tag:theconversation.com,2011:/us/topics/creative-industries-1656/articlesCreative industries – The Conversation2024-01-18T16:49:12Ztag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2204262024-01-18T16:49:12Z2024-01-18T16:49:12ZReplacing shipbuilding with creative industries won’t be without risk for Northern Ireland’s economy<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/569539/original/file-20240116-17-g3kwfn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=62%2C0%2C5928%2C3988&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Ruins of Dunluce Castle, a location familiar to fans of Game of Thrones.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/sunset-ruins-dunluce-castle-located-on-2054023973">Dawid K Photography/Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>If you’ve ever <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2014/may/11/tv-noir-finds-new-home-in-northern-ireland">watched</a> <a href="https://discovernorthernireland.com/things-to-do/game-of-thrones-studio-tour-p770571">Game of Thrones</a>, The Fall, or <a href="https://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/life/features/whats-the-word-on-the-street-about-line-of-duty/37964730.html">Line of Duty</a>, you’ve already witnessed Northern Ireland’s growing role in the global film and TV industry. But its popularity as a location for film shoots is only one part of a growing role within the creative industries sector. </p>
<p>The launch of a £72 million film-making complex in Belfast this year, <a href="https://www.studioulster.com">Studio Ulster</a>, is another big step towards the region’s aim to become a creative industries hub. The new studios will offer virtual production, alongside traditional facilities for film, animation, video games and broadcasting. </p>
<p><a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/creative-industries-sector-vision/creative-industries-sector-vision-a-joint-plan-to-drive-growth-build-talent-and-develop-skills#:%7E:text=By%202030%20we%20want%20to,and%20create%20pride%20in%20place">The idea</a> is to give an extra boost to the burgeoning Northern Irish film and TV industry, which has already contributed <a href="https://news.sky.com/story/100m-studio-makes-belfast-global-hub-for-virtual-production-13022657">£330 million</a> to the region’s economy over the past five years. Studio Ulster is part of a £50 billion <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-northern-ireland-65916027">expansion plan</a> which aims to make Northern Ireland a modern hub of creative industries for local, regional and international co-productions. </p>
<p>So, could modern day creatives replace the shipbuilders that made Belfast the <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-northern-ireland-49234995">home of ocean liners</a> in the early 20th century? </p>
<h2>Virtual production</h2>
<p>Developed by <a href="https://www.studioulster.com">Ulster University</a> in partnership with Belfast Harbour and Northern Ireland Screen, Studio Ulster boasts of links with higher education institutions and regional industry partners. It promises to use research, education and economic growth to create much needed new jobs while transforming Northern Ireland into a pinnacle of modern film-making. </p>
<p>The studio is being billed primarily as a <a href="https://www.unrealengine.com/en-US/explainers/virtual-production/what-is-virtual-production">virtual production</a> studio, offering a relatively new way of film-making that combines virtual and real-world elements. It will specialise in CGI, augmented reality and motion capture. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Belfast's Titanic Museum, with Titanic Studios located at the rear." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/569083/original/file-20240112-21-575fwr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C5171%2C3442&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/569083/original/file-20240112-21-575fwr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/569083/original/file-20240112-21-575fwr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/569083/original/file-20240112-21-575fwr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/569083/original/file-20240112-21-575fwr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/569083/original/file-20240112-21-575fwr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/569083/original/file-20240112-21-575fwr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Belfast’s Titanic Museum commemorates the city’s role as a shipbuilding hub. It’s also home to Titanic Studios, pictured here behind the museum.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/belfast-northern-ireland-july-14-2018-1392116375">OldskoolDesign/Shutterstock</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>But relying so heavily on virtual production could be a risky move. Investing in new technologies brings great potential for success but also for failure. It’s always difficult to predict which way a new technology will go. </p>
<p>Virtual production is complex – in its current stage of development – not without <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/375074005_VIRTUAL_PRODUCTION_INTERACTIVE_AND_REAL-TIME_TECHNOLOGY_FOR_FILMMAKERS">flaws and limitations</a>. For example, although the integration of the LED panel backgrounds and studio environment allows for unlimited types of environments, it restricts the scope for filming movement. In other words, actors can’t walk long distances in one shot without a cut, which can be frustrating for film-makers. </p>
<p>The emergence and rapid development of AI could also see virtual production replaced with an entirely new technology, making such expensive facilities unnecessary. There is always a danger that it could become another cinematic misstep – <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/315301297_Why_Did_the_3D_Revolution_Fail_The_Present_and_Future_of_Stereoscopy_Commentary">like 3D cinema</a>.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Long shot of dark hedges with people walking along the road." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/569076/original/file-20240112-25-q4k8cu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=8%2C8%2C5982%2C3979&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/569076/original/file-20240112-25-q4k8cu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/569076/original/file-20240112-25-q4k8cu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/569076/original/file-20240112-25-q4k8cu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/569076/original/file-20240112-25-q4k8cu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/569076/original/file-20240112-25-q4k8cu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/569076/original/file-20240112-25-q4k8cu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Locations like the Dark Hedges in Country Antrim already attract tourists and filmmakers alike to NI.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/dark-hedges-antrim-northern-ireland-aug-2052506714">Dawid K Photography/Shutterstock</a></span>
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<p>Then there is the risk of an expensive new studio just not being used enough. Studio Ulster needs to avoid meeting the same fate as the City of Lights, a state-of-the-art film studio in Alicante, Spain, that was <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/feb/13/alicantes-ciudad-de-la-luz-film-studio-sell-off-draws-hollywood-big-guns">subsequently abandoned</a>. </p>
<p>Once the most modern film studio in Europe, it was praised by the Hollywood director Ridley Scott, and hosted Game of Thrones and Black Mirror productions before it was forced to shut by the EU on grounds of unfair competition. A decade later, the owners now hope to <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/jul/06/spain-ciudad-de-la-luz-film-studios-reopen-valencia">reopen it</a>, but after all this time, it will not be the brand new modern studio it once was.</p>
<h2>Another Titanic?</h2>
<p>But it’s not all about the facilities and the technology. The human talent – the producers, the camera operators, the editors, the lighting experts – have already been hard at work in Northern Ireland. Hopefully, with the latest project’s educational and research links, and planned international collaborations, they will remain, bringing optimism and job opportunities. </p>
<p>With the Irish film industry booming – the short film <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T0YVueR5ho0">An Irish Goodbye</a> won an Oscar in 2022 – Studio Ulster will be hoping to build on this momentum to cement the status of the film industry in this part of the world.</p>
<p>It certainly has a bold vision. As well as turning Northern Ireland into a promised land for contemporary film-making, it wants to boost the economy, enrich lives and strengthen the UK’s global image as a film and television hub. </p>
<p>But relying on virtual production could turn out to be a gamble. We’ll have to wait and see whether the project becomes a heart-warming economic success story – or end up as an expensive and ill-fated launch that reminds locals of the most famous of Belfast-built ships, the Titanic.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/220426/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Agata Lulkowska does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Could filmmaking become the new shipbuilding for Northern Ireland?Agata Lulkowska, Senior Lecturer in Film Directing and Producing, Staffordshire UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2140262023-09-26T10:59:51Z2023-09-26T10:59:51Z‘You have to be everybody’s best friend’: how dreams and desires leave TV and film crew vulnerable to workplace exploitation<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/550047/original/file-20230925-19-cig4tr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C4256%2C2331&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/behind-scene-film-crew-studio-montage-1132607975">guruXOX/Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>A <a href="https://www.channel4.com/programmes/russell-brand-in-plain-sight-dispatches">recent investigation</a> by UK media outlets has uncovered a number of sexual assault allegations against Russell Brand, a comedian and TV presenter. Brand has <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=psFiwFI_VQo">denied the accusations</a>, however this is a timely reminder of the urgent need to challenge and address power asymmetries – not just between men and women, but within workplaces, and particularly across the creative industries.</p>
<p>People may work for little or no money, often for experience or exposure – typically in the hope that future opportunities may follow. We call this “<a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/0018726720940777">hope labour</a>”. This phenomenon is widespread, especially among those in the earlier stages of their working lives.</p>
<p>Hope labour is distinct from free labour because the work is discounted against imagined future opportunities or earnings. But our research shows it also creates a power imbalance: in hoping to gain experience or make connections in your chosen industry, you might be so eager to get a foothold that you leave yourself open to exploitation in terms of working hours, pay and conditions.</p>
<p>In the creative industries, hope labour is widely understood as a necessary pre-condition to paid work. There is a need for people to “prove that they deserve to earn their living”, as <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/0018726720940777">one person told us</a> when we spoke about their experiences in the creative industries. This is how exploitative labour and working conditions become the responsibility of the hope labourer.</p>
<p>This form of self-exploitation is often understood as a rite of passage, or an obligation, even if it has a wider negative effect on the labour market. By working for free or at reduced rates, hope labourers downgrade the value of labour in the very sectors they wish to work in. They effectively become the gravediggers of their own and their peers’ careers.</p>
<p>And hope labour is only possible in certain settings. Creative and cultural jobs are often characterised by self-employment, uncertainty, project-based work, long hours, inequality and competition for scant opportunities. The resulting risks – not getting enough work to pay your bills – are transferred to workers, while employers are freed from the costs involved in standard employment. </p>
<h2>The rise of freelancers</h2>
<p>Work in <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/00187267211062863">TV and film</a> has transformed over the last 30 years. Freelancers make up <a href="https://www.ofcom.org.uk/__data/assets/pdf_file/0025/166804/diversity-in-tv-2019-freelancers.pdf">over a third</a> of broadcasters’ workforces, although many previously worked in-house. </p>
<p>Recruitment and vetting for freelance teams are often managed through informal social networks. Commissioning editors use their connections to build their teams. </p>
<p>And commissions are given to independent production companies, which can reduce, if not absolve, broadcasters from the legal responsibility for hiring labour and managing production. </p>
<p>People, therefore, see social networks as important gateways to work that ought to be extended and nurtured. To gain access to these groups, undertaking unpaid or under-compensated work in the creative industries can be considered a necessity – or even an opportunity – rather than a hindrance. </p>
<p>This leaves hope labourers both keen but also at risk of exploitation. They need to build experience, reputation, exposure, or simply maintain access to work opportunities. </p>
<p>Our research also shows that being passionate about your art or work can help to downplay the severity of these risks and unequal power relations. It creates a “<a href="https://www.dukeupress.edu/cruel-optimism">cruel optimism</a>” that you can turn experiences of uncertainty and vulnerability into future security. In this way, work isn’t simply about earning, it’s a way to build reputation, gain creative freedom or fulfilment, and learn or enhance skills. </p>
<h2>Getting a reputation</h2>
<p>Reputations are important and travel widely in the creative industries, especially if you can keep your cool during tricky shoots or moments of stress. One freelance artist and curator that we spoke to during our study of <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/0018726720940777">hope labour</a> among creative freelancers, admitted:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>there’s a trap that people fall into. I’m going to sound like a psychopath here, but that you have to be really nice with everybody all the time and that you have to be everybody’s best friend … People are trying to extract value from your time and they’ll keep taking that value if you keep giving them it as well. So you have to be careful with that.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>This is how the exploitation of hopes and desires in creative work and employment creates persistent power asymmetries. When your working life is governed by anxiety and insecurity about your next contract, project or job, you might be unwilling to speak out for fear of reputational damage or reprisal. And the <a href="https://manchesteruniversitypress.co.uk/9781526144164/">precarious working conditions in creative industries</a> provide few safe spaces for dialogue and critique, rebuke and reform. </p>
<p>This leaves people open to witnessing or even being subject to the kinds of situations that have been alleged by the joint investigation into Brand. Production staff interviewed by Dispatches <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/sep/18/first-edition-russell-brand#:%7E:text=Production%20staff%20on%20the%20programme,Brand's%20needs%2C%E2%80%9D%20they%20said.:%7E:text=%E2%80%98We%20were%20basically%20acting%20like%20pimps%20to%20Russell%20Brand%E2%80%99s%20needs%E2%80%99">talked about</a> “acting like pimps to Russell Brand’s needs”, hinting at a reluctance to upset the “talent”.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Russell Brand." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/550049/original/file-20230925-25-anm63a.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/550049/original/file-20230925-25-anm63a.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/550049/original/file-20230925-25-anm63a.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/550049/original/file-20230925-25-anm63a.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/550049/original/file-20230925-25-anm63a.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/550049/original/file-20230925-25-anm63a.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/550049/original/file-20230925-25-anm63a.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">Russell Brand has denied recent allegations but recent media coverage has highlighted concerns about power imbalances in many workplaces in the creative industries.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/london-oct-11-russell-brand-despicable-63047002">Chris Harvey/Shutterstock</a></span>
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<p>In the wake of the reporting, Philippa Childs, head of UK media and entertainment union Bectu, <a href="https://members.bectu.org.uk/advice-resources/library/3155">told broadcasters</a>: “In a sector where power imbalances are particularly extreme and the environment for junior freelancers can be incredibly precarious, it’s critical that victims can have confidence that their complaints will be taken seriously, investigated thoroughly, dealt with swiftly, and perpetrators held to account.”</p>
<p>The recently formed <a href="https://ciisa.org.uk/">Creative Industries Independent Standards Agency (CIISA)</a> offers the beginnings of an independent body for raising concerns about poor behaviour, workplace safety, and advice and protections. This could provide a way to challenge the disproportionate effects of a deregulated labour market on these freelancers. </p>
<p>If so, desires and hopes could be directed towards helping creative workers critique the way their industries are governed and managed. Hope, in this sense, would point to a different future that could be about fairness, equity and safety for all.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/214026/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>‘Hope labour’ leaves people working in creative industries open to exploitation as they try to develop their careers.Ewan Mackenzie, Lecturer in Work and Employment, Newcastle UniversityAlan Mckinlay, Professor of Human Resource Management, Newcastle UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2002632023-02-23T03:33:18Z2023-02-23T03:33:18ZThe huge fandoms of stars like Harry Styles are underestimated – but these highly creative communities can teach young people useful skills<p>This week, Harry Styles finally kicked off the Australian leg of his much anticipated tour. Fans have been preparing for months, creating <a href="https://www.smh.com.au/lifestyle/fashion/bigger-than-a-formal-why-fans-spend-months-on-diy-harry-styles-concert-outfits-20230202-p5chig.html">handmade outfits</a> and learning the “boot scoot” – <a href="https://www.tiktok.com/@taylorxcx/video/7144099140715171115?lang=en">a dance associated on tour</a> with Styles’ song Treat People With Kindness.</p>
