Creative Industries

Creative Industries

The creative industries refer to a range of economic activities which are concerned with the generation or exploitation of knowledge and information. They may variously also be referred to as the cultural industries (especially in Europe (Hesmondhalgh 2002, p. 14)) or the creative economy (Howkins 2001).

Howkins' creative economy comprises advertising, architecture, art, crafts, design, fashion, film, music, performing arts, publishing, R&D, software, toys and games, TV and radio, and video games (Howkins 2001, p. 88-117). There remain, however, different definitions of the sector .

The creative industries have been seen to become increasingly important to economic well-being, proponents suggesting that "human creativity is the ultimate economic resource," (Florida 2002, p. xiii) and that “the industries of the twenty-first century will depend increasingly on the generation of knowledge through creativity and innovation," (Landry & Bianchini 1995, p. 4).

The current DCMS definition recognises eleven creative sectors, down from fourteen in their 2001 document. They are:

Advertising

Architecture

Arts and antique markets

Crafts

Design (see also communication design)

Designer Fashion

Film, video and photography

Software, computer games and electronic publishing

Music and the visual and performing arts

Publishing

Television

Radio (DCMS 2006)

('Film and video' became 'Film, video and photography; 'Music' and 'performing arts' were combined to form 'Music and the visual and performing arts'; 'Interactive leisure software' was combined with 'Computer services' to form 'Software, computer games and electronic publishing')

To this list John Howkins would add toys and games, and also include the much broader area of research and development in science and technology (Howkins 2001, p. 88-117).

Hesmondhalgh reduces the list to what he terms 'the core cultural industries' of advertising and marketing, broadcasting, film, internet and music industries, print and electronic publishing, and video and computer games. His definition only includes those industries that create 'texts' or 'cultural artefacts' and which engage in some form of industrial reproduction (Hesmondhalgh 2002, p. 12-14).

The DCMS list has been influential, and many other nations have formally adopted it. It has also been criticised. It has been argued that the division into sectors obscures a divide between lifestyle business, non-profits, and larger businesses, and between those who receive state subsidies (e.g., film) and those who do not (e.g., computer games). The inclusion of the antiques trade is often questioned, since it does not generally involve production except of reproductions and fakes. The inclusion of all computer services has also been questioned (Hesmondhalgh 2002, p. 13).

Some nations, such as Hong Kong, have preferred to shape their policy around a tighter focus on copyright ownership in the value chain. They adopt the WIPO's classifications, which divide the Creative Industries up according to who owns the copyrights at various stages during the production & distribution of creative content.

Others have suggested a distinction between those industries that are open to mass production and distribution (film and video; videogames; broadcasting; publishing), and those that are primarily craft-based and are meant to be consumed in a particular place and moment (visual arts; performing arts; cultural heritage).

The DCMS classifies enterprises and occupations as creative according to what the enterprise primarily produces, and what the worker primarily ...