Blog

Budget confirms c&binet’s key role

Valerie | 22 Apr 2009, 17:12

The Government has pledged to continue its support of the Creative Industries in today’s Budget, highlighting the key role played by c&binet.

The report outlines the Government’s plans to build on its Creative Britain strategy published in 2008, which details how it will take action to support the creative industries. Key focus areas for 2009 include:

•  Publication of national best-practice advice on business support for the creative industries for Business Links in each participating region in June 2009

•  Publication of a toolkit of actions to help Local Authorities support creative industries in their areas by the Local Government Association and the Work Foundation in July 2009

•  First Creativity and Business International Network (C&binet) conference to take place in October 2009, to raise the international profile of the UK’s creative industries and address a range of issues of importance to creative sectors, including intellectual property

•  Improve the skills base of the creative industries, Sector Compacts with the Sector Skills Councils that cover the creative industries will tailor Train to Gain provision to meet the particular needs of employers

C&binet will be closely following the Government agenda and provide updates on key developments impacting the creative economy as they progress.

Digital Britain Summit – Equipping Britain for a digital future

Valerie | 17 Apr 2009, 09:58

Leading thinkers in the Digital Economy are gathering at The Digital Britain Summit today at the British Library to debate how best to equip Britain for a digital future.

The event will give stakeholders an opportunity to listen and debate the interim report’s recommendations and ensure all views are considered before the final report is published in the summer.

Speakers including telecoms CEOs Ian Livingstone, Neil Berkett and Ronan Dunne, technophile Stephen Fry, Universal Music’s Lucian Grainge, Johannes B. Larcher from Hulu, Hirouki Hishinuma from the Japanese Government and Will Hutton, Chief Executive of the Work Foundation, will join 250 industry leaders to address how to secure Britain’s place at the forefront of the global digital economy.

Culture Secretary Andy Burnham, Business Secretary Peter Mandelson, Sly Bailey (Chief Executive, Trinity Mirror) and John Fingleton (Chief Executive, Office of Fair Trading) will deliver keynote speeches.

Key issues to be discussed today in the four panel sessions include:

• Preparing for tomorrow’s digital networks today: looking at infrastructure issues that will determine the UK’s readiness to fully exploit the dramatic shift to digital technology

• The New Digital Arms Race: different approaches around the globe to achieving a successful digital economy

• Joining the dots between creativity and digital content: matching technical innovation with the development of business models that enable content creators to flourish on these new platforms

• Equipping our society for the digital future: ensuring that the benefits and advantages of the digital economy are available to all

You can watch the Digital Britain event live and follow the debate via the Digital Britain summit live blog and submit comments as well as questions for the speakers and panel at the Digital Britain Forum website.

You can also follow proceedings via the Digital Britain twitter feed or tweet questions to @digitalbritain.

Obama administration sides with RIAA in P2P lawsuit

Valerie | 27 Mar 2009, 09:42

As the verdict on the landmark trial of Pirate Bay creators fast approaches, a Wired editorial reports that the Obama administration has voiced its support for the recording industry by defending the copyright laws being used by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) in a file-sharing lawsuit against a Boston University graduate student, Joel Tannenbaum.

According to US copyright law, violators can be sued for damages ranging from $750 to $150,000 per infringement. Tenenbaum is being sued for $1 million for allegedly illegally sharing seven songs online.

The news comes as several countries around the world are cracking down on illegal file-sharers with a “three strikes, you’re out” policy. In France, the government is supporting an amendment to an draft EU bill for strengthening security and fundamental freedoms on the Internet whilst in New Zealand,  a new copyright law says an Internet service provider (ISP) must adopt and apply a policy that allows for Internet access to be terminated “in appropriate circumstances” for repeat infringers.

FoxNews.com focuses on the central issue highlighted by these cases:

“... in a day and age when Internet access is almost as essential as a cell phone or electricity, should the music industry or ISPs have the power to determine who can and can’t get online, particularly without criminal charges being filed? And what if there’s no legal recourse for the customer?”

Whilst The Register notes that the group of law students mentored by Professor Charles Nesson of Harvard Law are not focusing his defense around whether he illegally downloaded those seven tunes or even if copyright law is right, they are arguing against “unconstitutionally heavy-handed damages” allowed by the Digital Theft Deterrence and Copyright Damages Improvement Act of 1999, which allows up to $150,000 (£103,000) in damages to be assessed for each “willful” violation of copyright.

A ruling on the Tenenbaum case is expected around March 30th.

Andy Burnham, Kate Nash and Feargal Sharkey in conversation

Andrew | 22 Mar 2009, 10:11

Guest blog: Feargal Sharkey, CEO of UK Music, who represent the UK’s commercial music industry

Creators must be heard to make a difference

I recently chaired a conversation between Secretary of State Andy Burnham and the musician Kate Nash, who was representing the Featured Artists Coalition (FAC). You can download a podcast or transcript of the conversation from this page.

Writing as a former artist, I know as well as anyone that creators’ voices have often been conspicuous by their absence in music industry debates.

Clearly this is not right. The past decade has seen huge upheaval in how the music industry operates; but without creative talent, there simply is no industry.

It was for this reason that one of UK Music’s first initiatives was to announce the world’s first Creators’ Conference – with the idea of bringing together a diverse range of around 100 UK artists, songwriters, composers and musicians, and allowing them a private, free and direct dialogue with both Andy and the European Commissioner for the Internal Market, Charlie McCreevy.