<p>As <a href="https://theconversation.com/the-rise-and-rise-of-harry-styles-how-did-the-former-boyband-member-become-the-biggest-name-in-pop-183128">one of the world’s biggest pop stars</a>, the ex-One Direction singer has amassed millions of fans, referred to as “Harries”. </p>
<p>You’d be hard pressed to find an article about Styles that doesn’t mention his fans. </p>
<p>They’ve sold out shows in minutes, taken over TikTok trends and <a href="https://www.news.com.au/entertainment/music/tours/fans-wait-in-scorching-temperatures-for-harry-styles/news-story/35fa50dce881986ee17895a634b0cea9">camped outside venues</a>. They’re also a highly creative bunch of young people, using their fandom to learn new skills that will carry them forward in many aspects of their lives.</p>
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<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/thats-what-makes-them-beautiful-why-one-direction-fans-are-smarter-than-you-17186">That’s what makes them beautiful: why One Direction fans are smarter than you</a>
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<h2>Fan creativity</h2>
<p>Fandoms can be spaces where <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/0031721718762416">young people develop</a> important transferable creative skills. Fans are mastering video-editing skills to remix existing footage into fan edits, learning coding and web design to customise fan sites, and creating <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/1367877909337857">organised marketing campaigns</a> to promote their idols’ music and help them win awards. </p>
<p>My research shows these skills have positive flow-on effects into other areas of fans’ lives, including their careers. </p>
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<p><iframe id="tc-infographic-813" class="tc-infographic" height="400px" src="https://cdn.theconversation.com/infographics/813/9fbbfc279f4a66adf251478203392fc07db17ff6/site/index.html" width="100%" style="border: none" frameborder="0"></iframe></p>
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<p>The <a href="https://doi.org/10.4324/9780203114339">relationship between creativity and fandom</a> isn’t new. Fan productivity has been a central focus of <a href="https://doi.org/10.4324/9780203181539">fan studies research</a> since the early 1990s, and there have been great case studies on fans of <a href="https://www.bloomsbury.com/au/womens-history-of-the-beatles-9781501348051/">The Beatles</a>, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/1749975517700774">hardcore music</a> and <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/2059436420954588">K-pop</a>, just to name a few. </p>
<p>Today, the rise of social media platforms means fan creativity is being showcased <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20180422112254id_/http://www.participations.org/Volume%2010/Issue%201/9%20Hills%2010.1.pdf">to a much wider audience</a>. </p>
<p>Fans create and circulate user-generated content, such as fan fiction, video edits or graphics, often referred to as “fan-art”. </p>
<p>Spend some time on TikTok and you’ll see intricate <a href="https://vt.tiktok.com/ZS8mWoNbW/">cookie designs</a>, <a href="https://vt.tiktok.com/ZS8m72Dqe/">ceramics</a> and <a href="https://vt.tiktok.com/ZS8m7vRsR/">tour outfit illustrations</a> all inspired by Styles. </p>
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<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/what-is-a-shoey-and-why-did-harry-styles-do-one-on-stage-in-australia-200342">What is a 'shoey' and why did Harry Styles do one on stage in Australia?</a>
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<h2>Fashion, fiction and finding deeper meaning</h2>
<p>A fandom is essentially a group of like-minded people coming together over a shared interest. Being part of a music fandom means there is a captive audience with whom to share your work. Fellow fans provide encouragement, feedback and recognition. </p>
<p>Learning a new skill takes practice. Dedicated fans are spending a significant amount of their spare time interacting in these communities, developing creative skills as they participate. </p>
<p>This community aspect of fandom creates a supportive, <a href="http://doi.org/10.1080/15405700903502346">peer-to-peer</a> learning environment where <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/1354856515579844">expertise is distributed among fans</a>. The shared sense of belonging creates a safe space where fans feel comfortable to experiment with their work.</p>
<p><div data-react-class="InstagramEmbed" data-react-props="{"url":"https://www.instagram.com/p/Cmr3D8kyiGJ/?igshid=MDJmNzVkMjY%3D","accessToken":"127105130696839|b4b75090c9688d81dfd245afe6052f20"}"></div></p>
<p>In my research, I surveyed 63 fans of Styles to get a better idea of just what skills they are learning through their fandom. Their answers included:</p>
<ul>
<li><p><strong>graphic design</strong>. As fans create posters, art and graphics, they’re learning how to use Photoshop and developing their own design style. </p></li>
<li><p><strong>sewing</strong>. Inspired by Styles’ own love of fashion, it’s become customary to dress up for Love On Tour. His New York show actually caused a shortage of feather boas <a href="https://nypost.com/2022/09/07/harry-styles-love-on-tour-at-msg-sparks-feather-boa-shortage/">across the city</a> after Styles wore one on stage. Fans have been designing their own merchandise, and learning how to sew by observing other fans.</p></li>
</ul>
<hr>
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<hr>
<ul>
<li><p><strong>writing.</strong> Engaging in fan fiction communities can help fans <a href="https://doi.org/10.2304/elea.2014.11.6.619">develop important literary skills</a> through writing, reading, collaborating and critiquing texts. On the popular fan fiction site <a href="https://www.wattpad.com/search/harry%20styles">Wattpad</a>, there are more than 270,000 stories under the tag “Harry Styles”, some which have attracted millions of readers.</p></li>
<li><p><strong>close reading.</strong> By analysing lyrics and music videos, fans are developing close reading strategies, seeking out small details and extracting meanings. </p></li>
<li><p><strong>digital literacy.</strong> Fans <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/277597873_Everything_I_Need_To_Know_I_Learned_from_Fandom_How_Existing_Social_Norms_Can_Help_Shape_the_Next_Generation_of_User-Generated_Content">have been recognised</a> as early adopters of the internet. Their ability to jump onto new platforms <a href="https://blogs.city.ac.uk/ludiprice/2021/02/19/fan-literacy-on-my-conversation-with-dr-matt-finch/">has been referred to as</a> “fan literacy”. By observing trends and seeing what’s popular, fans are learning how to create engaging content across social media platforms. </p></li>
</ul>
<p><div data-react-class="InstagramEmbed" data-react-props="{"url":"https://www.instagram.com/p/CkZ8I7HroFF/?igshid=MDJmNzVkMjY%3D","accessToken":"127105130696839|b4b75090c9688d81dfd245afe6052f20"}"></div></p>
<h2>Participation potential</h2>
<p>Realising their capabilities and potential, and gaining confidence in their own abilities flowed into other aspects of the fans’ lives. The accumulation of these skills was helpful in preparing them for the workplace.</p>
<p>As one Styles fan explained: </p>
<blockquote>
<p>It taught me how to create engaging content, how to interact with people on the internet, what looks unprofessional, and also how to do design elements and marketing strategies.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>In my PhD research, I’ve found fan participation can become a stepping stone for aspiring creative professionals. </p>
<p>One Styles fan, who is now working in media design, said:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>By trying out so much in Photoshop for fandom edits, I learnt a lot and was able to express myself and experiment freely. Getting so much encouragement and positive feedback, that kept me so productive.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Fan-made creations can provide a body of creative work fans can include in their portfolio when applying for jobs in the creative industries.</p>
<hr>
<p><iframe id="tc-infographic-815" class="tc-infographic" height="400px" src="https://cdn.theconversation.com/infographics/815/50a122378032d510b247a440b31fe1c6f19ad5bc/site/index.html" width="100%" style="border: none" frameborder="0"></iframe></p>
<hr>
<p>However, these skills can be <a href="https://doi.org/10.1386/jfs.2.1.21_1">overlooked</a> because of <a href="https://doi.org/10.1017/S0261143001001520">gendered views of fan culture</a>. Pop musicians such as Styles have predominantly female audiences, and cultural products associated with girls are <a href="https://researchoutput.csu.edu.au/ws/portalfiles/portal/9677922/PrepubPID12178.pdf">frequently looked down upon</a>. </p>
<p>It’s hard to forget the time <a href="https://www.gq-magazine.co.uk/article/one-direction-gq-covers-interview">GQ Magazine</a> described a typical One Direction fan as a: </p>
<blockquote>
<p>rabid, knicker-wetting banshee who will tear off her own ears in hysterical fervour when presented with the objects of her fascinations. </p>
</blockquote>
<p>Yikes.</p>
<p>These assumptions are limiting the opportunities for fans to leverage their skills. </p>
<h2>From fandom to creative futures</h2>
<p>Pop music fandom is often considered trivial and childish, positioned as a phase fans must grow out of. Because of this, we don’t often consider how being a fan could actually be useful in adult environments, such as the workplace.</p>
<p>While perceptions of female fans are shifting, these overarching stereotypes mean fangirls are often dismissed as obsessive or juvenile. But this is a limited view of their experiences and capabilities. Pop music fans are acquiring valuable skills which can set them up for future success in other areas of their lives. </p>
<p>As Styles said in a <a href="https://www.rollingstone.com/feature/harry-styles-new-direction-119432/">Rolling Stone article</a>: </p>
<blockquote>
<p>How can you say young girls don’t get it? They’re our future.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>It’s time we start taking fans seriously.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/200263/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Kate Pattison does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>The community aspect of music fandom, as exemplified by the vast numbers of Harry Styles’ fans, encourages creative expression.Kate Pattison, PhD Candidate, RMIT UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1939562023-02-02T23:37:25Z2023-02-02T23:37:25ZText-to-audio generation is here. One of the next big AI disruptions could be in the music industry<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/507757/original/file-20230202-23-3thfr7.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C3777%2C2541&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>The past few years have seen an explosion in applications of artificial intelligence to creative fields. A new generation of image and text generators is delivering <a href="https://theconversation.com/ai-art-is-everywhere-right-now-even-experts-dont-know-what-it-will-mean-189800">impressive</a> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2020/sep/08/robot-wrote-this-article-gpt-3">results</a>. Now AI has also found applications in music, too.</p>
<p>Last week, a group of researchers at Google <a href="https://google-research.github.io/seanet/musiclm/examples/">released MusicLM</a> – an AI-based music generator that can convert text prompts into audio segments. It’s another example of the rapid pace of innovation in an incredible few years for creative AI.</p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1620232090066497536"}"></div></p>
<p>With the music industry still adjusting to disruptions caused by the internet and streaming services, there’s a lot of interest in how AI might change the way we create and experience music.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/neil-youngs-ultimatum-to-spotify-shows-streaming-platforms-are-now-a-battleground-where-artists-can-leverage-power-175732">Neil Young’s ultimatum to Spotify shows streaming platforms are now a battleground where artists can leverage power</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>Automating music creation</h2>
<p>A number of AI tools now allow users to automatically generate musical sequences or audio segments. Many are free and open source, such as Google’s <a href="https://magenta.tensorflow.org/">Magenta</a> toolkit. </p>
<p>Two of the most familiar approaches in AI music generation are:</p>
<ol>
<li><p><strong>continuation</strong>, where the AI continues a sequence of notes or waveform data, and </p></li>
<li><p><strong>harmonisation or accompaniment</strong>, where the AI generates something to complement the input, such as chords to go with a melody.</p></li>
</ol>
<p>Similar to text- and image-generating AI, music AI systems can be trained on a number of different data sets. You could, for example, extend a melody by Chopin using a system trained in the style of Bon Jovi – as beautifully demonstrated in OpenAI’s <a href="https://soundcloud.com/openai_audio/pop-nocturne">MuseNet</a>.</p>
<p>Such tools can be great inspiration for artists with “blank page syndrome”, even if the artist themselves provide the final push. Creative stimulation is one of the immediate applications of creative AI tools today.</p>
<p>But where these tools may one day be even more useful is in extending musical expertise. Many people can write a tune, but fewer know how to adeptly manipulate chords to evoke emotions, or how to write music in a range of styles.</p>
<p>Although music AI tools have a way to go to reliably do the work of talented musicians, a handful of companies are developing AI platforms for music generation.</p>
<p><a href="https://boomy.com/">Boomy</a> takes the minimalist path: users with no musical experience can create a song with a few clicks and then rearrange it. <a href="https://www.aiva.ai/">Aiva</a> has a similar approach, but allows finer control; artists can edit the generated music note-by-note in a custom editor.</p>
<p>There is a catch, however. Machine learning techniques are famously hard to control, and generating music using AI is a bit of a lucky dip for now; you might occasionally strike gold while using these tools, but you may not know why.</p>
<p>An ongoing challenge for people creating these AI tools is to allow more precise and deliberate control over what the generative algorithms produce.</p>
<h2>New ways to manipulate style and sound</h2>
<p>Music AI tools also allow users to transform a musical sequence or audio segment. Google Magenta’s <a href="https://magenta.tensorflow.org/ddsp">Differentiable Digital Signal Processing</a> library technology, for example, performs timbre transfer. </p>
<p><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AjJLAcDb_MU&ab_channel=BerkleeOnline">Timbre</a> is the technical term for the texture of the sound – the difference between a car engine and a whistle. Using timbre transfer, the timbre of a segment of audio can be changed.</p>
<p>Such tools are a great example of how AI can help musicians compose rich orchestrations and achieve completely new sounds. In the first <a href="https://www.aisongcontest.com/">AI Song Contest</a>, held in 2020, Sydney-based music studio <a href="https://uncannyvalley.com.au/">Uncanny Valley</a> (with whom I collaborate), used timbre transfer to bring singing koalas into the mix. </p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/sAzULywAHUM?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">Uncanny Valley’s song Beautiful The World won the 2020 AI Song Contest.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Timbre transfer has joined a long history of synthesis techniques that have become instruments in themselves.</p>
<h2>Taking music apart</h2>
<p>Music generation and transformation are just one part of the equation. A longstanding problem in audio work is that of “source separation”. This means being able to break an audio recording of a track into its separate instruments. </p>
<p>Although it’s not perfect, AI-powered source separation has come a long way. Its use is likely to be a big deal for artists; some of whom won’t like that others can “pick the lock” on their compositions. </p>
<p>Meanwhile, DJs and mashup artists will gain unprecedented control over how they mix and remix tracks. Source separation start-up <a href="https://www.digitalmusicnews.com/2021/10/19/audioshake-seed-funding/">Audioshake</a> claims this will provide new revenue streams for artists who allow their music to be adapted more easily, such as for TV and film.</p>
<p>Artists may have to accept this Pandora’s box has been opened, as was the case when synthesizers and drum machines first arrived and, in some circumstances, replaced the need for musicians in certain contexts.</p>
<p>But watch this space, because copyright laws do offer artists protection from the unauthorised manipulation of their work. This is likely to become another grey area in the music industry, and regulation may <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/17510694.2020.1839702">struggle to keep up</a>. </p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1618996493062668288"}"></div></p>
<h2>New musical experiences</h2>
<p>Playlist popularity has revealed how much we like to listen to music that <a href="https://pitchfork.com/features/article/is-the-ambient-music-streaming-boom-helping-artists/">has some “functional” utility</a>, such as to focus, relax, fall asleep, or work out to. </p>
<p>The start-up <a href="https://endel.io/">Endel</a> has made AI-powered functional music its business model, creating infinite streams to help maximise certain cognitive states.</p>
<p>Endel’s music can be hooked up to physiological data such as a listener’s heart rate. Its <a href="https://manifesto.endel.io/static/Endel-Manifesto.pdf">manifesto</a> draws heavily on practices of mindfulness and makes the bold proposal we can use “new technology to help our bodies and brains adapt to the new world”, with its hectic and anxiety-inducing pace. </p>
<p>Other start-ups are also exploring functional music. <a href="https://www.aimi.fm/">Aimi</a> is examining how individual electronic music producers can turn their music into infinite and interactive streams. </p>
