Harmonizing Regulatory Structures and Providing an Enabling Environment

Cultural and creative sectors and industries are a significant source of jobs and income. They are a driver of innovation and creative skills, within cultural sectors and beyond. They also have significant social impacts, from supporting health and well-being, to promoting social inclusion and local social capital. As national and local governments reconsider growth models in the wake of COVID-19, cultural and creative sectors can be a tool for a resilient recovery if certain longer-term challenges in the sector are addressed.

This book describes the forms of copyright-based transactions and contractual practices that together form what could loosely be described as an international standard. It can be observed in countries where film and audiovisual production industries have reached a certain level of maturity in terms of legal, financing and distribution infrastructures.

The work of Europe's creative industry professionals is not only relevant from an economic perspective. It is also important for the promotion of Europe’s diverse cultural identity and European values including equality, democracy and sustainable development.

This report explores trends, challenges and responses that affect the cultural value chain and its main actors; it also acknowledges the need to develop well-calibrated strategies that place people at the centre of our thinking and consider the whole cultural ecosystem. It identifies a recurring set of themes that could inform how public agencies – in different contexts worldwide, with varied opportunities, challenges and barriers – might approach supporting culture in the digital age.

Many countries around the world have large populations of impoverished people and high unemployment rates. In order to improve conditions in these countries, national governments must develop effective economic growth strategies with strengthening the creative industries at the forefront. The international community is only just beginning to recognize the socioeconomic potential of creative and cultural industries (CCIs), such as film, fashion, and music.

The cultural and creative sectors were among the hardest hit by the pandemic, with over 10 million jobs lost in 2020 alone. Public investment in culture has been declining over the last decade and creative professions remain overall unstable and underregulated. Although culture and entertainment are major employers of women (48.1%), gender equality is a distant prospect.

Statistical data confirm the continued rise in the contribution of culture and art to the economy and employment in the EU and worldwide. The number of cultural professionals and artists is growing steadily, while their employment conditions become more and more unstable. This situation spreads to other sectors and needs to be addressed both in terms of social security and benefits, and revenues and taxation aspects. The EU competence in cultural, social and employment policies is limited, consisting of guidance and coordination without any possibility of harmonisation.

This report outlines trends in the world trade of creative goods and, for the first time, services by country for the period 2005 to 2014, and provides an outlook on the global creative economy for the period 2002 to 2015.

Before the pandemic, the creative economy was growing rapidly and generating new jobs in every region of the world, predicted to account up to 10 per cent of global GDP by 2030. The crisis has brought this exceptional growth to a standstill, exposing the fragility of a sector dominated by micro-businesses, informal work practices and few tangible assets. Lockdowns have also highlighted the importance of cultural and creative activity in maintaining individual well-being and community resilience.