The Creative Industries and its Evolution

What are the Creative Industries?

The Creative Industries are now worth around £71.4 billion per year to the UK economy, but what exactly are the Creative Industries and what do they consist of?

The term ‘Creative Industries’ refers to the ‘socio-economic potential of activities which trade with creativity knowledge and information,’ making money from a creative standpoint. The United Kingdom has the largest creative sector of the European union with it being the largest in the world when concerned with GDP.

‘Those industries which are based on individual creativity, skill ad talent with the potential to create wealth and jobs through developing intellectual property.’

Those which have a specific skill or talent which they then use to create income.

There are thirteen sectors within the industry emphasising how broad and advanced the industry is. These include;

• Advertising
• Architecture
• Art and Antiques
• Crafts
• Design
• Design Fashion
• Film
• Video Games
• Music
• The Performing Arts
• Publishing
• Software
• Tv and Radio

Although the definition and term ‘Creative Industries’ was introduced by the United Kingdom it has been adopted by many other countries each with their own cultural adaptations. It is an industry which not only creates economic wealth and jobs but unlike any other allows the promotion of social inclusion, human development and a diverse culture.

Creative Industries and Technology

Today technology is developing faster than ever, with the Creative Industries digesting and using it to its full potential more so than most other industries in the UK. Computers and simple mobile phones are now a thing of the past, shunned by tablets and smart phones, you can do anything at the touch of a screen.

The Creative Industries always have their hands on the most advanced technology available and is still rapidly developing. Technology has taken the industry by storm not only now supporting how professionals work but defining how they work.

Photographers for example; gone are the days of developing film. Photos can now be edited digitally, uploaded to a cloud, website or social media page and all done directly either from their phone, computer or even their camera.

Social Media is one of the most influential forms of media in the 21st century and has become a necessity for the Creative Industries. Within the industry if you don’t have a website, twitter, blog or even face book page you are a minority. Social media is a means for a creative professional to get their work out there, seen, appreciated and of course criticised.

Twitter has managed to take the world by storm as the graph previous shows.

In 2006 the number of twitter users was very limited as it was just beginning however in 2013 the number of users was recorded at just under 250 million and rising. This has influenced some to describe it as the ‘hash tag revolution’.

With technology developing more quickly than ever before the Creative Industries seems to be leading the way, using these technological advances to their full potential.

Economic Importance

Economic importance seems to be unquestionable when it comes to the Creative Industries. In the UK alone the industry as a whole generates around £8 an hour.

Statistics from the UK government web page also show;

• Employment in the creative industries increased by 8.6 percent between 2011 and 2012 compared to the UK as a whole at 0.7 percent.
• The creative industries also accounted for 1.68 million jobs in 2012, 5.6 percent of UK jobs in total.

Nicola Mendelson, Creative Industries council chair says;

‘These figures amply demonstrate the huge contribution our sector makes to the economy and it’s vital that the right framework is in place to nurture and support the industry. We are working with Government on developing a growth strategy for the sector which will identify how all involved can ensure the creative industries continue to go from strength to strength.’

The Creative industries has always been and continues to be of economic importance to the UK and the world, creating jobs and income for the country it is always an industry which will provide making it very worth while.