<p>Aimi’s listener app invites fans to manipulate the system’s generative parameters such as “intensity” or “texture”, or deciding when a drop happens. The listener engages with the music rather than listening passively.</p>
<p>It’s hard to say how much heavy lifting AI is doing in these applications – potentially little. Even so, such advances are guiding companies’ visions of how musical experience might evolve in the future. </p>
<h2>The future of music</h2>
<p>The initiatives mentioned above are in conflict with several long-established conventions, laws and cultural values regarding how we create and share music. </p>
<p>Will copyright laws be tightened to ensure companies training AI systems on artists’ works compensate those artists? And what would that compensation be for? Will new rules apply to source separation? Will musicians using AI spend less time making music, or make more music than ever before? </p>
<p>If there’s one thing that’s certain, it’s change. As a new generation of musicians grows up immersed in AI’s creative possibilities, they’ll find new ways of working with these tools. </p>
<p>Such turbulence is nothing new in the history of music technology, and neither powerful technologies nor standing conventions should dictate our creative future. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/no-the-lensa-ai-app-technically-isnt-stealing-artists-work-but-it-will-majorly-shake-up-the-art-world-196480">No, the Lensa AI app technically isn’t stealing artists' work – but it will majorly shake up the art world</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/193956/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Oliver Bown receives funding from the Australian Research Council to research dialogic approaches to creative AI. He has an ongoing collaboration with the music production company Uncanny Valley, mentioned in this article, including some commercial creative commissions.</span></em></p>Google is one of a number of companies getting involved in AI music-generation.Oliver Bown, Associate Professor, UNSW SydneyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1940692022-11-14T19:00:23Z2022-11-14T19:00:23ZChokepoint Capitalism: why we’ll all lose unless we stop Amazon, Spotify and other platforms squeezing cash from creators<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/494947/original/file-20221113-18-5ebjcc.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=29%2C245%2C3580%2C1928&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>In 2020, the independent authors and small publishers whose audiobooks reach their readers via Audible’s <a href="https://www.acx.com/">ACX platform</a> smelled a rat.</p>
<p>Audiobooks were booming, but sales of their own books – produced at great expense and well-reviewed – were plummeting. </p>
<p>Some of their royalty statements reported <em>negative</em> sales, as readers returned more books than they bought. This was hard to make sense of, because Audible only reported net sales, refusing to reveal the sales and refunds that made them up. </p>
<p>Perth-based writer <a href="https://www.susanmaywriter.net/single-post/audiblegate-the-incredible-story-of-missing-sales">Susan May</a> wondered whether those returns might be the reason for her dwindling net sales. She pressed Audible to tell her how many of her sales were being negated by returns, but the company stonewalled. </p>
<p>Then, in October 2020, a glitch caused three weeks of returns data to be reported in a single day, and authors discovered that hundreds (and even thousands) of their sales had been wiped out by returns. </p>
<p>Suddenly, the scam came into focus: the Amazon-owned Audible had been offering an extraordinarily generous returns policy, encouraging subscribers to return books they’d had on their devices for months, even if they had listened to them the whole way through, even if they had loved them – no questions asked. </p>
<p>Encouraged by the policy, some subscribers had been treating the service like a library – returning books for fresh credits they could swap for new ones. Few would have realised that Audible clawed back the royalties from the book’s authors every time a book was returned.</p>
<h2>Good for Amazon, bad for authors</h2>
<p>It was good for Amazon – it helped Audible gain and hold onto subscribers – but bad for the authors and the performers who created the audiobooks, who barely got paid.</p>
<p>Understanding Amazon’s motivation helps us understand a phenomenon we call <a href="https://scribepublications.com.au/books-authors/books/chokepoint-capitalism-9781761380075">chokepoint capitalism</a>, a modern plague on creative industries and many other industries too.</p>
<p>Orthodox economics tells us not to worry about corporations dominating markets because that will attract competitors, who will put things back in balance. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/five-ways-to-boost-australian-writers-earnings-110694">Five ways to boost Australian writers’ earnings</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>But many of today’s big corporations and billionaire investors have perfected ways to make those supposedly-temporary advantages permanent. </p>
<p>Warren Buffett salivates over businesses with “<a href="https://markets.businessinsider.com/news/stocks/warren-buffett-moat-etf-simple-explanation-for-how-he-invests-and-its-easy-to-replicate-2017-10-1005613232">wide, sustainable moats</a>”. Peter Thiel scoffs that “<a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/peter-thiel-competition-is-for-losers-1410535536">competition is for losers</a>”. Business schools teach students ways to lock in customers and suppliers and eliminate competition, so they can shake down the people who make what they supply and buy what they sell.</p>
<h2>Locking in customers and creators</h2>
<p>Amazon is the poster child for chokepoint capitalism. It boasts of its “<a href="https://feedvisor.com/resources/amazon-trends/amazon-flywheel-explained/">flywheel</a>” – a self-described “<a href="https://fourweekmba.com/amazon-flywheel/">virtuous cycle</a>” where its lower cost leads to lower prices and a better customer experience, which leads to more traffic, which leads to more sellers, and a better selection – which further propels the flywheel. </p>
<hr>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/494907/original/file-20221111-21-lnbmh1.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/494907/original/file-20221111-21-lnbmh1.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/494907/original/file-20221111-21-lnbmh1.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=379&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/494907/original/file-20221111-21-lnbmh1.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=379&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/494907/original/file-20221111-21-lnbmh1.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=379&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/494907/original/file-20221111-21-lnbmh1.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=477&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/494907/original/file-20221111-21-lnbmh1.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=477&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/494907/original/file-20221111-21-lnbmh1.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=477&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption"></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<hr>
<p>But the way the cycle works isn’t virtuous – it’s vicious and anti-competitive. </p>
<p>Amazon openly admits to doing everything it can to lock in its customers. That’s why Audible encourages book returns: its generous offer only applies to ongoing subscribers. Audible wants the money from monthly subscribers and wants the fact that they are subscribed to prevent them from shopping elsewhere. </p>
<p>Paying the people who actually made the product it sells a fair share of earnings isn’t Amazon’s priority. Because Amazon founder Jeff Bezos’ famous maxim is “<a href="https://www.marketplacepulse.com/articles/the-cost-of-your-margin-is-my-opportunity">your margin is my opportunity</a>”, the executive who figured out how to make authors foot the bill for retaining subscribers probably got a bonus.</p>
<p>Another way Audible locks customers in is by ensuring the books it sells are protected by <a href="https://www.fortinet.com/resources/cyberglossary/digital-rights-management-drm">digital rights management</a> (DRM) which means they are encrypted, and can only be read by software with the decryption key.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/the-us-government-is-trying-to-stop-the-merger-of-two-of-the-worlds-biggest-publishers-but-will-it-help-authors-188364">The US government is trying to stop the merger of two of the world's biggest publishers – but will it help authors?</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>Amazon claims DRM stops listeners from stealing from creators by pirating their books. But tools to strip away those locks are freely available online, and it’s easy for readers who can’t or won’t pay for books to find illegal versions. </p>
<p>While DRM doesn’t prevent infringement, it <em>does</em> prevent competition. </p>
<p>Startups that want to challenge Audible’s dominance – including those that would pay fairly – have to persuade potential customers to give up their Audible titles or to inconveniently maintain separate libraries. </p>
<p>In this way, laws that were intended to protect against infringement of copyright have become tools to protect against infringement of corporate dominance. </p>
<p>Once customers are locked in, suppliers (authors and publishers) are locked in too. It’s incredibly difficult to reach audiobook buyers unless you’re on Audible. When the suppliers are locked in, they can be shaken down for an ever-greater share of what the buyers hand over.</p>
<hr>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/494908/original/file-20221111-16-pua9cp.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/494908/original/file-20221111-16-pua9cp.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/494908/original/file-20221111-16-pua9cp.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=377&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/494908/original/file-20221111-16-pua9cp.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=377&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/494908/original/file-20221111-16-pua9cp.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=377&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/494908/original/file-20221111-16-pua9cp.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=474&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/494908/original/file-20221111-16-pua9cp.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=474&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/494908/original/file-20221111-16-pua9cp.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=474&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption"></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<hr>
<h2>How a few big buyers can control whole markets</h2>
<p>The problem isn’t with middlemen as such: book shops, record labels, book and music publishers, agents and myriad others provide valuable services that help keep creative wheels turning. </p>
<p>The problem arises when these middlemen grow powerful enough to bend markets into hourglass shapes, with audiences at one end, masses of creators at the other, and themselves operating as a chokepoint in the middle. </p>
<p>Since everyone has to go through them, they’re able to control the terms on which creative goods and services are exchanged - and extract more than their fair share of value.</p>
<p>The corporations who create these chokepoints are trying to “monopsonise” their markets. “Monopsony” isn’t a pretty word, but it’s one we are going to have to get familiar with to understand why so many of us are feeling squeezed. </p>
<p><a href="https://www.wallstreetmojo.com/monopoly">Monopoly</a> (or near-monopoly) is where there is only one big seller, leaving buyers with few other places to turn. <a href="https://www.wallstreetmojo.com/monopsony/">Monopsony</a> is where there is only one big buyer, leaving sellers with few other places to turn.</p>
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<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/theres-an-obvious-reason-wages-arent-growing-but-you-wont-hear-it-from-treasury-or-the-reserve-bank-122041">There's an obvious reason wages aren't growing, but you won't hear it from Treasury or the Reserve Bank</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>In our book, we quote William Deresiewicz, a former professor of English at Yale University, who points out in his book <a href="https://www.chicagoreview.org/william-deresiewicz-the-death-of-the-artist/">The Death of the Artist</a> that “if you can only sell your product to a single entity, it’s not your customer; it’s your boss”.</p>
<p>Increasingly, it is how the creative industries are structured. There’s Audible for audiobooks, Amazon for physical and digital versions, YouTube for video, Google and Facebook for online news advertising, the <a href="https://www.liveabout.com/big-three-record-labels-2460743">Big Three record labels</a> (who own the big three music publishers) for recorded music, <a href="https://pluralistic.net/2022/09/12/streaming-doesnt-pay/">Spotify</a> for streaming, Live Nation for live music and ticketing – and that’s just the start. </p>
<p>But as corporate concentration increases across the board, monopsony is becoming a problem for the rest of us. For a glimpse into what happens to labour markets when buyers become too powerful, just think about how monopsonistic supermarkets bully food manufacturers and farmers.</p>
<figure class="align-right ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/494912/original/file-20221112-11-u879gw.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/494912/original/file-20221112-11-u879gw.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=966&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/494912/original/file-20221112-11-u879gw.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=966&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/494912/original/file-20221112-11-u879gw.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=966&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/494912/original/file-20221112-11-u879gw.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1214&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/494912/original/file-20221112-11-u879gw.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1214&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/494912/original/file-20221112-11-u879gw.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1214&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://scribepublications.com.au/books-authors/books/chokepoint-capitalism-9781761380075">Scribe Publications</a></span>
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</figure>
<h2>A fairer deal for consumers and creators</h2>
<p>The good news is that we don’t have to put up with it.</p>
<p><a href="https://scribepublications.com.au/books-authors/books/chokepoint-capitalism-9781761380075">Chokepoint Capitalism</a> isn’t one of those “Chapter 11 books” – ten chapters about how terrible everything is, plus a conclusion with some vague suggestions about what can be done. </p>
<p>The whole second half is devoted to detailed proposals for widening these chokepoints out – such as transparency rights, among others. </p>
<p>Audible’s sly trick only finally came to light because of the glitch that let authors see the scope of returns. </p>
<p>That glitch enabled writers, led by Susan May, to organise a campaign that eventually forced Audible to reform some of its more egregious practices. But we need more light in dark corners. </p>
<p>And we need reforms to contract law to level the playing field in negotiations, interoperability rights to prevent lock-in to platforms, copyrights being better secured to creators rather than publishers, and minimum wages for creative work. </p>
<p>These and the other things we suggest would do much to empower artists and get them paid. And they would provide inspiration for the increasing rest of us who are supplying our goods or our labour to increasingly powerful corporations that can’t seem to keep their hands out of our pockets.</p>
<hr>
<p><em>Chokepoint Capitalism: how big tech and big content captured creative labour markets, and how we’ll win them back is published on <a href="https://scribepublications.com.au/books-authors/books/chokepoint-capitalism-9781761380075">Tuesday November 15</a> by Scribe.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/194069/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Rebecca Giblin receives funding from the Australian Research Council and state and territory libraries for the Author's Interest Project (authorsinterest.org), the eLending Project (elendingproject.org) and Untapped: the Australian Literary Heritage Project (untapped.org.au). She is a Fellow of the CREATe research centre at the University of Glasgow, and a member of the Author's Alliance and the Australian Digital Alliance. She has occasionally and intermittently used Audible's service since its inception (though has not been a subscriber for a very long time),buys goods and services from Amazon when she really has to, subscribes to Spotify (where she sometimes listens to music controlled by the Big Three record labels, and published by their Big Three music publisher subsidiaries), and sometimes watches videos on YouTube.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Cory Doctorow is a consultant to the Electronic Frontier Foundation. He co-founded the UK Open Rights Group. He is a visiting professor of practice at the University of North Carolina's School of Library and Information Science. He is a dues-paying member of the Free Software Foundation and FSF Europe. His books and audiobooks are published by Random House, Macmillan, Beacon Press, McSweeney's, HarperCollins, Hachette, and many other publishers. These are for sale on Amazon, Excerpts of his work are for sale on Audible. He runs a personal ebook store (craphound.com/shop) that compete with Amazon and Audible for ebook and audiobook sales. One of his books was favorably reviewed and endorsed by Jeff Bezos.</span></em></p>Rebecca Giblin and Cory Doctorow’s new book reveals the tricks behind ‘Chokepoint Capitalism’ – how big corporations use low prices to lock in users and creators, while locking out real competition.Rebecca Giblin, ARC Future Fellow; Associate Professor; Director, Intellectual Property Research Institute of Australia, The University of MelbourneCory Doctorow, Visiting professor of computer science, The Open UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1896802022-08-31T20:02:34Z2022-08-31T20:02:34ZCreative skills will be crucial to the future of work. They should take centre stage at the jobs summit<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/481927/original/file-20220830-19222-ws7cxi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C1917%2C1074&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Pixabay </span></span></figcaption></figure><p><em>This article is part of The Conversation’s series looking at Labor’s jobs summit. Read the other articles in the series <a href="https://theconversation.com/au/topics/jobssummit2022-125921">here</a>.</em></p>