Two months later, the event took place on 11 December 2008 in Central London.

Music-makers expressed their opinions on anything from file-sharing and copyright to Top Of The Pops; while Andy and Charlie had an opportunity to explain how creativity is now a key driver of the UK and European economies, and how politicians’ actions can make a real difference to those who make a living through music.

As a first step, I think the Creators’ Conference was an incredible success.

Indeed, fast-forward three months, and, in addition to songwriter/composer and musician representative bodies (BASCA, and the Musicians’ Union) in the shape of the Featured Artists Coalition there is now an organisation established specifically to provide a voice for contracted artists

As a member of FAC’s steering group, Kate, along with the likes of Billy Bragg, Dave Rowntree and Ed O’Brien has been a key figure in the new organisation’s creation, and this podcast builds on a conversation first initiated with Andy back in December.

I think it is vital, welcome and overdue dialogue. And one that UK Music will do all it can to facilitate and develop in the months and years ahead.

Edelman Trust Barometer 2009: trust in media brands declines

Nick | 27 Jan 2009, 14:34

As the world’s business and political leaders, campaigners and members of the media descend on Davos, the Financial Times reported today that trust in business is at its lowest level for ten years, with trust at a record low for media brands.

This is the conclusion of the 10th edition of the Edelman Trust Barometer, a survey of almost 4,500 “opinion leaders” across 20 countries that aims to measure the credibility of groups ranging from non-governmental organisations to stock market analysts.

Amongst “informed publics” of well educated, highly-paid and engaged 25-64 year, almost two-thirds - 62 per cent - said they trusted companies less this year than last. In the US and Japan, two of the world’s most important economies, more than 75 per cent had lost faith in business in the past 12 months. In the US, just 38 per cent now say they trust business - down 20 percentage points on the 2008 result to its lowest level since the poll began.

After a year that has seen the near collapse of the international financial system and the slide into a global economic recession, these findings may come as little surprise. But according to the report’s authors, what makes this year so different is that these factors have impacted trust across the board: “In previous years, when one category went up, another went down. Here, everybody’s down.“

Speaking at the launch of the study, FT Lex column writer, John Paul Rathbone described the findings as particularly challenging for media companies, with many struggling to adapt their business models and now suffering a collapse in trust. 

However, the research also indicated that “brand reputation” has never been more important for business - a trend which represents an opportunity for creative businesses working with big brands. This is an opportunity which extends beyond fields such as advertising and marketing to film, television and music which all have a role to play in influencing brand trust: “Traditionally, companies polished their reputation by talking to regulators, investors and the mainstream media. Today, there’s a need to talk to employees, NGOs and the most activist consumers. There’s a new set of influencers,“ according to Richard Edelman, president and CEO, Edelman.

Edelman works on behalf of the C&binet project.

The Creative Economy and Cities

Nick | 19 Jan 2009, 13:04

US author Richard Florida has challenged Thomas Friedman’s “flat earth” model with his book “Who’s Your City?“, which suggests that globalisation has created a spiky world, where economic activity is focused in cities, driven by the emergence of “the creative class.“

Although Florida’s definition of the “creative class” is broader than c&binet’s it does embrace many of the same areas including “higher-level economic activities such as innovation, design, finance, and media.“

The tendency for and means by which creative industries cluster are the key issues which independent consultancy Creative Clusters“ has been established to understand.  As Director Simon Evans writes:

“Content-creators must be quick to respond to changes in fashion and technology. Their assets are invisible and volatile: reputation, skills and brands. They operate in global niche markets. They evolve by getting better rather than by getting bigger. Key players are rewarded by lifestyle and reputation as much as by money. A good deal of their critical infrastructure is external to the firm.“

But not only do the creative industries tend to cluster in major cities, they also help to attract other other businesses to locate near them.Studies of city competitiveness by the likes of Jones Lang LaSalle and PwC regularly consider quality of life factors, such as access to cultural and entertainment activities as a key measure of a city’s appeal for inward investment.

PwC’s report Cities of Opportunities argues that the conditions for a city’s successful growth as an innovation hub are changing:

“At the beginning of the 20th century, conventional indicators such as port capacity and manufacturing capabilities would have been used to define cities of opportunity. While still significant, such indicators have given way in the 21st century to technological factors such as broadband availability and telecom infrastructure and to cultural characteristics such as diversity.“

And as Business Week notes, rising levels of mobility in the developed and developing world, means that building successful cities will hold the key to future economic and social development and therefore the creative economy will play a vital role:

“More people are on the move than ever: According to the U.S. Census Bureau, over 40 million Americans relocate every year, and the average citizen moves once every seven years. The well-being of such people, says Florida, is as dependent on a choice of destination as it is on a choice of a spouse or profession… folks still congregate in certain areas “because of the powerful productivity advantages, economies of scale, and knowledge spillovers such density brings,“ he says. In this “spiky” world, the tallest points are innovation hubs. These include the areas around Seoul and San Francisco, which generate the most patents; “mega-regions” such as the “Bos-Wash” corridor, including Boston, New York, and Washington, which generates $2.2 trillion in output; and the region from Osaka to Nagasaki, which generates $1.4 trillion.“

So what do the creative industries need from cities, how can clusters be grown and how do city authorities maximise the value of those clusters to enhance both quality of life and business competitiveness?  These are key questions for c&binet.