The London Creative Industries

This lecture draws from the Creative Industries Observatory research on the London creative industries and in particular provides some initial insights into the networks and relationships which exist including organisational structure, size, and location. Consideration has been given to clustering and markets. In particular attention has been paid to the levels of creativity found in the London creative industries and the possible implications for public policy intervention. These findings are based on a shared definitional framework, and can be compared with other cities

Game on! a report on the interactive leisure software subsector in London

There is a paucity of good quality data on the UK video games industry. Information such as value-added, investment on R&D, average annual expenditure on training and the value of video games in terms of exports, for example, is thin or incomplete. This is a serious problem. If we are to improve the competitiveness of the UK games development sector then we must have better quality information. Games developers will then be able to benchmark their business activities against industry averages. Overseas investors will also then be better informed about the benefits of investing in the UK leisure software sector. This Report confirms the lacunae in our knowledge that exists about the video games industry. For example, the Office of National Statistics still does not have a specific code to identify interactive leisure software businesses. Yet the Report also shines a light on the video games industry in the UK in general and in London in particular

Film in the city: a report on the film & video sub-Sector in London

The movie business, and the distribution of films through the associated cinema and home video sectors is a truly global phenomenon. In terms of both production and distribution, Hollywood has traditionally dominated international markets, however, with radical innovations in information and digital technologies and the spread of the Internet, it has become increasingly easier to make and distribute films around the world . Coupled with this is the ‘runaway production’ concept, whereby Hollywood productions are no longer tied to site-specific studios and can choose to shoot and edit their (usually high-budget) movies in locations around the globe. This has created an international market where cities, such as Vancouver, Sydney, Brisbane, Prague, Cape Town, London and many more, compete for big movie business. London has a thriving film and video sub-sector and a highly competitive infrastructure, nurtured by a host of supporting institutions, which together create a powerful creative network of players capable of competing at a global scale. The physical geography of the city also matters to the film industry, not only in terms of shooting locations, but also in determining where to locate, pitch or exhibit the final creative product. Consequently, the location and interconnected value chain of producers, post-production, financiers, sales agents and distributors, cinemas and theatres, as well as the myriad of specialised and highly skilled workforce is key to the industry’s success. The co-location and clustering tendencies of individuals and institutions located at close proximity in London and highlighted in this report are evidence of the intense social networking that characterises the industry

A Report on the Design Sub-Sector in London

Housed in the School of Creative Enterprise at the London College of Communication (University of the Arts), the Creative Industries Observatory (CIO) is a leading contributor to academic research and analysis within the creative industries, and a source of information for the increasingly influential group of sub-sectors that characterise the modern knowledge economy. The CIO was set up in conjunction with ‘Creative Capital World City’ (CCWC) – a project funded by the Higher Education Innovation Fund (HEIF) aimed at supporting the creative industries in key world markets, including THE UK, India and China. The CIO is an international and multi-disciplinary team with a range of expertise and experience across academic disciplines and industry sub-sectors. We focus on strategic, structural and definitional issues relevant to the creative industries. This report is one in a series designed to give policy makers, business leaders, practitioners and researchers a comprehensive overview and in-depth analysis of the core activities and key characteristics across thirteen creative sub-sectors in developed and emerging global cities. The report is designed to allow you to identify information that is relevant to your needs quickly and effectively, as well as cross-reference between topics and creative sub-sectors. CIO reports are designed to provide a snapshot of each sub-sector in each city. This report focuses on the design sub-sector in London

Great expectations or small country living? Enabling small rural creative businesses with ICT.

Small businesses are prototypical rural business, but limited by distance. However, creative businesses are less constrained by space and hold great promise for rural development. Indeed, the rural is an attractive creative aesthetic milieu. Moreover, new broadband technologies seem to offer a solution to address connectivity; the social and spatial problem of being rural. Consequently, we ask how does broadband enable small rural creative firms. We sought out the practices and experiences of creative business owners, finding that broadband offered useful technical, creative, and business linking. However many were frustrated by poor technical performance. Furthermore, the accelerating pace of ICT worried respondents, who feared being left behind. Nonetheless for most-without broadband their rural location would have been impossible. We found that broadband has fostered creative rural businesses, but as new ways of making a small country living rather than stimulating a rural creative milieu. The digital promise of a creative transformation of the rural has not been realised in Scotland

"The Unreliability of Cultural Management Information: Defining the Visual Arts"

48-65 This research examines the definitional and quantification dynamics of the New Labour Creative Industries policy from 1998 to 2004 which replaced earlier Labour Party cultural industry interests articulated in the 1980s. It focuses attention on the lack of a reliable empirical understanding of the sector and specifically sub-sectors such as designer fashion and graphics. It considers the New Labour Creative Industries policy definitional framework and economic claims and finds that there is conceptual confusion at sectoral and sub-sectoral levels. Consideration is given to the sources of data collection which underpin the policy, its reliability, and relevance to local and regional economic, cultural policy and practice. It then demonstrates that collecting primary data at local and regional levels employing a practitioner/business led definitional framework is an alternative means of building a realistic analysis of the sector. This paper traces the models of the cultural industries used by the Labour Government during the timeframe and the work of organisations including the DCMS and argues for the systematic approach to modelling currently in development in the Creative Industries Observatory led by the researcher. It also suggests, that the creative industry policy is exclusive and not inclusive, that the definition is pragmatic with no justifiable rationale, and that the data used as evidence to support the policy is unreliable and flawed when placed in the context of sub-sectors, locality and regions. It finds that the introduction of a creative industries policy has inadvertently encouraged an emerging reconceptualisation of the cultural industries. Specifically, culture as business, not the ‘Tate` effect, of aesthetic peer group determined public culture. The work has contributed for the research to be invited to become an Adjunct Professor at Queensland University of Technology, and advisor on creative industries to the Australian Research Council

Cultural Quarters: Principles and Practice

This book provides for the first time in a single volume an explanation of the principles and practice employed in considering, developing and establishing cultural quarters. It takes examples largely drawn from the North of England, Ireland and Austria. The emphasis on case studies from the North of England is due to the need to regenerate the old manufacturing towns, avert decline and provide employment. Ireland and Austria provide instances of new building development. The volume is structured to assist local authority planners and economic development staff, as well as public agencies responsible for supporting and developing the cultural and creative industries. In addition, it provides a useful reference guide for those considering establishing a quarter or studying the subject. Cultural quarters have become an important concept in the UK, particularly with local authorities, as an increasingly flexible solution to urban development. In addition, there has been considerable interest in the creative cities concept, which has been thoroughly examined by Charles Landry in “Creative Cities”, and Justin O’Connor, “the Creative City”. This emerging discipline is developed and extended in this book by focusing on the “how” and “what” of cultural quarters, from a predominantly cultural perspective. A major concern in public sector cultural policy is how cultural practice is maintained and expanded without substantially increasing the public financial contribution. This has led to a deepening engagement with cultural economy arguments by governments, cultural agencies and local authorities, which inevitably gives rise to the question of sustainability. The book examines ways of sustaining cultures which rely less on State intervention, and the role of cultural quarters in the cultural economy. The book was very positively reviewed in Transition ®Tradition. It builds on earlier work published in the following journals; Journal of the Centre for Reform (2002) and Revisita De Museologia (2001)