The diaspora

EXODUS: I.B. Bad’s observation in a recent column that the creative hub of the music business has shifted from New York to L.A. was given further credence, sort of, by New York Times media reporter Ben Sisario, who writes that “A group of music industry figures, worried about the flight of music production and related jobs from New York…is encouraging the State Legislature to pass a bill to give $60 million in tax breaks each year to studios, record companies and others involved in the creation of music.” Downtown Music Publishing CEO Justin Kalifowitz brought some drama to the story by asserting that “The epicenter of the global music industry was New York for as long as anyone can remember, and now that’s slipping away. That’s something we have to stop.” Sisario contends that New York is losing recording projects to states like Texas and Tennessee, but he neglected to add that much of the attrition is the result of so many top urban, hip-hop and pop producers moving their operations to the West Coast. (10/8a)