Creative Industries: An Introduction

You might hear lots of people talk about the ‘Creative Industries’ but what exactly are they? The Creative Industries are:

‘Industries 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.1

The Creative Industries are a hugely important part of the UK economy, and in Scotland alone, the Creative Industries make up 7% of all jobs in the country.2

Within the Creative Industries there are 16 different areas made up of3:

  1. Advertising and marketing
  2. Architecture
  3. Crafts
  4. Visual Art
  5. Fashion and Textiles
  6. Design
  7. Performing Arts 
  8. Music
  9. Photography
  10. Film and Video
  11. Computer Games
  12. Radio and TV
  13. Writing and Publishing
  14. Heritage
  15. Software/Electronic Publishing
  16. Cultural Education

Here at WACI (Widening Access to the Creative Industries), we concentrate on training and education in the Creative Industries under the areas that cover Performance and Production Arts. At the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland these come under the banner of:

  1. Dance (Contermporary Dance, Modern Ballet)
  2. Drama (Acting, Contemporary Modern Practice, Musical Theatre)
  3. Film (Filmmaking)
  4. Music (Performance, Sound Production, Teaching and Research)
  5. Production (Production Arts and Design, Production Technology and Management)

Sources:

  1. DCMS Sectors Economic Estimates (2016)
  2. CIC: UK Creative Industries Value (2016)
  3. Creative Scotland: What Are The Creative Industries (2016/7)