Creative industries beyond COVID-19

Abstract

Oxford Economics, 'a commercial venture with Oxford University's business college' projects a $US92.7 billion decline in revenue for the Creative Industries in the United Kingdom in 2020 (over 2019 revenue) as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. 1 As with anything concerning COVID-19, this number is staggering. Project these decreases in revenue globally and the impact of COVID-19 on the creative industries is almost beyond comprehension. Of course, the pandemic's impact on human life goes well beyond industrial revenues. Acknowledging any discussion of COVID-19 begins with thoughts for those who have lost their lives, as lock downs continue, and as the race for a vaccine enters its sixth month, we might ponder what the creative industries might look like post-COVID-19, and even what strengths there are in the sector that might assist as we move beyond the pandemic. Without doubt, the creative industries sector (replete with its numerous sub-sectors) is varied, and therefore has not one set of strengths and one set of weaknesses but collections of these. A good proportion of the sector has been dependent on audiencesin spaces, places and experiences that involve physical proximity. But not all the sector has relied on this. Much of the sector involves entertainment where producers of that entertainment (actors, musicians, dancers) have most often interacted closely with each other. But not all the sector has relied on this. Some of the sector involves experiences where close proximity to and display of the creative results is core to success (fashion designers, architects, visual and material artists). But not all of the sector has relied on this. And so on … As with every economic sector involving peopleand there are relatively few that do notthe creative industries will emerge from COVID-19 impacted upon in so many ways, and it would be trite to suggest that an enhanced ability to be creative, to invent and to imagine, will make the CI sector more resilient than others. When we list those sub-sectors of CI that rely on audiences, entertainment and experiences where people, together, doing things is core, we see both a preponderance impacted upon considerably and variation where some sub-sectors of CI are not as obviously directly affected. The question of what strengths across the sector might come to the fore will be pressing, as we rebuild, reestablish and most likely evolve in the post-COVID-19. With that in mind, we could take the sector's strengths to be these: Strong investment in technologies that allow for and support 'remote' delivery of CI products and services, and often involve leading applications of such technological tools; A workforce that varies from the 'craft' worker, the sole creator, to large corporations but a great many of the workforce being capable of innovation, encouraged to do it, and regularly in pursuit of it, within their daily working lives; Integration with lifestyle choices that make the CI sector popular with consumers, whether as relief from situations where detachment from da...

The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the creative industries: A literature review and future research agenda

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Sociocultural Practice in the Discourse of Creative Industries Development

“…This support stems from the fact that "shared values (global) and those of the creative industry sector related to emotional life, innovation, technological tools, and evolutionary change are not only industry values, but also strongly state what it means to be human." (Harper, 2020).…”

Assessment of the State of the Entertainment Services Market Under Covid-19 Restrictive Measures

“…The global entertainment industry has accumulated billions of dollars, which is why it is rightfully considered one of the most important parts of the economy of many countries, including: concert halls, casinos, cinemas, parks, amusement rides, nightclubs, Internet cafes, water parks and go-karts, cultural companies (libraries, museums, exhibitions) (Gnezdova et al, 2022). During the pandemic, many entrepreneurs began to implement a new business model, which can be roughly interpreted as follows: "If you used to go to the park to spend your leisure time, now the park comes to you" (Harper, 2020;Kubiczek and Derej, 2021). Notably, in the new conditions, the segment of live events had to adapt to the "digitising" world in a short period.…”