The connected world we now live in has seen technology take up widely and deeply in our society in a way that generations before could not imagine. From satellite and cable television, through to smartphones, tablets, superfast broadband, 3G and now 4G mobile connections, the availability of devices and services has been provided at prices where technology is no longer the preserve of the wealthy.
The smartphone and tablet revolution is seen on every commuter train with people catching up on television programmes and listening to music on the go. Wireless in-house devices can stream services from an infinite number of services online and TVs can flip from terrestrial transmission to YouTube video through a smartphone-controlled app.
Government policy under the coalition from broadband subsidies to Tech City investment has focused on the technology industries, yet these technologies have one thing in common – it is creative content that is driving their adoption and widespread use. The driver of superfast broadband is the desire for moving images and sound in large files downloaded instantaneously, across the entire family in the home. Technology has been developing at eye-watering speed but the base material is the same – music, film, television, games and books.
Those four categories of content also have something else in common, which is that the UK is a world leader in each of them. The UK is the: largest producer of TV & radio content in Europe; the largest producer of recorded music in Europe and the second largest in the world; the third largest filmed entertainment market globally; and the largest publishing industry in Europe.
Our content industries are the envy of the world. Last year, musicians from our small island were responsible for one in seven of the albums sold in the world. Which is why, when looking at growth, we should examine how we make sure that when people around the world buy content, they buy UK content. According to BIS figures, the creative industries are the UK’s third biggest export industry by value, behind advanced engineering and financial services.
Technology and the creative sector have always been complementary. From the invention of the gramophone to the development of the Google search engine, the reason for both was to make content more accessible. Without a piece of content to find, there would be no need to type search terms into the engine.
A growth vision for the UK would recognise this connection. It would also understand the need to support investment in successful content industries – by ensuring that the copyright framework is conducive to licensing. A UK that is the European, or even global, hub for licensing of rights would be a UK that attracts technology companies who want to license content and develop new ways of accessing technology. The UK is already ahead on digital – for instance, there are more legal digital music services in the UK than any other country in the world.
Growth in the value of intellectual property has outpaced worldwide GDP growth. This makes intuitive sense – intangible trade and the demand for content is part of the benefit of development of new, rapidly expanding economies such as China and Brazil. As people get wealthier, they can spend more of their income on content and the UK is strongly placed to capitalise on those new markets.
Another benefit to the economy of the creative industries is that they are labour-intensive, certainly compared to the technology sector, and those jobs cannot be competed away by production lines in Asia. Employment in the arts, entertainment and leisure sectors of the economy grew by 6.2 per cent in 2010, against an overall increase of employment in the economy of 0.1 per cent.
Policy to achieve growth in the creative sector and related technologies is not complicated to deliver. It requires a copyright framework that gives good returns to investors and an enforcement regime that protects rights against illegal distribution. This government has so far failed on both counts – through ill-conceived drives to water down copyright to allow its use without payment, alongside a disappointing lack of progress on the Digital Economy Act or on blocking of illegal sites. By turning its back on the creative industries, this Government has turned its back on our globally successful creative talent. A more business-focused government would understand that growth, jobs and UK tax revenues would all benefit by encouraging new creative investment and ensuring a legal market for content.
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Geoff Taylor is chief executive of the British Phonographic Institute
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This article is part of a series we are running on Labour’s relationship with business and how we create growth, to coincide with our event on Tuesday: ‘Going for growth: How can Britain pay its way in the coming decade?’ with Chuka Umunna MP, Paul Drayson and Joe Greenwell. Follow the series here.
If you would like to attend the event, please email [email protected]
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