NAICS
512: Motion Picture and Sound Recording Industries
Industries in the Motion Picture and Sound Recording Industries
subsector group establishments involved in the production and
distribution of motion pictures and sound recordings. While producers
and distributors of motion pictures and sound recordings issue works
for sale as traditional publishers do, the processes are sufficiently
different to warrant placing establishments engaged in these activities
in a separate subsector. Production is typically a complex process that
involves several distinct types of establishments that are engaged in
activities, such as contracting with performers, creating the film or
sound content, and providing technical postproduction services. Film
distribution is often to exhibitors, such as theaters and broadcasters,
rather than through the wholesale and retail distribution chain. When
the product is in a mass-produced form, NAICS treats production and
distribution as the major economic activity as it does in the
Publishing Industries subsector, rather than as a subsidiary activity
to the manufacture of such products.
This subsector does not include establishments primarily engaged in the
wholesale distribution of video cassettes and sound recordings, such as
compact discs and audio tapes; these establishments are included in the
Wholesale Trade sector. Reproduction of video cassettes and sound
recordings that is carried out separately from establishments engaged
in production and distribution is treated in NAICS as a manufacturing
activity.