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<p>You’ve heard of the gig economy and the portfolio career. Now quite popular terms, they come from the ways artists work. Think musicians gigging across small bars and large arenas, visual artists with portfolios of work in print, in galleries and online, or actors engaged on a range of short-term projects across a given year.</p>
<p>Once celebrated for flexibility and personal choice, these terms are now synonymous with exploitative, casual and precarious employment, or working conditions lacking entitlements, such as superannuation and sick leave.</p>
<p>But there is much to be learnt from the creative industries when it comes to understanding the future of work.</p>
<p>“Creativity” has been identified by the <a href="https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2019/04/5-things-you-need-to-know-about-creativity/">World Economic Forum</a>, the <a href="https://blogs.imf.org/2021/01/07/the-jobs-of-tomorrow/">International Monetary Fund</a> and global <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/bernardmarr/2022/08/22/the-top-10-most-in-demand-skills-for-the-next-10-years/?sh=363f9e5b17be">business analysts</a> as the key to our future economies.</p>
<p>It was the number-one skillset demanded two years in a row by <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/business/learning/blog/top-skills-and-courses/the-skills-companies-need-most-in-2020and-how-to-learn-them">the 20 million job ads on LinkedIn</a>, which labelled it “<a href="https://www.linkedin.com/business/learning/blog/top-skills-and-courses/why-creativity-is-the-most-important-skill-in-the-world">the most important skill in the world</a>”. </p>
<p>Creativity is complex. It’s not straightforward to teach and it’s not straightforward to understand. That’s what’s so exciting about it.</p>
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<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/what-is-productivity-and-how-well-does-it-measure-what-we-do-189548">What is productivity, and how well does it measure what we do?</a>
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</em>
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<h2>Learning creativity</h2>
<p>“Innovation”, “disruption” and “agile thinking” are frequently touted as necessary for productivity and economic growth. </p>
<p>Often overlooked by political and business leaders, however, is none of these innovations can be generated without a creative approach.</p>
<p>Developing creative skills requires a sophisticated approach to education and training. You don’t learn critical thinking, ideas generation and problem-solving by rote.</p>
<p>That kind of learning comes from art schools, design studios and humanities degrees. This is education that asks questions, delves deeply and takes time.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/481951/original/file-20220831-18-7b8kr0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Group on laptops" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/481951/original/file-20220831-18-7b8kr0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/481951/original/file-20220831-18-7b8kr0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/481951/original/file-20220831-18-7b8kr0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/481951/original/file-20220831-18-7b8kr0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/481951/original/file-20220831-18-7b8kr0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/481951/original/file-20220831-18-7b8kr0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/481951/original/file-20220831-18-7b8kr0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">Creative minds are needed in all types of professions.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Annie Spratt/Unsplash</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Policy priorities across the previous government’s nine-year term, such as excluding universities <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2020/may/04/australian-universities-angry-at-final-twist-of-the-knife-excluding-them-from-jobkeeper">from pandemic supports</a> and <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-08-08/experts-say-proposed-change-to-arts-degree-costs-short-sighted/12531364">dramatic fee increases</a>, resulted in the <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2021/feb/08/art-school-in-australia-amid-the-cuts-and-closures-what-could-the-future-look-like">diminution or closure</a> of art, design and humanities schools all over Australia. </p>
<p>For artists and arts educators, the outcomes have been devastating.</p>
<p>But it’s not just artists who are impacted by a collapse in creative education. In 2020, leading epidemiologist Michael Osterholm told 7:30 that “<a href="https://www.abc.net.au/7.30/dr-osterholm-predicted-a-pandemic-like-coronavirus/12135006">the capacity to envision</a>” the pandemic’s consequences would be crucial to saving lives.</p>
<p>When asked why the world was so woefully unprepared for COVID-19, Osterholm declared decision-makers “lack creative imagination”.</p>
<p>The ways our imaginations are trained and supported are vital to the skills and jobs of the future – and indeed, to securing that very future itself.</p>
<h2>Working creatively</h2>
<p>While more creative jobs and workplaces might be difficult to envision, the pandemic has already normalised the kinds of flexible working arrangements employers would previously have considered damaging to productivity or impossible to implement. Retaining that flexibility is now seen as <a href="https://www.wgea.gov.au/newsroom/Employers-embracing-flex">crucial to retaining staff</a>.</p>
<p>Care must be taken, however, to avoid the exploitative consequences of the gig economy and portfolio career. While it might once have been a bastion of freedom for an artist to have a wide-reaching and variable working life, we are now more aware than ever of how the gig economy can be synonymous with <a href="https://www.smh.com.au/technology/federal-government-takes-aim-at-gig-economy-cancer-20220825-p5bcph.html">falling wages</a>.</p>
<p>Questions of where and what hours we work are just the basics of workplace flexibility – and this flexibility shouldn’t be offered at the expense of other entitlements. Workers with multiple jobs generally aren’t entitled to the sick pay and leave provisions as someone working the same hours at just the one job. We need to move beyond those basics.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/481950/original/file-20220831-14-ayv5ji.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A woman plays a guitar" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/481950/original/file-20220831-14-ayv5ji.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/481950/original/file-20220831-14-ayv5ji.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/481950/original/file-20220831-14-ayv5ji.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/481950/original/file-20220831-14-ayv5ji.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/481950/original/file-20220831-14-ayv5ji.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/481950/original/file-20220831-14-ayv5ji.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/481950/original/file-20220831-14-ayv5ji.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">Gigs can be an important part of artistic freedom – but they can also be exploitative.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Anton Mislawsky/Unsplash</span></span>
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</figure>
<p>We need to start taking more adventurous approaches to understanding what work is, what skills are prized and how those skills are developed.</p>
<p>If we don’t, innovation and productivity will continue to suffer, and the most creative employees will continue to frustrate employers by engaging in classic workplace activism such as the work-to-rule or go-slow protests glamorised today as “<a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-08-04/australian-workers-quietly-quitting-jobs-seek-new-careers-tiktok/101292468">quiet quitting</a>”.</p>
<p>Worse, we won’t have any means for unlocking unexpected solutions to the unexpected problems we continue to face.</p>
<p>Ours is an era of compound crises – climate change, fires and floods, housing affordability, cost of living, the rapid spread of disease – and we’re not going to get through these by doing what we’ve always done before.</p>
<p>The best way to secure the jobs and skills of the future is to understand how artists train, and invest in the most creative approaches to education and professional development across our working lifetimes.</p>
<p>This means an approach to education that exercises the hands and the body as well as the mind: making, testing, crafting, performing and experimenting.</p>
<p>Arts education balances theory and practice, invites students to be inventive and rewards risk-taking. It trains an artist’s entire body to think differently and prepare for any scenario. And in doing so, it <a href="https://naae.org.au/evidence-and-research">promotes</a> wellbeing, self-esteem and resilience. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/why-unions-and-small-business-want-industry-bargaining-from-the-jobs-summit-and-big-business-doesnt-189394">Why unions and small business want industry bargaining from the jobs summit – and big business doesn't</a>
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<h2>A creative future</h2>
<p>Arts Minister Tony Burke – also Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations – held <a href="https://www.arts.gov.au/departmental-news/roundtables-held-strengthen-employment-arts">two industry roundtables</a> on Monday to hear from arts leaders who could not attend the jobs summit. </p>
<p>Now, the summit must consider how creative skills can be taught extensively and affordably in Australia – well beyond art, design and humanities programs. </p>
<p>Employers must be trained to recognise and value creative skills, and understand how best to deploy them. </p>
<p>And we need to ensure the working conditions of the future are fair and supportive for everyone.</p>
<p>Only the most creative approaches will secure that future.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/189680/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Esther Anatolitis heads Test Pattern, an arts and cultural consultancy whose clients have included creative industry and government bodies. The Commonwealth Government is not a current client. Esther is Honorary Associate Professor at RMIT School of Art. Arts and media organisations that she has previously led have received funding from government bodies.</span></em></p>LinkedIn called creativity ‘the most important skill in the world’ – it should be central to Labor’s jobs summit.Esther Anatolitis, Honorary Associate Professor, School of Art, RMIT UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1882922022-08-08T02:15:16Z2022-08-08T02:15:16ZRemembering Shirley Barrett: an offbeat and generous Australian director and writer<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/477968/original/file-20220808-43788-zvuolw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C2496%2C3428&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">AP Photo/Laurent Rebours</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Australia, and the world, has lost a unique voice with the passing last week of acclaimed director and writer Shirley Barrett. </p>
<p>Barrett gained international fame in 1996 when she won the Caméra d’Or – Cannes Film Festival’s award for best first feature – for Love Serenade. Following growing global attention, by 1997 the <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/1997/07/27/movies/a-pragmatic-australian-with-an-offbeat-take-on-the-world.html">New York Times</a> would celebrate her as “a pragmatic Australian with an offbeat take on the world.” </p>
<p>Barrett’s offbeat take infused her <a href="https://shirleybarrett.com/">work</a>, including two more films – Walk the Talk (2000) and South Solitary (2010) – recognisable television dramas such as Love My Way, Offspring and A Place to Call Home, and novels Rush Oh! and The Bus on Thursday. </p>
<p>Barrett passed away peacefully in her sleep at her home in Sydney at age 60, following a battle with metastatic breast cancer.</p>
<p>A <a href="https://twitter.com/EmsyNorris/status/1555089599927820290">social media post</a> from Barrett’s daughter Emmeline Norris confirmed the passing of her mother on Wednesday morning. </p>
<p>In the post, Norris marked the loss of </p>
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<p>not only a brilliant filmmaker and writer, but more importantly a loving mother to me and my sister, the lifelong soulmate of our dad, and the best friend one could ask for.“ </p>
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<h2>Exploring desire in wayward places</h2>
<p>Barrett’s films presented a unique perspective on love, desire, and the workings of life at the margins – both social and geographic – of Australian society. </p>
<p>Between 1996 and 2010 Barrett wrote and directed three films, an accomplishment in the Australian industry where second features can be <a href="https://if.com.au/australia-lags-the-rest-of-the-world-in-second-time-feature-directors/">difficult to make</a> (especially for women). </p>
<p>From the isolated tedium of geographically remote settings of Love Serenade and South Solitary, and the more seedy fringes of fame on the RSL circuits of the Gold Coast in Walk the Talk, these films were marked by the power of their locations to shape the stories and desires of their characters. </p>
<p>Love Serenade, selected for <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2022/05/18/movies/un-certain-regard.html">Un Certain Regard</a> – the Cannes Film Festival’s program for exploring new cinematic horizons – highlights Barrett’s unique perspective on storytelling.</p>
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<p>Celebrated for one of the most <a href="https://www.sensesofcinema.com/2009/key-moments-in-australian-cinema-issue-70-march-2014/take-it-all-off-baby-take-it-all-off-the-australian-kamasutra-love-serenade-shirley-barrett-1996/">un-erotic stripteases</a> in cinema history, Love Serenade subtly subverted the conventions of the romantic comedy genre. The film follows sisters Vicki-Ann and Dimity Hurley, played by Rebecca Frith and Miranda Otto respectively, through their misguided seductions, and later disposal, of new-in-town Brisbane radio DJ Ken Sherry. </p>
<p>Far from indulging the expected love triangle and romantic tensions, the film instead focuses on the oppressiveness of the film’s setting: the middle-of-nowhere town of Sunray. </p>
<p>In this place, the sister’s desiring of Ken stands in for a wider set of longings; a "yearning for something else”, as <a href="https://archive.org/details/issuu_libuow_cinemapaper1996junno110/page/n17/mode/1up">Barrett described it</a>. </p>
<p>Barrett would return to the themes of female desire and the power of (social) geography to shape it in her third feature, South Solitary, released in 2010. Again starring Otto, this time as the spinster niece of a lighthouse operator, South Solitary examined the lives of the tiny communities that tend the lighthouse islands in the Tasman Sea. </p>
<p>Diving into the archives to research the film, Barrett noted the appeal of this isolated setting where humans were forced to rely on unruly animals and even more unruly neighbours to survive. </p>
<p>As <a href="https://www.academia.edu/19024415/On_Animals_Archives_and_Embroidery_An_Interview_with_Shirley_Barrett">Barrett explained</a>, </p>
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<p>there are fascinating accounts of tension that would quickly develop between people, in this setting, with nothing else to alleviate them. Things would often go badly awry. </p>
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<p>South Solitary was more than simply a story about an isolated community, it was a film made by and for women. With a creative team mainly composed of women, <a href="https://www.academia.edu/19024415/On_Animals_Archives_and_Embroidery_An_Interview_with_Shirley_Barrett">Barrett would joke</a> it was “a film written for middle-aged women, by middle aged-women.” </p>
<p>Even today, such a description is <a href="https://seejane.org/wp-content/uploads/frail-frumpy-and-forgotten-report.pdf">considered a risky</a> proposition for a film’s success. </p>
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<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/were-right-to-make-a-scene-about-gender-equity-in-the-australian-screen-industry-51728">We're right to make a scene about gender equity in the Australian screen industry</a>
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</p>
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<h2>From the screen to the page</h2>
<p>In 2014 Barrett released her first novel, Rush Oh!, with a backdrop telling the true story of a symbiotic relationship between a whaling town on the NSW south coast and a pod of killer whales, which aided the whalers’ work.</p>
<p>The story of Eden had begun life as a film script, developed through the years that Barrett worked on seeing South Solitary to the big screen. After <a href="https://www.smh.com.au/entertainment/books/books-how-shirley-barrett-dumped-her-film-career-and-turned-to-writing-fiction-20150910-gjj8ow.html">languishing</a> as an unrealised project for several years, Barrett transformed the story into a book. </p>
<p>Following Rush Oh! Barrett would continue to write work for beyond the screen, releasing The Bus on Thursday in 2018 and drafting another manuscript over recent years. </p>
<p>Earlier this year Barrett wrote two articles for The Guardian about her experience with cancer and her terminal diagnosis. </p>
<p><a href="https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2022/mar/06/notes-on-dying-it-occurred-to-me-that-this-is-my-last-lychee-season">By March</a>, Barrett observed the strangeness of the passing of her last lychee season and the task of planning her funeral. She wrote, “it gets to a point where you just can’t do it any more, and I am at that point now. I just want to fade quietly into oblivion.” </p>
