list, most have to be a little surprised that Dr. Dre isn't King this year after that huge multi-billion dollar deal that he made with Apple. As in just about all things, financial or otherwise, taxes matter. Out of the $3 billion deal, Dre's cut of 25% dwindled to $500 million in cash after taxes. Ouch!! Of the overall deal, The Wall Street Journal reports that Apple paid for a portion of it with $400 million in equity which should be an incentive for Dre to stick around in his role as an Apple employee as part of the deal.
Here's the list in order of net worth:
Here's the list in order of net worth:
- P. Diddy ($735 million)
- Dr. Dre ($700 million)
- Jay-Z ($550 million)
- 50 Cent ($155 million)
- Birdman ($150 million)
Welcome!
Hi everyone!
Welcome to the "FORBES . . . Accounting for Entertainment" blog created by Forbes Accounting & Consulting, Inc. We seek to bring you hot Music, Film, TV, and other general content of interest. We will give you Accounting topics, Tax Planning and Preparation information and relevant material from the IRS and various state authorities. We also plan to try to keep you "In The Know" about things that could have a big financial impact for you and your business, as well as bring you tips on improving your productivity, company processes and a host of other things. If you find some useful or entertaining information, chances are you have friends and family members that could benefit too so share, share, share!! Thanks for tuning in!
Be sure to follow Forbes Accounting & Consulting, Inc. on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter!
Welcome to the "FORBES . . . Accounting for Entertainment" blog created by Forbes Accounting & Consulting, Inc. We seek to bring you hot Music, Film, TV, and other general content of interest. We will give you Accounting topics, Tax Planning and Preparation information and relevant material from the IRS and various state authorities. We also plan to try to keep you "In The Know" about things that could have a big financial impact for you and your business, as well as bring you tips on improving your productivity, company processes and a host of other things. If you find some useful or entertaining information, chances are you have friends and family members that could benefit too so share, share, share!! Thanks for tuning in!
Be sure to follow Forbes Accounting & Consulting, Inc. on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter!
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