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Culture Secretary Ben Bradshaw live webchat on the changing face of the UK’s creative industries

Andrew | 30 Sep 2009, 11:28

C&binet comment: Ben Bradshaw, Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport

The creative economy is the subject of the next webchat to be hosted on the Number 10 website, and I’ll be answering questions live between 3 and 4pm next Monday afternoon (5th October).

The c&binet community are, of course, very welcome to submit questions – the Number 10 webchat is open to everyone – or you can do so through this blog. It’s vital we have the debate in full swing before we even start the first sessions of the c&binet forum event in just a few weeks time.  I see the Number 10 webchat as a particular chance to get a feel for the issues that are front of mind for a digital-savvy general public audience – whether that’s the future of the BBC, unlawful filesharing, local news or creative jobs. Whichever directions the questions come from, they will be a welcome part of the build up to the c&binet forum.

Videogames outperform Hollywood movies as talent and opportunities converge

Valerie | 30 Sep 2009, 07:55

An article in last weekend’s Observer provides a thought provoking reminder of how far video games have come from the early cathode ray tube-based games of the 1950s.

As Tom Chatfield explains, the sheer sophistication and modern production values of video games today is staggering. From the British-produced Grand Theft Auto IV which grossed $310m (£157m) to secure the title of the most successful entertainment release in history, to Halo 3, which sold 2m copies worldwide on its day of release and the multiplayer phenomenon of online gaming embodied by the World of Warcraft.

Unsurprising then that last year saw the UK video games industry become the country’s most valuable purchased entertainment market, hitting the $£4bn mark for the first time, overtaking DVD and music sales combined, and taking more than four times cinema box office takings. With advances in technology, games have started to transcend the demographic divide to appeal to a wider audience.

Chatfield argues however that we are yet to see the full economic potential of video games and that they are unlikely to become as ubiquitous as cinema, television and recorded music are today for another half century.

But in the meantime, the medium continues to attract new legions of fans – from television producers, writers and actors to directors, musicians and performance artists. There is certainly much buzz and optimism and the sense of innovation that is continuing to break new ground.

The recently published “50 most influential Britons in Technology’ rankings includes several gaming legends, such as c&binet ambassador and head of Microsoft’s Lionhead Studios Peter Molyneux, Electronic Art’s Peter Moore and brothers Sam and Dan Houser, the creative masterminds behind the Grand Theft auto franchise, who are widely acknowledged as among the most influential figures working in the creative industry today.

But clearly, more can be done to sustain this “melting pot of talents and new ideas”.  Despite growing at a spectacular rate over the past two decades, the recession poses significant challenges for the sector. But with consumer behaviour changing rapidly and as new platforms emerge, what analysts believe could become the dominant media channel over coming years may well hold true.

Creative Industries lead Iceland recovery

Valerie | 25 Sep 2009, 13:55

Iceland’s creative industries are vital to re-building the country’s economy, Iceland’s minister for Industry has told delegates in a welcome address at the country’s You Are In Control conference.

Now in its third year, YAIC explores the latest digital business developments and investment available in music, media and the arts, focusing on new business models, the impact of the digital revolution on in the creative industries and how today’s creatives can work together – all key areas that will be addressed at the c&binet forum next month.

According to the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OLED) Iceland’s economy is set for a slow but nascent recovery early next year. The OLED projects Iceland’s economic contraction at around 7 percent this year and has forecast a 0.8 percent contraction in GDP for 2010.

Having faced its deepest recession in decades and the complete collapse of its banking system, it is welcome news and demonstrates the economic potential of creative industries both in Iceland and in countries such as China and the UK, where creative sectors have become engines for regional economic development.

Iceland has long been famed for its natural beauty and in recent years its unusual landscape has attracted Hollywood movies and seen its profile grow in the international film industry, aided by films such as Stardust, Batman Begins and James Bond: Die Another Day, whilst the achievements of Björk and Sigur Ros have put Iceland firmly on the map of International Music.

Concluding his address, Katrín Júlíusdóttir, the Minister of Industry, Energy and Tourism said:

“We must get the message across that we are more than geysers, volcanos, waterfalls - and now fallen banks. Here you will also find creative people, culture and modern industries.
“... the government hopes (to) join forces with creative industries, the tourist industry and other important players to reshape the way we approach international marketing of Iceland as the source of culture, goods and services, as a destination and as a country to operate and invest in.”

£1m venture capital launch for West Midlands creative businesses

Valerie | 24 Sep 2009, 09:26

C&binet comment: Thomas Dillon, Chairman, Creative Advantage Fund, Birmingham

Today is an exciting day for me as Chairman of Creative Advantage Fund (CAF) with the launch of a new £1 million round of investment in the creative industries of the West Midlands. We support c&binet and see the project as an opportunity not only to communicate with creative business in the digital space, but also to evangelise for the role of public venture capital in the creative sector.

Since it was set up in 2000 –by Birmingham City Council and West Midlands Arts (now part of the Arts Council), with additional moneys from the regional development agency, the European Regional Development Fund and the private sector – CAF has invested over £1.3 million in creative businesses, helping Midlands-based SMEs like Hotbed Media Ltd. and Maverick Television establish themselves among the leading independent TV production companies outside London. Today we are opening up a new fund with up to £1 million being made available to small and medium sized enterprises.