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<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/i-want-to-stare-death-in-the-eye-why-dying-inspires-so-many-writers-and-artists-128061">'I want to stare death in the eye': why dying inspires so many writers and artists</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>A source of inspiration</h2>
<p>In 2018 I was lucky enough to meet Shirley Barrett, when we screened Love Serenade as the opening night film of the Melbourne Women in Film Festival. </p>
<p>Barrett, alongside the film’s producer Jan Chapman and editor Denise Haratzis, introduced their film and spoke with audience members at the after-film party.</p>
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<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/477966/original/file-20220807-71528-380qrc.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/477966/original/file-20220807-71528-380qrc.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=402&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/477966/original/file-20220807-71528-380qrc.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=402&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/477966/original/file-20220807-71528-380qrc.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=402&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/477966/original/file-20220807-71528-380qrc.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=505&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/477966/original/file-20220807-71528-380qrc.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=505&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/477966/original/file-20220807-71528-380qrc.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=505&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">Shirley Barrett (centre) with Jan Chapman and Denise Haratzis at the Melbourne Women in Film Festival 2018.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Although brief, this meeting had an impact on myself as well as many emerging filmmakers in the room. Barrett’s generosity of time and spirit were incredible gifts. Her passing has resulted in an outpouring of memories and grief from the people she encountered.</p>
<p>Barrett’s films and novels leave a legacy that lies in her unique perspective and engaging storytelling, and in her generosity as an artist to encourage and inspire.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/188292/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Kirsten Stevens is deputy director of the Melbourne Women in Film Festival</span></em></p>Shirley Barrett burst onto the international scene when her debut film, Love Serenade won the Caméra d’Or at Cannes Film Festival.Kirsten Stevens, Lecturer in Arts and Cultural Management, The University of MelbourneLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1498152021-01-25T19:01:52Z2021-01-25T19:01:52ZHow to help artists and cultural industries recover from the COVID-19 disaster<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/376737/original/file-20201228-49525-y2bv2w.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=7%2C172%2C5152%2C3268&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Street dancers wearing face masks dance the tango in Madrid, Spain, Dec. 16, 2020. </span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">(AP Photo/Manu Fernandez)</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>To say that 2020 has been rough for the cultural and creative industries is an understatement. More specifically, COVID-19 has been nothing short of a perfect storm for <a href="https://www.anthempress.com/the-creativity-hoax">workers in those industries, who already experienced precarious conditions</a>. <a href="https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-features/concert-venues-covid-safety-live-events-1066561/">Venue closures</a> and travel restrictions have affected other economic sectors, such as hospitality, on which many workers depend to make ends meet.</p>
<p>If this pandemic were a natural disaster, it would be as if the tides kept on bringing oil to already devastated shores, day after day after day. In the end, who can we count on to provide some of the much needed “post-disaster” assistance, and when?</p>
<p>Research on disaster management offers insights into these questions. Interestingly, it suggests that future assistance will need to look a lot different than the responses seen to date. </p>
<h2>Adverse impacts</h2>
<p>Almost a year into this pandemic, it feels as if everything has been said. We know all too well about the <a href="https://www.billboard.com/articles/business/touring/9340968/coronavirus-concert-cancellations-touring-gig-economy/">struggle</a>, the <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/natashagural/2020/08/11/artists-clobbered-by-covid-19-with-27-million-creative-job-losses-in-the-united-states-study-finds/">layoffs</a> and the <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/12/26/arts/unemployed-performer-theatre-arts.html">dire financial situation</a> many artists now find themselves in. We know about artists and other creative professionals moving on to <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/stage/2020/oct/13/fatima-arts-workers-new-jobs-covid-undertaker-shaman-government-ad-horror">more stable, greener professional pastures</a> — at times in a literal sense as they leave cities that they were <a href="https://theconversation.com/sydney-artists-are-being-priced-out-of-the-city-heres-how-to-bring-them-back-98695">increasingly priced out</a> of pre-pandemic. Perhaps more worrisome, we also know about the <a href="https://theconversation.com/parts-of-life-will-be-damaged-forever-arts-workers-describe-the-pandemics-impact-on-their-mental-health-147252">mental toll</a> of prolonged inactivity and isolation. </p>
<p>Yet, we have also regularly been privy to glimpses of hope, promising innovations and we’ve marvelled at the adaptations of a generally resilient arts sector. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/theatre-companies-are-pushing-storytelling-boundaries-with-online-audiences-amid-covid-19-141583">Theatre companies are pushing storytelling boundaries with online audiences amid COVID-19</a>
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<p>Think back to when news media extensively covered the <a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/photo/2020/03/music-and-encouragement-from-balconies-around-world/608668/">the phenomenon</a> of people singing or playing instruments from their balconies. Despite the crisis, many established artists found ways to engage the public and some people in quarantine filled time with crafts <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/new-brunswick/covid-19-rainbows-teddy-bears-1.5512700">or their windows with paintings</a>.</p>
<p>Such positive moments remind us of the value and power of creativity, but they sit, of course, in the context of grief, anxiety and exhaustion. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/376726/original/file-20201228-49513-1hywdhg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Sign saying 'Corona be gone.'" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/376726/original/file-20201228-49513-1hywdhg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/376726/original/file-20201228-49513-1hywdhg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/376726/original/file-20201228-49513-1hywdhg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/376726/original/file-20201228-49513-1hywdhg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/376726/original/file-20201228-49513-1hywdhg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/376726/original/file-20201228-49513-1hywdhg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/376726/original/file-20201228-49513-1hywdhg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The Super Wonder Gallery in Toronto’s Little Italy neighbourhood on College St., pictured April 5, 2020.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Francis Mariani/Flickr)</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/">CC BY-NC</a></span>
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</figure>
<h2>Beyond immediate relief</h2>
<p>There is now a need to look also beyond immediate relief to deal with artists’ short-term needs met through things like emergency benefit schemes, wage-subsidy programs and other forms of cash injections. The subsequent <a href="https://www.worldcat.org/title/crisis-management-planning-for-the-inevitable/oclc/13125828">“chronic” stage</a> efforts will need to focus on cleaning up, conducting post-mortems or self-analysis and perhaps more importantly, on healing.</p>
<p>Applied to the cultural and creative industries, this involves asking tough questions on the current working conditions, financial stability and social recognition of artists, as well as extending sustained non-monetary support such as counselling for those who have had to weather a seemingly perpetual storm. </p>
<p>Only then can the sector turn to <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/S0261-5177(00)00048-0">long-term rebuilding strategies</a>, which must include reinvestment strategies. </p>
<h2>Role of growing creative sectors</h2>
<p>Recent disasters, natural or man-made, <a href="https://www.worldcat.org/title/disaster-and-reconstruction-the-friuli-italy-earthquakes-of-1976/oclc/8626547">show</a> that help for devastated communities tends to come from those who have been for the most part unaffected by the situation. For example, over <a href="https://www.borgenmagazine.com/over-90-countries-offered-foreign-aid-to-the-u-s-during-hurricane-katrina/">90 countries</a> provided logistical and financial assistance to New Orleans following Hurricane Katrina in 2005, much like many nations across the word were quick to come to Beirut’s rescue after last summer’s <a href="https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2020/8/5/beirut-explosion-world-reacts-to-deadly-blast-in-lebanon-capital">horrific explosions</a>. On the surface, this may seem hardly applicable in a context of a global pandemic that has impacted most people in some shape or form. </p>
<p>However, when it comes to the cultural and creative industries, a handful of sectors such as the video game industry and streaming platforms <a href="https://variety.com/2020/digital/news/netflix-record-16-million-subscribers-q1-2020-coronavirus-1234586125">such as Netflix</a> have actually experienced record growth over the past months. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/stream-weavers-the-musicians-dilemma-in-spotifys-pay-to-play-plan-151479">Stream weavers: the musicians' dilemma in Spotify's pay-to-play plan</a>
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</em>
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<hr>
<p>We suggest that those companies that have weathered the storm, if not flourished during the pandemic, should launch joint initiatives, production support, sponsorships and dedicated programs for individual artists or small organizations. </p>
<p>Furthermore, the collective expertise among these sectors could support digital transformation initiatives for those that did not previously rely on online outreach. This includes the development of tailor-made, but scalable immersive experiences that allow audiences to engage with creatives in a digital first, or hybrid digital-offline context.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/376715/original/file-20201228-21-10spw7c.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/376715/original/file-20201228-21-10spw7c.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/376715/original/file-20201228-21-10spw7c.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=377&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/376715/original/file-20201228-21-10spw7c.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=377&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/376715/original/file-20201228-21-10spw7c.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=377&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/376715/original/file-20201228-21-10spw7c.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=474&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/376715/original/file-20201228-21-10spw7c.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=474&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/376715/original/file-20201228-21-10spw7c.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=474&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A conductor’s assistant sits among empty seats during a rehearsal of the Antwerp Symphony Orchestra at the Queen Elisabeth Hall in Antwerp, Belgium, July 1, 2020, before the symphony was scheduled to reopen after months of closure due to COVID-19.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(AP Photo/Virginia Mayo)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Safer, more accessible venues</h2>
<p>In addition to reinvestment, infrastructure considerations and dedicated communications efforts have an important role building up sustainable arts communities and enterprises. Redesigning venues to make them more accessible, but also much safer for both patrons and artists is significant. In addition, what’s needed are government programs to support not just artists’ productions, but also cost of living and rent stabilization subsidies. </p>
<p>Beyond this, government investment to promote audiences’ <a href="https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2016/08/23/italian-teenagers-to-receive-500-cultural-bonus-from-government/">consumption of artistic goods and services</a> also matters. Once the pandemic is over, overcoming the stigma of mass gatherings and the public’s residual fears is also likely to be an everyday communication battle, one in which the entire cultural sector will need to come together in a concerted effort to encourage people to go out.</p>
<h2>University space for incubation</h2>
<p>Likewise, while the rest of the economy was taking a battering, universities remained reasonably safe and privileged despite the collapse of the international student market. It is also the responsibility of universities to help by offering spaces and <a href="https://www.ryerson.ca/the-studio-fcad/our-programs/recovery-cohort">programmatic support</a> for experimentation and incubation of creative projects, as well as reskilling programs and research initiatives into the future of these sectors.</p>
<p>The current pandemic has shocked many of us into an awareness of <a href="https://www.unenvironment.org/resources/report/preventing-future-zoonotic-disease-outbreaks-protecting-environment-animals-and">the threat posed by disasters</a> particularly given the world’s interdependence and complexity. This is why we need to develop much more sophisticated contingency, rescue and recovery strategies, in which stakeholders other than just governments are compelled to come together and support each other in times of crisis.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/149815/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Governments, universities and creative companies that have experienced growth in the pandemic should play a role in long-term collaborative strategies to support artists and small arts companies.Louis-Etienne Dubois, Assistant Professor, School of Creative Industries, Faculty of Communication and Design, Toronto Metropolitan UniversityDavid Gauntlett, Canada Research Chair in Creativity, Toronto Metropolitan UniversityRamona Pringle, Director, Creative Innovation Studio; Associate Professor, RTA School of Media, Toronto Metropolitan UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1473962020-10-08T09:23:24Z2020-10-08T09:23:24ZHow coronavirus has hit the UK’s creative industries<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/362232/original/file-20201007-14-1q4ibvo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/seating-arrangement-concerts-keep-spaced-between-1794017089">Siam Stock / Shutterstock.com</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>As the days get shorter and the second wave of coronavirus sets in, the UK is switching to a new <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/news/chancellor-outlines-winter-economy-plan">winter economy plan</a>. The package of measures marks a shift in government rhetoric from “jobs retention” to “jobs support” as the new plan focuses <a href="https://theconversation.com/sunaks-new-job-support-scheme-offers-warm-words-but-no-escape-from-the-coming-unemployment-chill-146887">on so-called “viable” jobs</a>, rather than protecting jobs in general.</p>
<p>For those that previously made their living in the creative industries, this is worrying news. With many sectors of the creative economy unable to resume activity due to the pandemic, many creative jobs may not be seen as viable under the rules of the new scheme. </p>
<p>An even greater crisis faces the many creative freelancers who have been excluded from all forms of jobs and business support since the pandemic hit in March. Campaign group Excluded UK <a href="https://www.excludeduk.org/three-million-breakdown">estimates</a> that 3 million UK taxpayers have been unable to access meaningful government support. For some, this may be because they have a part-time job on a company’s payroll. For others, it is due to the small profits made by their limited companies. And there is a litany of other reasons. </p>
<p>Ironically, <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-53028015">many of the excluded are those creatives</a> who worked on the recorded content – the TV shows, the albums, the National Theatre streams – that sustained the nation during lockdown. While 15% of the working population is freelance, <a href="https://www.creativeindustriesfederation.com/sites/default/files/2017-07/Creative%20Freelancers%201.0.pdf">in creative sectors that leaps to 47%</a>.</p>
<h2>Creative responses to coronavirus</h2>
<p>In our research on the effects of the pandemic on <a href="https://crisiscreatives.online">creative freelancers</a>, most of those we have spoken to had every gig, job or commission in their diaries cancelled in those first few days and weeks of lockdown earlier this year. Projects that may have been three years in the making were shelved indefinitely, and there was an immediate halt of cashflow in many cases. </p>
