Culture and Business - The Same Struggle?
European Cultural Diversity and Global Players

Impulse papers by Wolfgang Thierse, Vice-President of the German Bundestag, Berlin and Frits Bolkestein, former Member of the EU Commission, Amsterdam

Subsequent panel debate with Dieter Gorny, Deputy Chairman of the Managing Board of the Bundesverband der Phonographischen Wirtschaft e.V., Berlin; Elisabeth Mayerhofer, projekt manager at music information center austria (mica), Vienna; Andreas Wiesand, Director of ERICarts, Bonn. Moderation: Manuela Casper-Claridge, Deutsche Welle broadcasting company, Berlin

Despite inconsistent definitions, the "creative industries" have become a common catchword in economic and cultural policy debates. The term occasionally even gives the impression of being a new line of "hype" - after all, it is associated with far-reaching expectations regarding changed forms of work and communication in society (as in Richard Florida's concept of a "creative class") and, at the same time, continuing economic growth. Who would not like to wear the "creative" label and be successful at the same time?

The fact that many, totally different things are measured with the same yardstick here, may perhaps only upset those who insist on distinguishing between artistic work and the products of the manufacturers of office software or the creations of the advertising industry. Even more serious is the fact that, in some interpretations of the "creative industries" - e.g. in the Hessian Culture Industry Reports in Germany - the conceptual inclusion of cultural institutions and media offerings with a public mandate for economic reasons casts doubt on a concept of cultural policy that still prevails in Europe and has so far also been defended in global disputes (WTO, etc.). This inevitably leads to the question of whether we will in future have to replace previous ideas regarding cultural policy by "culture industry policy" and, moreover, whether this would then really also be able to give consideration to the interests of the cultural and media institutions with a public mandate, and similarly those of the artists.

However, it is at least equally serious that neither the term "creative industries" nor the associated expectations of economic salvation correspond to reality:
The "industry" label does not fit most of the businesses in the culture industry, not even as a metaphor; they can rather be described as small and very small enterprises ("micro-businesses"). They are normally managed by the proprietors themselves, and the average business size is less than five employees. In terms of jobs, the growth rates in this sector are nowhere near as high as they were in the 1990s. The greatest problem with this structure is undercapitalisation, which impedes or prevents necessary investments in marketing or technical equipment, for example.

The association of the culture and/or creative industry with continuous growth is also misleading. Rather, studies in various European countries show that the respective economic cycles there lead to particularly marked swings - both upwards and downwards (the latter at the start of this decade, for example). The start of a market development is certainly sometimes marked by a vigorous upward trend, as in the case of computer games at the moment, but the end of the boom is foreseeable even there. In some fields, such as the audio media market or film, European companies frequently encounter severe problems owing to the dominance of a small number of global corporations and new distribution structures that are increasingly shifting onto the Internet.

It is indisputable that artistic activities and cultural history profiles are of great importance for the self-image and development of towns and regions, specifically in areas characterised by a ("post-Fordian") decline of traditional industries, but this is in no way solely, and often not even primarily, attributable to the services of private-sector firms or design agencies. Rather, the latter are in - optimally complementary - correlation to the services of public culture and media entities and those of sponsors and educational institutions, or to individual or community initiatives, etc. The link here is above all provided by the artists and other "creative" cultural and media workers, who become active in all these fields and contribute to enriching society by offering innovations and diversity. In this sense, it would perhaps be possible to speak of a "creative sector" that encompasses all players, but leaves them their different goals and role images.

Overview: The "creative sector" - culture and media from the European perspective

Source:    A. J. Wiesand in cooperation with M. Söndermann: "The 'Creative Sector' – An Engine for Diversity, Growth and Jobs in Europe" (2005). Developed from models proposed at the UNESCO Conference "The International Creative Sector" (Austin, 2003), in NRW Culture Industries Reports (1992–2005), etc.

This slowly integrating creative sector is so far still very labour-intensive in Europe: the combined job markets of 31 European countries (EU states, EFTA) add up to over 5 million people. For comparison, the figure in the USA is roughly 2.5 million. The gross sales or budget volume of the creative sector in the common European market can be estimated at roughly € 400 billion (of which roughly 23% are attributable to public bodies, including broadcasting companies). This results in a financial volume comparable to that of the reference sector in the United States.
Consequently, the European Union should also give greater consideration to this sector in its work, and thus to the commitment of many millions of people, cultural initiatives and businesses - it was still omitted in the renewed "Community Lisbon Programme" (July 2005), which is intended to promote "innovations, growth and employment" in the EU. There have in the meantime been faint signs of a change of thinking: the national governments and the EU are indeed called upon to devise new programmes and measures in order to create better conditions for the further development and competitiveness of the creative sector - and also of the culture industry in this context - without harming cultural diversity as a hallmark of Europe and without instrumentalising artists for other purposes. Tasks for the EU consist, for example, in equalising global market distortions and dependences, in giving consideration to cultural potentials when reforming the Structural Funds, in harmonising statutory and social framework conditions for artists, and generally in improving transparency in this complex sector.

Andreas Wiesand