Colorado Artist Company Act Enables LLC Formation for Creatives
Summary
The Colorado General Assembly introduced SB26-133, the Colorado Artist Company Act, to authorize a new limited liability company structure for artists and creative professionals. The bill would permit individuals creating works of authorship or artistic expression to form artist companies with a stated artistic mission, requiring at least 51% artist ownership at all times. Existing LLCs meeting ownership requirements could convert to artist company status by amending their articles of organization.
What changed
SB26-133 proposes the Colorado Artist Company Act, establishing a new class of LLCs designed specifically for artists and creative professionals. An artist company must state its artistic mission in organizational documents, be formed and owned by individuals creating works of authorship across any medium, and maintain minimum 51% artist ownership of all voting securities. Members may assign or exclusively license intellectual property as in-kind capital contributions, and organizational documents may require assignment of mission-related works created during membership.
Affected parties include visual artists, musicians, writers, performers, and other creative professionals seeking to formalize their business operations under a dedicated entity structure. The bill also provides for public benefit artist company elections with enhanced member duties and annual reporting. Upon dissolution, assigned or licensed artistic works revert to the original artist-member, with certain exceptions. The Colorado Secretary of State must prescribe long-form articles by July 1, 2027.
What to do next
- Colorado artists and creative professionals should monitor SB26-133 progress
- Legal and business formation professionals should prepare for inquiries about artist company formation
- Existing LLCs meeting 51% artist ownership should evaluate potential conversion
Archived snapshot
Apr 10, 2026GovPing captured this document from the original source. If the source has since changed or been removed, this is the text as it existed at that time.
SB26-133
Colorado Artist Companies
| Type | Bill |
|---|---|
| Session | 2026 Regular Session |
| Subjects | Business & Economic Development |
Concerning the authorization to establish an artist company in the state, and, in connection therewith, enacting the "Colorado Artist Company Act".
Recent Bill (PDF) Recent Fiscal Note (PDF) Bill Summary:
The bill creates the "Colorado Artist Company Act", which authorizes a person in the state to create a limited liability company with a stated artistic mission (artist company), which artist company is subject to state law applicable to limited liability companies except where specified in the bill.
An artist company must state its artistic mission in its articles of organization or operating agreement and be formed and owned by one or more individuals that create works of authorship or artistic expression comprising written, oral, visual, graphic, literary, musical, audiovisual, digital, or performing art in any medium (artists). Artists must own not less than 51% of all voting securities of the artist company at all times (required ownership percentage).
A limited liability company that is not an artist company but that meets the required ownership percentage may convert to an artist company by amending its articles of organization or its operating agreement to state its artistic mission and by complying with certain other requirements.
A person may form an artist company by filing with the Colorado secretary of state articles of organization or long-form articles. The Colorado secretary of state is required to prescribe the form of the long-form articles and make the form publicly available on or before July 1, 2027. The long-form articles must include check-box or fill-in-the-blank provisions allowing the election of certain ownership, governance, artistic work distribution, tax treatment, and dissolution structures.
An artist company may accept capital in any form and its members and managers have certain duties specified in the artist company's articles of organization or operating agreement along with the duties imposed by state law applicable to limited liability companies.
Members of an artist company may assign or exclusively license intellectual property to an artist company as an in-kind capital contribution. An artist company's articles of organization or operating agreement may require artist-members to assign or exclusively license to the artist company artistic work created during membership that relates to the artistic mission of the artist company. An artist company's articles of organization or operating agreement may provide for certain procedures and terms regarding the admission and departure of members.
An artist company may elect at formation, or at the time of conversion for a limited liability company, to be a public benefit artist company (public benefit artist company) by stating in its articles of organization and operating agreement, if any, that it is a public benefit artist company and setting forth in its articles of organization and operating agreement, if any, one or more specific public benefits to be promoted by the artist company. The members and managers of a public benefit artist company are subject to certain additional duties. A public benefit artist company must provide its members and donors with an annual statement specifying certain information as to the public benefits and artistic mission of the public benefit artist company.
Upon the dissolution of an artist company or public benefit artist company, artistic work assigned or licensed by artist-members to the artist company or created by artist-members of the artist company reverts to the artist-member, except as specified in the articles of organization or operating agreement and subject to certain security interests, licenses, and obligations. After giving effect to artistic work reversionary rights, the assets of the artist company must be distributed in accordance with the articles of organization or operating agreement or, if not specified in the articles of organization or operating agreement, pro rata to members based on ownership percentages.
(Note: This summary applies to this bill as introduced.)
Prime Sponsors
Jeff Bridges
Senator
Marc Catlin
Representative
Matthew Martinez
Representative
Rick Taggart
Committees
Senate
Business, Labor, & Technology Appropriations
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Status
Under Consideration
Introduced
Under Consideration
Related Documents & Information
| Date | Version | Documents |
|---|---|---|
| 03/04/2026 | Introduced |
| Date | Version | Documents |
|---|---|---|
| 03/25/2026 | Initial Fiscal Note |
| Activity | Vote | Documents |
|---|---|---|
| Refer Senate Bill 26-133 to the Committee on Appropriations. | The motion passed on a vote of 5-0. | Vote summary |
Committee Report: PDF
| Date | Location | Action |
| --- | --- | --- |
| 04/09/2026 | Senate | Senate Committee on Business, Labor, & Technology Refer Unamended to Appropriations |
| 03/04/2026 | Senate | Introduced In Senate - Assigned to Business, Labor, & Technology |
Prime Sponsor
Sen. J. Bridges | Sen. M. Catlin
Rep. M. Martinez | Rep. R. Taggart
Sponsor
(None) Co-Sponsor
(None)
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