<p>Many creative freelancers have “portfolio careers”, with multiple jobs. But a high proportion of these ancillary jobs, such as teaching, were also halted due to lockdown. This meant many were unable to make any money. Plus, the reasons that people were excluded from government support – such as being newly self-employed or having part-time work on a payroll, which generated around 50% of their total income – were also the reasons that these workers were particularly in need of support. For example, because they were new graduates or still emerging in their profession and had a mix of jobs.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Arm of person playing guitar, with another person playing on screen in background." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/362233/original/file-20201007-18-1rnjt8y.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/362233/original/file-20201007-18-1rnjt8y.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/362233/original/file-20201007-18-1rnjt8y.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/362233/original/file-20201007-18-1rnjt8y.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/362233/original/file-20201007-18-1rnjt8y.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/362233/original/file-20201007-18-1rnjt8y.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/362233/original/file-20201007-18-1rnjt8y.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Working under lockdown has been difficult for lots of creative freelancers.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/virtual-guitar-lesson-female-musicians-play-1725791596">Volha Werasen / Shutterstock.com</a></span>
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</figure>
<p>The cancellation of arts festivals has further removed vital opportunities for creatives to show and develop new work, find collaborators and make the industry connections who would commission them or fund future events and tours. And while much creative work has found an audience online during this period, many are worried that by giving this content away for free, they are setting a precedent that their work lacks value and risks devaluing their practice as a whole. </p>
<p>Many creatives we spoke to described experiencing a pressure to somehow maintain an active profile, stay relevant, and find some kind of artistic response to current events – but often with little promise of any tangible reward. Undoubtedly, many creatives have taken opportunities to develop new skills and expand their practice in new ways. But their capacity to actually earn any money from this, or other jobs, remains fundamentally limited.</p>
<h2>Support is slow to appear</h2>
<p>While the government has pledged support to the creative industries, this money is slow in appearing. Despite being <a href="https://www.classicfm.com/music-news/coronavirus/delay-1-57bn-arts-package-venues-risk-collapse/">announced on July 5</a>, none of the UK government’s £1.57 billion rescue package has yet been distributed. It is also aimed at larger cultural institutions. </p>
<p>The creative freelancers we have spoken to will need to continue to rely on food packages sent by family, small one-off charitable grants, and (for some) universal credit allowances, in the hope that some of the rescue package eventually trickles down to them. In the meantime, the rent and mortgage holidays, which had been keeping some afloat, will come to an end.</p>
<p>The creative economy makes an enormous contribution to the cultural fabric of British society. Its value to the UK economy is estimated to be <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/news/uks-creative-industries-contributes-almost-13-million-to-the-uk-economy-every-hour">£13 million per hour</a>. Before the pandemic, the creative industries were one of the fastest-growing sectors of the economy, contributing £111 billion in 2018.</p>
<p>But the coronavirus pandemic has exposed the inherent precarity of the creative labour market. Creative work is often poorly paid, insecure, and it requires a great deal of investment <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/10286632.2011.591490">to create and sustain a creative career</a>. With the recent announcement of redundancies by the <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-tyne-53580900">Sage Gateshead</a> concert venue and the <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2020/sep/29/va-to-make-10-of-staff-redundant-amid-coronavirus-pandemic">V&A museum</a>, it is clear that even the biggest and most important performing arts venues in our country will struggle to survive. </p>
<p>Less visible, but just as important, the vast freelance workforce that delivers the artistic content and support for these organisations has already been depleted and will continue to suffer until the government and sector leaders find a way to adequately support freelancers directly. Otherwise, there is a risk that we will retain the country’s cultural architecture but without the artists necessary to produce the plays, songs and visual art needed to fill it. Worse, diversity in the arts will be considerably set back as artists without the connections and finances to survive six months or more of unemployment are driven out of the industry.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/147396/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Holly Patrick receives funding from the Creative Informatics research and development programme based in Edinburgh. She is a fellow of the Royal Society for the Encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce (RSA). </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Chris Elsden is employed as a researcher on the AHRC Creative Informatics project - <a href="https://creativeinformatics.org/">https://creativeinformatics.org/</a>.</span></em></p>Lots of creatives will struggle to qualify for the next round of government job support.Holly Patrick, Lecturer in Human Resource Management, Edinburgh Napier UniversityChris Elsden, Postdoctoral Research Associate in Design Informatics, The University of EdinburghLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1326072020-03-09T13:26:49Z2020-03-09T13:26:49ZWhy South Africa should resist US pressure to extend copyright terms<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/319112/original/file-20200306-118966-u8zam1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>The current <a href="https://libguides.wits.ac.za/c.php?g=145331&p=4821691">term of copyright</a> in South Africa is life-of-the-author plus 50 years. But the US is pressuring South Africa to <a href="https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=3480127">extend</a> the term to life-plus-70. Since the US is a net exporter of copyrighted media, like songs, books, and movies, US copyrights earn <a href="https://www.uspto.gov/sites/default/files/documents/IPandtheUSEconomySept2016.pdf">billions</a> in revenue yearly. The US wants to prolong this trade imbalance as long as possible and deny foreigners free access to older US works.</p>
<p>Research I have done <a href="https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2290181">shows</a> that caving in to this demand would be bad for South African consumers. This is because copyright term extensions <a href="https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=3480127">prevent</a> works from entering the public domain and being republished for the public benefit. The negative effect on the availability of titles is palpable and dramatic. </p>
<p>Just as important, keeping books under copyright imposes a direct cost on the public in terms of higher prices. </p>
<p>South Africa is poised to adopt a <a href="https://pmg.org.za/bill/705/">Copyright Amendment Bill</a> that aims to modernise its 1978 Copyright Act and ensure protection of the creative industries. But the proposed amendments are fiercely <a href="https://www.fin24.com/Economy/davies-warned-that-devastating-copyright-amendment-bill-could-cost-sa-jobs-20190318">contested</a> and the US has been adding to the <a href="https://theconversation.com/making-sense-of-south-africas-new-copyright-bill-and-us-trade-threats-128418">pressure</a>.</p>
<p>A change to extend the terms of copyright would benefit the US, which exports far more copyrighted works to South Africa than it imports.</p>
<p>I conclude from my analysis that fewer books will be available to South Africans and the books remaining under copyright will be more expensive if the country gives in to US pressure to extend its copyright term.</p>
<p>On the other hand, data from the US, Canada and the UK <a href="https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=3084920">suggest</a> that limiting the ability of South African authors to transfer their copyrights for longer than 25 years may have significantly positive effects on the availability of works. So-called “author-reversion” statutes don’t shorten the term of copyright, but rather switch ownership back to the author after a set term of years (the current reversion term in the US is 35 years).</p>
<h2>The research</h2>
<p>In a recent issue of the <em>South African Intellectual Property Journal</em>, I <a href="https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=3480127">summarised data</a> collected on the effect of the 20-year copyright term extension in the US. </p>
<p>The data show that the decision imposed a significant welfare loss to the US public. My study showed that when books fell into the public domain, they were much more likely to be in print as new editions on online retailer Amazon. A random sample of over 2,000 Amazon books showed fewer than 30 new editions originally published in the 1980s were in print, but over 150 new editions from 100 years earlier – the 1880s – were on offer.</p>
<p>A yet-to-be published study of Canadian book markets showed a similar pattern. Canada has the same copyright term as South Africa. A sample of Canadian book titles from the 1880s, 1890s and 1900s were in print at about an 85% rate, while a sample of titles from the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s were in print at a rate under 30%. </p>
<p>Yet-to-be published UK data confirm the gains in availability associated with public domain status. </p>
<p>In South Africa, my <a href="https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=3480127">study</a> of bound volumes for sale showed the copyrighted volumes selling for an average of US$17.74, while the public domain titles averaged US$14.44. The higher price for bound volumes approximates the size of the royalty the publisher of a copyrighted book usually pays to an author.</p>
<p>But the need to pay a royalty to the author of a copyrighted book cannot explain the price difference found in ebook markets.</p>
<p>Ebook prices of books eligible for download in South Africa from Random House Canada, which has the same copyright term, were also collected, and the findings are dramatic. A sample of titles showed the average price of copyrighted ebooks to be $12.53 and the average for the public domain titles, in the same Vintage Classics collection, cost on average $6.76. </p>
<p>A broader sample of 432 non-Vintage Classic Canadian titles showed an even greater ebook pricing discrepancy: C$1.89 for public domain books and over C$11 for copyrighted titles.</p>
<h2>Different rules in different countries</h2>
<p><a href="https://libguides.wits.ac.za/Copyright_and_Related_Issues/Copyright_Terms_and_Extensions">Currently in South Africa</a>, the heirs of an author regain control over all the author’s copyrights in year 25 after their death. Famously, this reversion provision was successfully used by the heirs of <a href="https://www.sahistory.org.za/dated-event/solomon-popoli-linda-singer-and-composer-dies">Solomon Linda</a>, a South African composer, in their <a href="https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-features/lion-sleeps-tonight-lion-king-update-879663/">suit</a> against Walt Disney when they regained the copyright in his composition, <em>M’Bube</em> (<em>The Lion Sleeps Tonight</em>). Disney had failed to realise that the last 25 years of the copyright in the song were owned by Linda’s daughters and not the music publishing company they contracted with. </p>
<p>The US has long had a more author-friendly rule. This allows authors or their heirs to terminate the transfer of a copyright 35 years after the transfer.</p>
<p>Data from US book markets suggest strongly that beneficiaries of the termination right (authors or their heirs) use it to bring older books back into print with independent presses. A study of over 1,900 US titles <a href="https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=3084920">found</a> that as many as 20% of in-print titles were available because of the US termination right. </p>
<p>Canada and the UK have provisions similar to the current South African law. They also show an uptick in book availability associated with their reversion schemes.</p>
<p>Strengthening authors’ rights is not a universal panacea to alleviate the massive public cost associated with copyright term extension. But it would appear to be a step in the right direction. The Canadian parliament is also currently considering a 25-year reversion or termination. If it passes, South Africa should find it easier to fend off US complaints about the similar South African proposal.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/132607/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Paul Heald does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Fewer books will be available to South Africans, and the books remaining under copyright will be more expensive, if the country gives in to US pressure to extend its copyright term.Paul Heald, University of Illinois at Urbana-ChampaignLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1309562020-01-31T16:02:24Z2020-01-31T16:02:24ZBrexit: research from Wales shows creative industry’s concern at leaving EU<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/313061/original/file-20200131-41541-1kfpp0v.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C4888%2C2741&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">New research from Wales shows the level of concern at what might happen to creative industries after Brexit.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">jax10289 via Shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>The creative industries are one of the UK’s most conspicuous <a href="https://www.newstatesman.com/spotlight/skills/2019/05/creative-industries-and-uk-economy-success-story">success stories</a>. Creativity is not just good for the soul, it is one of our best exports. The Creative Industries Federation calculates that the creative economy accounts for <a href="https://www.creativeengland.co.uk/creative-industries-federation-join-forces/">one in ten jobs</a> across the UK, employing 700,000 more people than the financial services sector.</p>
<p>Despite digital disruption, the creative industries are seen as a part of the economy most able to prosper in an age of automation. And <a href="https://www.creativeindustriesfederation.com/statistics">the figures bear this out</a>, with creativity a key growth area over the past ten years. Since 2011, the number of creative jobs in the UK has increased by 30.6% so that by 2018, more than 3.2 million people worked in the UK’s creative economy.</p>
<p>The UK government recognises the importance of the creative sector across the whole of the UK, and <a href="https://ahrc.ukri.org/innovation/creative-economy-research/the-creative-industries-clusters-programme/">has invested in</a> nine creative industries clusters across all four UK nations. Nesta’s <a href="https://www.nesta.org.uk/report/creative-nation/">Creative Nation report</a> demonstrates that the creative industries are key to local economies across the UK: between 2011-2016, the creative industries in the average local economy increased by 11%, twice as fast as in the rest of the economy. Their value, of course, is not just economic: they shape our cultural environment and tell the stories that help us understand the world.</p>
<h2>Creativity post-Brexit?</h2>
<p>With the UK leaving the EU on January 31, what impact will Brexit have on the creative industries? To find out, <a href="https://clwstwr.org.uk/what-clwstwr">we surveyed</a> 244 creative businesses in Wales. The Welsh Government <a href="https://gov.wales/sites/default/files/statistics-and-research/2019-03/priority-sector-statistics-2016-new-gva-data-2014.pdf">has identified</a> the creative industries sector as a key priority sector, both because of their increasing importance to the Welsh economy and their role in promoting Welsh stories, talent and identity.</p>
<p>There is a lot to be optimistic about in the Welsh creative sector, now the home to <a href="https://theconversation.com/were-seeing-plenty-of-welsh-locations-in-bbc-dramas-one-day-they-may-be-shows-about-wales-92628">big drama productions</a> from Doctor Who and Sherlock to Discovery of Witches and His Dark Materials, as well as a raft of other popular TV titles from Hinterland and Keeping Faith to Casualty and Only Connect.</p>
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<a href="https://theconversation.com/were-seeing-plenty-of-welsh-locations-in-bbc-dramas-one-day-they-may-be-shows-about-wales-92628">We're seeing plenty of Welsh locations in BBC dramas – one day they may be shows about Wales</a>
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<p>Four out of five creative businesses, we found, are concerned about the impact of Brexit on their businesses. Of these, a quarter expressed very strong concerns, indicating that Brexit could potentially be a “disaster” for their business. Only 4% saw Brexit having any positive impact on their bottom line. And most of this group still have concerns, with less than 1% seeing Brexit as a generally positive development.</p>
<p>Concerns about Brexit are consistent across Wales, and were expressed regardless of company size. Among the different creative sectors, the highest level of concern was expressed in Wales’s two largest creative sectors: the thriving film/television sector (where 87% expressed concern) and the music and performing arts sector (where 83% expressed concern).</p>
<h2>Why the concern?</h2>
<p>Creative businesses have concerns that range from broad economic and structural changes to practical day to day problems that Brexit may create. These come under four broad headings.</p>
<p><strong>Business and economy</strong>: Businesses are worried that Brexit would lead to slower UK economic growth and lower consumer and client spending. Many businesses are also concerned at the prospect of price changes, higher costs and an increase in bureaucracy around trade, especially if the UK falls out of regulatory alignment with the EU. There is also apprehension about clients with strong European connections leaving the UK.</p>
<p><strong>Mobility:</strong> Creative businesses are worried that ending free movement will mean an increase in bureaucracy in travel arrangement between the UK and the EU (so, for example, making it harder to book artists, or increasing the burden on existing or future collaborations with EU partners).</p>
<p><strong>Labour market:</strong> Any limitations on labour movement will make it harder to attract EU talent, while placing burdens on future collaborations with partners in the EU.</p>
<p><strong>Reputation and access:</strong> Many businesses fear that Brexit will have a negative impact on their reputation for international cooperation with Europe, and that they will lose access to EU funding streams. </p>