CAF’s objective is to bridge the “equity gap”, addressing market failure in the provision of risk capital to SMEs in the creative sector.  With the support of Birmingham City Council, we are now actively seeking investment opportunities in our region in the range £75,000 to £150,000. Any West Midlands-based creative SME’s with an interest should contact us at enquiries@creativeadvantagefund.co.uk

CAF uses the DCMS definition of creative industries, namely “those activities which have their origin in individual creativity, skill and talent and which have a potential for wealth and job creation through the generation and exploitation of intellectual property”. Past investments have included film, TV, theatre, educational services, toy design and software. We have gathered a great deal of experience in the practicalities of investment in the sector and work sympathetically with creative businesses to help them prepare themselves for investment (so-called “investment readiness”). We usually appoint a non-executive director to the board of the investee company. This director supports and counsels the business, a service which adds value beyond the mere provision of cash.

CAF was born from the idea that those forms of creative activity that express themselves through business are best supported by shared risk-taking, not grant-giving. Venture capital is a long-term game, but our experience is that public venture capital is an effective and low-cost method of supporting innovation. We are looking forward with excitement to finding and supporting a new generation of creative entrepreneurs in the West Midlands.

With access to finance a key theme of next month’s c&binet forum, I will be following the debate closely and will be looking to share what we have learned with CAF whenever possible.

Vodafone rebrand puts the consumer first

Valerie | 22 Sep 2009, 09:33

Vodafone has announced plans to revamp its brand and marketing, part of its biggest shift in brand strategy in four years.

The mobile-phone giant is replacing its “Make the most of now” tag line after four years in favour of “Power to you” as it prepares to launch a suite of new services to capitalise on the growing popularity of the mobile internet, highlighting the increasing shift of power away from brands towards consumer led engagement.

Speaking to the Times, chief executive Vittorio Colao said of the new brand identity:

“It is not the brand talking anymore and telling the customer what to do. It is the customer who will decide. I am trying to steer the whole company in this direction… It really means that Vodafone puts the customer at the centre of what we do.”

Having fallen behind rival O2 and dropping to third place after T-Mobile UK and Orange recently announced their merger, Vodafone’s challenge ahead will be to find new revenue streams in order to capitalise on a new breed of net savvy Smartphone users.

This autumn the company will launch an open platform that lets any developer create and sell software applications that can be downloaded to mobiles, recognising the success Apple has seen selling 65,000 applications from games to travel news more than 1.5 billion times and creating a new revenue stream for handset manufacturers above and beyond the initial sale of a handset.

Indeed, Vodafone has its sights firmly set on monetisation – Colao believes that by becoming a virtual kiosk, the company will be able to charge small amounts for small purchases.

“Every day we charge 1 cent, 2 cents for a text messages billions and billions of times,” he said. “Customers trust us to do it in a proper way. We are secure and we have big customer care operations that can deal with problems if they arise.”

As newspaper publishers try to work out how they can make their business pay in a digital world, it appears that Vodafone may have the answer for now in diversifying and offering new and exciting services to secure that all important customer loyalty.

Augmented reality: reality only better

Valerie | 18 Sep 2009, 08:56

Imagine a world where clouds of information—Facebook statuses, business cards, Twitter posts—float above your head as you walk down the street. It might sound like something straight out of the Matrix but if its plaudits would have it, Augmented Reality is set to transform our lives.

As Business Week and many others have reported, the concept of Augmented Reality, or overlaying the real world with text or images seen via a mobile phone’s camera or a Web cam on a PC, has gained a lot of attention in recent months.

Car manufacturers such as BMW and Toyota have used the technique to show off their latest models, whilst games developers have embedded it in their programming, creating Hidden Park for example, an iPhone app that uses the phone’s camera, accelerometer and GPS to create a fantasy game set in real locations: local parks. With tech companies from IBM to Microsoft and Nokia developing mobile-phone software and services in this space, the hype has continued to gain momentum.

As the Economist points out, AR has in fact, been around for a few years, but with the global release last August of a significantly expanded version of an AR application called Layar - dubbed the world’s first augmented reality browser – the field has been energised by the ability to implement AR using mobile smartphones.

And with virtual reality never really living up to hype, AR is being touted as the next big thing for advertisers, gamers and tech geeks alike.

According to this FT article, with the advertising sector facing cyclical and structural upheavals, advertisers are currently rethinking their business models as they try to keep pace with consumer appetite for digital and social media experimentation.

Unsurprisingly, advertisers are viewing AR as the latest new tool for brands to engage with their consumers, with its endless possibilities for direct, personal interaction.

Ian Pearson, a futurologist with Futurizon envisages an age in which everyone “views the world through the prism of enhanced reality”, which will not only draw on data about the world around us, but also combine this with our personal interests and preferences, enabling advertisers for example to target discounts and offers specifically as part of your personalised, augmented reality.

We have clearly just seen the beginning of what AR apps can do. As the dividing lines between the real and digital worlds continue to blur, its potential will undoubtedly become even more compelling.

AR Apps

E-week’s list of “10 Augmented Reality Apps you need to know about”
Urban friendly AR apps
Marketers pick their favourite AR apps