Exciting times for creative Britain: seizing online opportunities
Lord Carter’s final Digital Britain report dedicates its fourth chapter to Creative Industries in the Digital World. The initiatives presented may appear modest, but they result from an unprecedented process of introspection, consultation and innovation regarding the role of public policy in supporting the UK’s creative industries through a period of change, uncertainty – and also opportunity.
Through a combination of private enterprise and public support, creativity in audio-visual content has flourished in the UK over the past 25 years. The creation of Channel 4, in 1982, was momentous in that it provided fertile ground for independent production companies to flourish. As of 2008, creative industries in the UK represented 6.5% of gross value added – more than in any other country in the world.
This industry has been hitherto rather sheltered from recession, thanks to Channel 4’s continued investment, and the increasing budget made available by the BBC, through the independent quota and more recently the Window Of Creative Competition (WOCC). Although 'indies' are still thriving, these traditional sources of funding are increasingly limited and are unlikely to support significant further growth.
In this context, players in the market recognise that innovation will be key to enabling the next stage of growth, and that digital and online platforms offer the best basis for such innovation. A number of initiatives are emerging from Digital Britain that will support this process, and mitigate some of the risks posed by piracy and the fast-changing market environment. The threat, real as well as perceived, posed by piracy to owners and creators of intellectual property is explicitly recognised, and will be addressed directly through regulatory and legislative tools (see our recent article), while test-beds will be created to enable experimentation to take place, bringing together rights owners and technology providers in a secure environment to test new business models. Beyond audio-visual content, the government has also committed to supporting interactive content providers, such as video games makers.
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