<p>A smaller proportion of creative businesses – one in five – indicated that they had already been affected by Brexit. </p>
<p>These impacts include a decline in projects and orders since 2016 due to Brexit uncertainty. Some businesses have had to change business strategy to focus on non-European markets and to prepare for the unravelling of existing EU agreements and networks. Businesses have also been affected by the higher cost of materials, products and services (due to a drop in the value of the pound).</p>
<h2>Keeping the creative economy strong</h2>
<p>It is possible that the creative industries in Wales feel especially vulnerable. Wales is <a href="https://researchbriefings.parliament.uk/ResearchBriefing/Summary/CBP-7851">particularly dependent on trade with the EU</a> – more so than any other UK nation or region. </p>
<p>But it seems more likely that their nervousness about Brexit will be widely felt across the UK’s creative industries. These concerns need to inform what kind of deal the UK strikes with the EU. They point to potential problems that are both real and tangible. Since the creative sectors are an increasingly strong and successful part of both the Welsh and wider UK economy, this level of concern needs to be taken seriously.</p>
<p>The Welsh government can try to mitigate the problems that may lie ahead, but many of the problems raised by the companies we surveyed are beyond their control. In this context, it is important that, in the months ahead, the UK government listens to these concerns and strikes a deal with the EU that does not hinder the growth of one of the UK’s most successful sectors.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/130956/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Marlen Komorowski is affiliated with Cardiff University, Vrije Universiteit Brussel and works currently on the Media Audit 2020 for the IWA. At Cardiff University she is funded by AHRC.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Justin Lewis receives funding from the AHRC</span></em></p>A survey of creative businesses in Wales reveals concern over labour force, red tape and access to European markets and funding sources.Marlen Komorowski, Impact Analyst, School of Journalism, Media and Culture, Cardiff UniversityJustin Lewis, Professor of Communication, Cardiff UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1214822019-08-28T09:09:58Z2019-08-28T09:09:58ZBig data analysis reveals staggering extent of gender inequality in creative industries<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/289207/original/file-20190823-170931-1h8j8bq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/download/success?u=http%3A%2F%2Fdownload.shutterstock.com%2Fgatekeeper%2FW3siZSI6MTU2NjU4MzU4NywiYyI6Il9waG90b19zZXNzaW9uX2lkIiwiZGMiOiJpZGxfMTM4NDM5MDA3IiwiayI6InBob3RvLzEzODQzOTAwNy9tZWRpdW0uanBnIiwibSI6MSwiZCI6InNodXR0ZXJzdG9jay1tZWRpYSJ9LCJjd0U2WkFrNURSWERtU2tuUU1uVHp5Nml5UDAiXQ%2Fshutterstock_138439007.jpg&pi=33421636&m=138439007&src=bOpXNRf-2DY8icI9sMq4tw-1-11">Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>The term “big data” may bring to mind swaths of private information held by tech companies. But lots of big data is, in fact, visible to all – we just may not think of it as “data”.</p>
<p>If you’ve been to the movies recently, you will have seen a dataset of credits – listing the cast and crew members alongside their roles. While the credits from any one film may not be that useful, the credits from every film can form a big dataset. At <a href="https://www.nesta.org.uk/">Nesta</a> and <a href="https://www.pec.ac.uk/">the PEC</a> (a new policy and evidence centre for the creative industries), we have been exploring how these types of non-confidential big datasets can shine new light on gender representation in the creative industries.</p>
<p>Gender representation has traditionally been gauged using surveys of workers. But most surveys haven’t been going for that long and it can take several years (after launching a new survey) before we can tell how the gender mix is changing. Also, surveys often don’t go beyond counting the number of women and men – and so can’t shed light on how prominent each group was in the creative process, or how they were portrayed in a particular art form.</p>
<h2>Digging deep</h2>
<p>We looked recently at the <a href="https://data-viz.nesta.org.uk/measuring-gender-imbalances-reporting-creative-industries/index.html">media’s reporting of women in the creative industries</a> using more than half a million articles from The Guardian newspaper, published between 2000 and 2018, from sections of the paper relating to the creative industries (such as Books, Film, Fashion and Games).</p>
<p>In the past five years, there has been a large increase in references to women. From 2000 to 2013, less than one-third of gendered pronouns within articles (for example, “he” and “she”) referred to women. But this began to change in 2014 – and by 2018 the percentage of gendered pronouns that were female had reached 40%. By contrast, the gender mix among workers in the UK’s creative industries has remained flat in recent years, and <a href="https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/811903/DCMS_Sectors_Economic_Estimates_2018_Employment_report.pdf">sits at around 37%</a>.</p>
<p>We also studied the words that followed the pronouns “he” and “she”, to gain insight into the media’s portrayal of creative workers. This led us to discover that, compared to men, there was greater focus on particular sounds made by women, such as “laughs”, “cries”, “giggles”, and “coos”, and non-verbal reactions, such as “smiles”, “grins” and “nods”. These words were never used frequently, but when they were used, they were more likely to be referring to women than men (compared to other words). </p>
<p>In contrast, words relating to past creative achievements and leadership activities more frequently referred to men. For example, you’re much more likely to see “he directed” than “she directed”, and similarly “he performed”, “he designed”, “he managed” and “he founded”. This finding is consistent with the long-running gender imbalances in the creative industries.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/289205/original/file-20190823-170922-1ypgmf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/289205/original/file-20190823-170922-1ypgmf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/289205/original/file-20190823-170922-1ypgmf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/289205/original/file-20190823-170922-1ypgmf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/289205/original/file-20190823-170922-1ypgmf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/289205/original/file-20190823-170922-1ypgmf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/289205/original/file-20190823-170922-1ypgmf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Big data from The Guardian offers a valuable insight into gender equality in the media.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/download/success?u=http%3A%2F%2Fdownload.shutterstock.com%2Fgatekeeper%2FW3siZSI6MTU2NjU4MzA4NiwiYyI6Il9waG90b19zZXNzaW9uX2lkIiwiZGMiOiJpZGxfMTM3NDYzNDQwMyIsImsiOiJwaG90by8xMzc0NjM0NDAzL21lZGl1bS5qcGciLCJtIjoxLCJkIjoic2h1dHRlcnN0b2NrLW1lZGlhIn0sIkxTS21vTlNEcWpiZ1J3bDM3SnB2WWErY0FFcyJd%2Fshutterstock_1374634403.jpg&pi=33421636&m=1374634403&src=x8ai_KLZtIFarduDznrJRg-1-7">Shutterstock</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p><a href="https://data-viz.nesta.org.uk/bfi-onscreen/index.html">In another study</a>, we used a dataset from the <a href="https://www.bfi.org.uk/">British Film Institute</a> (BFI) that contained the credits from every UK feature-length film released to cinema.</p>
<p>After the BFI inferred people’s gender from their first names, we found that the on-screen gender mix hasn’t changed meaningfully since the end of World War II – and in 2017 women still only made up around 30% of cast members and 34% of crew members.</p>
<p>This dataset also showed gender-based differences in the jobs of on-screen characters. Since 2005, for example, only 16% of on-screen “doctors” (in unnamed roles) have been played by women, which jars with the fact that women make up <a href="https://data.gmc-uk.org/gmcdata/home/#/reports/The%20Register/Stats/report">46% of doctors in the UK</a>.</p>
<h2>Creative fairness</h2>
<p>We are by no means the only researchers showing the potential of non-confidential sources of big data to inform gender metrics in the creative industries. <a href="https://about.google/main/gender-equality-films/">Researchers at Google</a>, in collaboration with the Geena Davis Institute, used facial and speech recognition technology to show that in the 100 highest-grossing live-action films in the US, in each year from 2014 to 2016, women occupied just 36% of screen time and 35% of the speaking time.</p>
<p>While big data studies can enrich diversity measures, there are two important sources of potential bias. First, we’re almost always inferring gender – from a face, a first name or a single pronoun – and so we may get a person’s gender wrong. Second, these inference methods typically only detect “male” and “female”, excluding or misclassifying anyone who identifies with a non-binary gender. For these reasons, big data methods are not a replacement for surveys – as surveys allow people to self-identify and opt out entirely.</p>
<p>Even bearing in mind these potential biases, there are still many big data sources that could shed new light on gender imbalances, if only they were made available to researchers. For example, access to the stills and subtitles of films and television programmes could be used to evaluate diversity schemes, while access to the content of more newspapers would enable a broader study on the media’s reporting of creative workers.</p>
<p>To realise the potential of these new methods, we need to encourage and support creative organisations to securely share their non-confidential data. That will hopefully allow researchers to get a little more creative about measuring gender equality in the UK’s creative industries.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/121482/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Dr Cath Sleeman is Head of Data Visualisation in the Creative Economy and Data Analytics team at Nesta, the innovation foundation. Cath is also a Researcher at the Creative Industries Policy and Evidence Centre (PEC), which is funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) as part of the UK Government’s Industrial Strategy. </span></em></p>From 2000 to 2013, less than a third of gendered pronouns within articles (for example, ‘he’ and ‘she’) referred to women.Cath Sleeman, Quantitative Research Fellow, NestaLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1170172019-06-12T20:16:22Z2019-06-12T20:16:22ZCreatives in the country? Blockchain and agtech can create unexpected jobs in regional Australia<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/276546/original/file-20190527-40025-5cqari.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">BeefLedger and QUT work with Mount Gambier High School students on food provenance, IoT and data science</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="license">Author provided</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Digital technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI) and robotics are said to make many jobs redundant due to automation. BeefLedger, a QUT research project with a focus on <a href="https://theconversation.com/demystifying-the-blockchain-a-basic-user-guide-60226">blockchain</a> and <a href="https://www.weeklytimesnow.com.au/agribusiness/decisionag/agtech-what-the-umbrella-term-really-means/news-story/1779963d380acb1780e85fcd4637a28d">agtech</a> (agricultural technology), tells a different story. It turns out the project generates jobs not usually associated with rural and regional Australia. </p>
<p><a href="https://research.qut.edu.au/blockchain/projects/beefledger/">BeefLedger</a> is a two-year A$1.5 million project that set out to track and protect the authenticity of Australian beef in the rapidly growing Chinese market. It also shows, though, that blockchain and agtech can generate jobs in the creative industries in regional Australia, too. </p>
<p>The Australian <a href="https://www.mla.com.au/about-mla/the-red-meat-industry/">beef industry</a> is worth more than A$13 billion a year. Around 75% of its output is exported. Yet <a href="https://www.ers.usda.gov/amber-waves/2014/april/china-in-the-next-decade-rising-meat-demand-and-growing-imports-of-feed/">demand from markets like China</a> will soon exceed our supply capacity. </p>
<p>And that opens a door to <a href="http://foodfraud.msu.edu/">food fraud</a>, a A$40 billion-a-year problem globally. Food fraud is reducing Australia’s brand value in <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/may/03/china-arrests-fake-meat-scandal">China</a>.</p>
<p>Led by QUT with funding from the <a href="https://www.foodagility.com">Food Agility CRC</a> and <a href="https://beefledger.io">industry partners</a>, BeefLedger is designed to protect Australia’s brand integrity by fighting food fraud. As well as verifying food provenance, it eases cross-border logistics and payments. It does this by creating an integrated <a href="https://eprints.qut.edu.au/112257/">blockchain</a>-enabled beef provenance and smart contract platform. </p>
<h2>So where do creative jobs come into it?</h2>
<p>BeefLedger engages producer communities in rural Australia in new ways. BeefLedger is working with the District Council of Grant and Mount Gambier High School to develop digital video stories about the <a href="https://eatlocalsa.com.au/regions/limestone-coast/">Limestone Coast</a> and Mount Gambier region. By producing authentic local content that showcases food provenance to consumers, the project opens up regionally branded export opportunities in the Chinese market. </p>
<p>This creative content will be used across various platforms to strengthen the brand authenticity of Limestone Coast beef in the Chinese market. Farmers collaborate with students producing this content. In turn, BeefLedger adds value and benefit to the local community.</p>
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<p>The students visit farms and feedlots to learn about digital farming (<a href="https://www.agtechfinder.com">agtech</a>), the <a href="https://theconversation.com/explainer-the-internet-of-things-16542">Internet of Things</a> (IoT) and <a href="https://www.simplilearn.com/data-science-vs-big-data-vs-data-analytics-article">data analytics</a>. BeefLedger engages students in agricultural science, data visualisation, creative storytelling, and food provenance narrative branding. They also learn about Chinese culture, including food and media consumption practices such as WeChat.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/explainer-whats-the-difference-between-stem-and-steam-95713">Explainer: what's the difference between STEM and STEAM?</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>Could a technology and innovation initiative such as BeefLedger become an example of how to arrest the brain drain of young people to metropolitan cities? Might such new career prospects be an incentive even for <a href="https://theaustralianfarmer.businesscatalyst.com/pdf/28.pdf">city slickers</a> to consider regional Australia as their <a href="https://theconversation.com/meet-the-new-seachangers-now-its-younger-australians-moving-out-of-the-big-cities-103762">new home</a>?</p>
<h2>Is blockchain really killing jobs?</h2>
<blockquote>
<p>There are about as many opinions as there are experts. <strong>–</strong> <a href="https://www.technologyreview.com/s/610005/every-study-we-could-find-on-what-automation-will-do-to-jobs-in-one-chart/"><strong>Erin Winick</strong></a></p>
</blockquote>
<p>The desire to eliminate middlemen has been around for as long as there have been middlemen. Calling this desire <em><a href="https://ssrn.com/abstract=2711379">disintermediation</a></em> has gained currency with the rise of <a href="https://www.qut.edu.au/business/insights/if-blockchain-is-the-answer-what-was-the-question">blockchain</a> and other distributed ledger technology. </p>
<p>The removal of intermediaries in a supply chain is said to enable <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/S0007-6813(01)80023-9"><em>frictionless capitalism</em></a>, where producers have a more direct relationship with consumers. This supposedly leads to more profit for producers and a better deal for consumers.</p>
<p>The <a href="https://doi.org/10.1142/9781786346391_0006">future of work</a> in a blockchain world remains contested. Some have <a href="https://www.coindesk.com/threat-opportunity-blythe-masters-addresses-blockchain-jobs-impact">estimated</a> that blockchain and <a href="https://altcointoday.com/smart-contracts-and-blockchain-technology-may-lead-to-job-cuts/">smart contracts</a> could make 30–60% of jobs redundant. Rebuttals of these dire predictions point to new jobs and <a href="https://www.inquisitr.com/4721900/will-blockchain-impact-jobs-three-things-you-need-to-know/">new businesses</a> being created. </p>
<p>Rather than thinking of disintermediation as killing jobs, we find consumer culture and expectations are creating new ones. Nowhere is this more evident than in the <a href="https://theconversation.com/an-exploding-creative-economy-shows-innovation-policy-shouldnt-focus-only-on-stem-93732">creative industries</a>. </p>
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<p>Originally, <a href="https://au.sagepub.com/en-gb/oce/the-cultural-intermediaries-reader/book236720">cultural intermediaries</a> were identified mostly as advertisers and marketers. Today, they are a growing profession filling a range of roles: arts managers, curators and promoters, fashion, food and lifestyle gurus, journalists, DJs and online product reviewers. In China, the latter have become <a href="https://www.inkstonenews.com/style/chinas-key-opinion-leaders-turn-influence-sales/article/3001678">social influencers</a> in an industry worth more than <a href="https://techwireasia.com/2019/03/why-influencer-marketing-is-a-9b-industry-in-china/">A$12 billion</a>.</p>
<p>But when you ask a cultural intermediary what their job is, they are more likely to say: “I am a brand manager / curator / arts worker,” and not, “I am a cultural intermediary.” Cultural intermediation is a theoretical construct to describe a wide range of existing and emerging occupations. </p>
<h2>New careers in cultural intermediation</h2>
<blockquote>
<p>The generalisation of entrepreneurialism in neoliberal societies into so many different occupations and areas of practice – the bootstrapping ethos of not searching for but creating one’s job – goes a considerable way to making everyone an intermediary whether they want to be or not. <strong>–</strong> <strong><a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/1367549414526732">Peter Conlin</a></strong></p>
