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1 Defining the Creative Industries: The definition of the Creative Industries is the subject of much debate, see for instance: (Caves 2000; Scott 2000; Hesmondhalgh 2002; Power 2002; Pratt 2005; Fleming 2007; Galloway and Dunlop 2007; Kolmodin, Pelli, Bager-Sjögren et al. 2008; Nielsen 2008; Jeffcutt and Pratt 2009; Mato 2009; Miller 2009; Power 2009). The creative industries are dynamic, they are in constant evolution, their produce in non-traditional in accounting terms, the methods of production to not map easily onto already established metrics. There is scope of redefinition in terms of the meta-narrative, however we have signed of on a document with an agreed definition of the creative industries: “Creative industries are both knowledge intensive, and labor intensive, especially those with a high concentration of creative inputs, as occurs, for example, in theatre or film production. The contribution of the creative industries to employment is usually significant; typically, they account for around 2 to 8 per cent of the workforce in the economy 1 ”. This is the broad definition used be UNCTAD in 2010. Our application goes on to define the industry further by reference to its relative importance in the national economies of our respective regions. In the drawing up of the application an agreed definition was used by the then main contributors, WDC, NUIG and Newmarket consulting this was agreed by all partners at the Edinburgh meeting in 2011. At its most basic, the creative sector is made up of those industries that rely on human creativity to generate wealth. I refer you to the above readings on the further differentiations of this definition but for the purposes of this piece we take that as our starting point. Many other (if not all) industries rely creativity but within the creative industries, creativity is the fundamental factor of production, without new, creative ideas, the industry could not exist. This definition has been used in previous work carried out for and by the Western Development Commission (and NUIG) and can be seen as a fair derivative of international definitions (see appendix). In our meeting in December 2011 and subsequent discussion (email from Fredric dated 1 st of February) we have talked about natural divisions that occur within the sector as a whole. To a large extent these natural divisions are assumed in the following classification of industries that make up the sector. The classification splits individual creative industries into three distinct categories: 1 UNCTAD Creative economy report 2008

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Page 1: Defining the Creative Industries › files › archive › Downloads › ... · • Art/Antiques trade • Architecture • Fashion • Publishing • Advertising • Crafts 2. Creative

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Defining the Creative Industries: The definition of the Creative Industries is the subject of much debate, see for instance: (Caves 2000; Scott 2000; Hesmondhalgh 2002; Power 2002; Pratt 2005; Fleming 2007; Galloway and Dunlop 2007; Kolmodin, Pelli, Bager-Sjögren et al. 2008; Nielsen 2008; Jeffcutt and Pratt 2009; Mato 2009; Miller 2009; Power 2009). The creative industries are dynamic, they are in constant evolution, their produce in non-traditional in accounting terms, the methods of production to not map easily onto already established metrics. There is scope of redefinition in terms of the meta-narrative, however we have signed of on a document with an agreed definition of the creative industries: “Creative industries are both knowledge intensive, and labor intensive, especially those with a high concentration of creative inputs, as occurs, for example, in theatre or film production. The contribution of the creative industries to employment is usually significant; typically, they account for around 2 to 8 per cent of the workforce in the economy1”. This is the broad definition used be UNCTAD in 2010. Our application goes on to define the industry further by reference to its relative importance in the national economies of our respective regions. In the drawing up of the application an agreed definition was used by the then main contributors, WDC, NUIG and Newmarket consulting this was agreed by all partners at the Edinburgh meeting in 2011. At its most basic, the creative sector is made up of those industries that rely on human creativity to generate wealth. I refer you to the above readings on the further differentiations of this definition but for the purposes of this piece we take that as our starting point. Many other (if not all) industries rely creativity but within the creative industries, creativity is the fundamental factor of production, without new, creative ideas, the industry could not exist. This definition has been used in previous work carried out for and by the Western Development Commission (and NUIG) and can be seen as a fair derivative of international definitions (see appendix). In our meeting in December 2011 and subsequent discussion (email from Fredric dated 1st of February) we have talked about natural divisions that occur within the sector as a whole. To a large extent these natural divisions are assumed in the following classification of industries that make up the sector. The classification splits individual creative industries into three distinct categories:

1 UNCTAD Creative economy report 2008

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• Creative Application; • Creative Expression; and • Creative Technology. A description of the three categories is provided below. 1. Creative Application – covers industries that develop products or services primarily for the purpose of selling. Their existence is dependent upon market demand. This category includes such things as one off artifacts, signature designer pieces or end products such as books, blueprints or advertisements. These industries are largely market driven. • Art/Antiques trade • Architecture • Fashion • Publishing • Advertising • Crafts 2. Creative Expression – covers products that may not primarily be driven by commercial considerations. These products are typically defined as ‘art for arts sake’ and are developed for audiences and consumers with an expressive story in mind. In some cases these products or services would be provided even in the absence of market demand and may rely upon public sector support. • Music, visual and performing arts • Video, film and imaging (photography) • Radio and TV broadcasting 3. Creative Technology – includes creative industries that rely most on technology and digital media. Although technology is a key input for several creative industries, this category has been specifically separated out due to its core function being reliant on digital technology. • Internet and software • Digital media (gaming and animation) • Design (graphic design and web design) Although there is some overlap between each of the categories and blurred edges, this classification represents a majority rules approach. Each industry has been classified according to its core activity i.e. the primary reason for its establishment. The potential overlap between the categories can be seen as a positive aspect of the sector and is a reflection of the interaction that is indicative of creative

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industries2. For Fredric – Digital Creatives occupy creative technology and its overlaps with expression and application. For a visual representation3:

2 Oxford Economics 2008 ‘Baseline Research on the Creative Sector’ 3 WDC (2008)

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WHAT DOES THIS ALL MEAN? This means the most for Workpackage 2 and the pulling together of the database that the project depends on. Separate workpackages will tend to focus on certain elements which is natural but for the outset we have committed to a collection of data on the sector as a whole. How do we do this? The above industries all fall under and abide by an industrial classification. Across the EU we use one major type of industrial classification / codifications: NACE (Nomenclature des Activités Économiques dans la Communauté Européenne). NACE Code is a pan-European classification system which groups organisations according to their business activities. So every business activity has a code, for example Code D 15.84 is the ‘Manufacture of cocoa; chocolate and sugar confectionery’. All codes / activities are compiled by national statistical agencies across Europe. The relevant ones for the Creative Edge Project are: Country Agency Ireland Central Statistics Office (Quarterly

National Household Survey)

Northern Ireland (Scotland) Department of Enterprise, Trade and Innovation of Northern Ireland Census of Employment Annual Business Survey

Sweden Statistiska Centralbyran, Sweden (Register-based Labour market Statistics)

Finland Statistic Finland (Labour Force Survey) One point to note on NACE classification is that the coding was reviewed in 2008 to better reflect business activity and bring it in line with other classifications – the most recent codes are therefore NACE re v 2 codes which have replaced NACE rev 1.1. 4 4 There also exists a slightly difference classification at a global level, this is called the International Standard Industrial Code. In the main – both ISIC and NACE rev 2 (while different in numeric) refer to the same activity.

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Here is an example of Creative Industries mapped which I compiled for the Economic Impact Assessment for the Creative sector in the west of Ireland.

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Appendix