</blockquote>
<p>We are seeing a third wave of socially engaged <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/1367549415572324">cultural intermediaries in the creative city</a>. This includes facilitators, enablers, community workers, activists and social entrepreneurs. It often includes those working in not-for-profit and non-government organisations. </p>
<p>The cultural intermediation at play in the BeefLedger project entails brokerage, lateral thinking, conceptual reordering and dot-joining people and community <a href="https://trove.nla.gov.au/version/45629086">assets</a>. This is the craft so many professionals in the creative industries practise every day just to get a gig: <a href="https://eprints.qut.edu.au/105473/">applied creativity</a>.</p>
<p>Intermediation and disintermediation cannot be reduced to a simple binary of good or bad. Nor should our understanding of them be confined to sales, marketing or e-commerce. Our work on the BeefLedger project applies creativity across the persistent silos of the <a href="https://eprints.utas.edu.au/13001/">3Cs – Community, Culture and Commerce</a> – towards mutually beneficial results.</p>
<p>In fact, digital technology such as blockchain may soon increase demand for professional cultural intermediaries. They bring an ability to articulate commercial aims and objectives in creative and community terms. This then enables a more holistic integration of business, social and regional agendas.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/117017/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Marcus Foth receives research funding from the Food Agility CRC and the CRC for Spatial Information. He is a member of the Queensland Greens.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Jock McQueenie receives a doctoral scholarship from the Food Agility CRC.</span></em></p>A project to protect producers from food fraud by verifying and promoting the provenance of the region’s beef exports to China turned out to be a source of creative work in the region as well.Marcus Foth, Professor of Urban Informatics, Queensland University of TechnologyJohn (Jock) McQueenie, Creative Partnership Designer and PhD Candidate, Queensland University of TechnologyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/974642018-05-31T04:07:55Z2018-05-31T04:07:55ZAustralia’s major dance companies need to step up on gender equality<p>The dance sector in Australia has a gender equality problem. While nearly <a href="http://www.australiacouncil.gov.au/research/making-art-work/">70% of people working in the industry</a> identify as female, there is a significant gender gap in programming and leadership at the major dance companies. </p>
<p>A report released this week, <a href="https://www.delvingintodance.com/turning-pointe/">Turning Pointe</a>, by Andrew Westle, looked at the five big dance companies that receive the bulk of public funding – the Australian Ballet, Queensland Ballet, West Australian Ballet, Bangarra Dance Theatre and Sydney Dance Company. All the artistic directors at these companies are men. Between 2011 and 2017, women choreographed only 13% of full-length works and 24% of shorter works. Only 26% of Australian premieres were from women. </p>
<p>In the small-to-medium sector, which is significantly underfunded and under-resourced compared to the bigger companies, women are faring far better. Overall, in this part of the sector, women choreographed 59% of works. </p>
<p>Key recommendations of the report include:</p>
<ul>
<li>bringing in quotas as a funding requirement</li>
<li>increasing support for child care</li>
<li>increasing mentoring, particularly around the skills required to be an artistic director</li>
<li>getting audiences to become advocates for equality. </li>
</ul>
<p>The quota idea is based on the model introduced by <a href="http://www.screen.nsw.gov.au/news/nsw-screen-industry-achieves-dramatic-increase-in-female-key-creatives-with-drama-projects-delivering-gender-parity-commits-from-july-1-50-of-feature-films-it-funds-will-be-written-or-directed-by-women">Screen NSW</a> in response to a <a href="https://www.screenaustralia.gov.au/getmedia/f20beab8-81cc-4499-92e9-02afba18c438/Gender-Matters-Women-in-the-Australian-Screen-Industry.pdf?ext=.pdf">2015 report on gender balance in the film industry</a>. Within a year of Screen NSW introducing these measures, significantly more grant applications had women as key creatives. </p>
<p>Dance, like other creative industries, has not been immune to revelations of <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2017/12/12/arts/dance/peter-martins-ballet-new-york-city-physical-abuse.html">gender discrimination and harassment</a> in recent years. However, these <a href="https://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/les-grands-ballets-reels-from-self-inflicted-gender-bias-pr-disaster/article38267913/">discussions</a> have happened primarily <a href="https://www.dancemagazine.com/equality-in-ballet-2492924587">overseas</a>. </p>
<p>Andrew Westle conducted interviews with 23 men and women working in the sector. Although the sector may not have appeared to have gender equality in creative leadership on the agenda, the interviews revealed that individuals are very much aware of the issues.</p>
<p>Some of the issues people talked about were more unique to dance, such as men being given increased support and attention to improve lower participation numbers. Others reflected iniquities in wider society, such as the challenges of balancing childcare responsibility alongside a career — particularly a career that involves travel, evening performances and odd hours. </p>
<p>In the small-to-medium and independent dance sectors, these barriers to participation are linked directly to income. Women reported that they are spending their whole contract fee on child care. Here, the major companies are ahead of the curve, with some offering well resourced and supported maternity leave structures. </p>
<p>Nevertheless, the disparity in support across the whole of the sector is concerning. Interviewees offered examples where companies blatantly contravened <a href="https://www.legislation.gov.au/Details/C2014C00002">Australian</a> <a href="https://www.wgea.gov.au/about-legislation/workplace-gender-equality-act-2012">legislation</a>. Yet women felt powerless to act, as they feared they would not get a second opportunity to choreograph, direct, or perform.</p>
<p>Women interviewees indicated that confidence was a trait that was fostered in men, but that a confident woman was not given the same respect. Men were said to pursue more opportunities as a result of this confidence. The impact of increased confidence and opportunities as training and emerging artists can arguably be traced to leadership later on in their careers.</p>
<p>Gender equality in creative leadership has recently, and importantly, been placed on the agenda in <a href="https://www.screenaustralia.gov.au/getmedia/f20beab8-81cc-4499-92e9-02afba18c438/Gender-Matters-Women-in-the-Australian-Screen-Industry.pdf?ext=.pdf">film</a>, <a href="http://sydney.edu.au/business/__data/assets/pdf_file/0005/315275/Skipping-a-Beat_FINAL_210717.pdf">music</a>, <a href="http://www.australiacouncil.gov.au/workspace/uploads/files/research/women-in-theatre-april-2012-54325827577ea.pdf">theatre</a> and <a href="http://thecountessreport.com.au/">visual arts</a>. The gender imbalance in dance should be quickly redressed. </p>
<p>Gender equality should not be seen as a hindrance, but as an opportunity to strengthen the sector and celebrate its diversity. Dance is a tool for storytelling, and it should matter to us whose stories are being told on our stages.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/97464/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Andrew Westle submitted a draft of this report for a MFA (Cultural Leadership) at NIDA. The Delving into Dance podcast is run by Andrew Westle and has some project funding from Creative Victoria.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Jordan Beth Vincent does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Since 2017, only 13% of full-length works by Australia’s major dance companies have been choreographed by women.Andrew Westle, Assistant researcher and PhD candidate, La Trobe UniversityJordan Beth Vincent, Research Fellow, Deakin Motion Lab, Deakin UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/937322018-03-22T01:44:28Z2018-03-22T01:44:28ZAn exploding creative economy shows innovation policy shouldn’t focus only on STEM<p>Australians in creative industries <a href="https://research.qut.edu.au/dmrc/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2018/03/Factsheet-1-Creative-Employment-overview-V5.pdf">have grown</a> from 3.7% of the workforce in 1986 to 5.5% in the latest census. </p>
<p>Creative services, a subset of the creative economy that includes software and digital content (including web design and games) and social media management and marketing, are growing as much as three times the rate of the overall workforce. </p>
<p>These findings make it imperative that Australian governments develop policies that don’t fixate on what NSW Education Minister Rob Stokes <a href="https://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/politics/nsw/stem-has-become-a-buzzword-and-a-fad-nsw-education-minister-20180321-p4z5iw.html">calls</a> the STEM “buzzword”. </p>
<p>The government should focus on education and training that combines the acquisition of both technical and non-technical skills. This will support the sustainability of creative industries.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/we-can-rebalance-australias-economy-with-creative-industries-23458">We can rebalance Australia's economy with creative industries</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>Altogether 600,000 people work in Australia’s creative economy, which combines cultural production (film and broadcasting, music and performing arts, publishing and visual arts) with creative services (advertising and marketing, architecture and design, creative software and digital content).</p>
<p>It also includes “support professionals” who work in these creative industries such as technicians, accountants, lawyers or salespeople, as well as “embedded” creatives who work outside the creative industries, across the rest of the economy. </p>
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<p>The creative economy is a job-intensive sector. It immerses human talent in meaningful, creative, well-remunerated activity at a scale few other sectors can offer. </p>
<p>The creative economy as a whole is growing at a rate nearly twice that of the Australian workforce as a whole and it is highly likely to continue to grow into the future.</p>
<p>Compare that to sectors that are <a href="https://theconversation.com/explaining-the-figures-why-we-shouldnt-worry-about-the-loss-of-23-000-mining-jobs-1705">shedding jobs</a> through automation, such as mining, or whose contribution to employment in Australia has been trending down for decades, such as agriculture.</p>
<p>In 2013, <a href="https://www.oxfordmartin.ox.ac.uk/downloads/academic/The_Future_of_Employment.pdf">one study</a> estimated that 47% of jobs in the United States were at risk of being automated.</p>
<p>But <a href="http://www.real-world-futures.qut.edu.au/The_future_of_employment.pdf">every serious study</a> since then has dialled back on that dramatic prediction, with <a href="https://www.nesta.org.uk/publications/future-skills-employment-2030">the latest study</a> offering a much more granular account of what we can expect in skills for jobs of the future. </p>
<p>It found that creative skills are some of the most likely to grow in employability. The report says that “artists”, for example, possess skill sets that entail high-level, subtle decision making that are less susceptible to machine substitution.</p>
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<p>But the creative economy is experiencing some disruption. </p>
<p>While digital creative services grow rapidly, publishing (this is mostly newspapers and magazines) has continued its downward spiral. And workers in music, performing arts and visual arts, earn well below the Australian mean income – and their relative situation is stagnant or deteriorating. </p>
<p>On the other hand, creative services workers command wages 30% higher than the Australian average, with software and digital content professionals earning the highest incomes of the whole sector.</p>
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<h2>What this means for policy</h2>
<p>When Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull came to power he <a href="https://www.facebook.com/malcolmturnbull/posts/10153698142356579">stated</a> “there has never been a more exciting time to be an Australian”.</p>
<p>But the electorate didn’t buy it. Its anxiety that innovative responses to technology-driven change was all about inner city start ups and tech love-ins contributed to the Coalition’s near death experience in the 2016 election. </p>
<p>The government <a href="https://www.theaustralian.com.au/national-affairs/innovation-for-all-businesses-says-greg-hunt/news-story/d914fda12d2ec2981aae2b0e6067d154">soon shifted</a> to talking about “innovation for all businesses”, and innovation has been put away in the bottom drawer ever since. </p>
<p>Australian does need an innovation policy, but it needs to be broader than STEM (science, technology, engineering and maths) fields. Creative jobs are transforming the Australian economy. </p>
<p>Instead, research tells us that the most innovative Australian enterprises all thoroughly <a href="https://acola.org.au/wp/saf10/">mix</a> STEM with business, creative, and communication skills, and that digital literacy skills are far wider than what is encompassed in a STEM definition of technology. </p>
<p>The government should focus on education and training that combines both technical and non-technical skills and support the sustainability of creative industries.</p>
<p>That way, we can begin to set the country on an innovation path that is holistic and takes better account of where some of the strongest growth in job creation is occurring.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/93732/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Research that informs this article is funded by an Australian Research Council's Linkage project LP160101724.</span></em></p>The federal government should set the country on an innovation path that takes account of where some of the strongest job growth is occurring.Stuart Cunningham, Distinguished Professor, Media and Communication, Queensland University of TechnologyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/830422017-08-29T20:11:05Z2017-08-29T20:11:05ZCan our cities’ thriving creative precincts be saved from ‘renewal’?<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/183565/original/file-20170828-3645-f2xgwe.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">At first glance, old industrial sites, like this one in Carrington Street, don't look like much. But they provide vital spaces for creative precincts to flourish.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Paul Jones</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Governments are busily rezoning our cities for high-rise apartments. The New South Wales government, for example, plans to rezone a 20-kilometre corridor in Sydney, <a href="http://www.planning.nsw.gov.au/Plans-for-your-area/Priority-Growth-Areas-and-Precincts/Sydenham-to-Bankstown-Urban-Renewal-Corridor">from Sydenham to Bankstown</a>, for urban density, in concert with a new metro rail line. <a href="https://www.sydbankalliance.com/">Residents and community groups</a> have reacted vociferously to the prospects of high-rise buildings in previously low-density suburbs. </p>
<p>But there is another, overlooked dimension to the redevelopment. Much of it is on industrial land: pockets of old factories and workshops, portrayed as decrepit and in need of renewal. </p>
<p>Our <a href="http://www.urbanculturalpolicy.com/">new project</a> documents enterprises that actually use urban industrial lands. It’s a story of surprising and largely hidden vibrancy at the interface between creative industries and small manufacturing.</p>
<hr>
<p><em><strong>Further reading:</strong> <a href="https://theconversation.com/create-to-regenerate-cities-tap-into-talent-for-urban-renewal-63992">Create to regenerate: cities tap into talent for urban renewal</a></em></p>
<hr>
<p>Planners and economic developers tend to assume manufacturing has left central cities and that manufacturing enterprises can simply locate to city-fringe greenfield sites. In reality, manufacturing is changing form, and often depends on – and benefits from – urban industrial lands.</p>
<p>Despite the scale of renewal plans, no detailed knowledge exists of what will be lost, or of existing enterprises’ needs. </p>
<h2>Manufacturing has a new, creative face</h2>
<p>In <a href="http://www.planning.nsw.gov.au/%7E/media/Files/DPE/Reports/sydenham-bankstown-corridor-employment-analysis-2016-10.ashx">planning reports</a> for renewal strategies, industrial zones are seen as redundant because it’s assumed that manufacturing is in a state of inevitable decline. This is false and misleading.</p>
<p>Employment, exports, <a href="http://www.oecd.org/std/business-stats/entrepreneurship-at-a-glance-22266941.htm">enterprise formation</a> and <a href="https://d3n8a8pro7vhmx.cloudfront.net/theausinstitute/pages/536/attachments/original/1464819264/Manufacturing_Still_Matters___Centre_for_Future_Work.pdf?1464819264">R&D investment statistics</a> all point to manufacturing’s endurance, as well as its transformation and increasingly diverse character. </p>
<p>Most manufacturers these days are small, agile and creative. Manufacturing is increasingly interwoven with creative industries, through innovation-driven additive manufacturing, craft-based production, and bespoke maker scenes. </p>
<p>Cities such as <a href="https://gmdconline.org/">New York</a> and <a href="https://www.portlandmade.com">Portland</a> are actively planning for this, because they recognise that the creative-manufacturing interface generates jobs, assists place marketing, contributes to liveability and enlivens local communities.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/183569/original/file-20170828-30371-15xqowc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/183569/original/file-20170828-30371-15xqowc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=333&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/183569/original/file-20170828-30371-15xqowc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=333&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/183569/original/file-20170828-30371-15xqowc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=333&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/183569/original/file-20170828-30371-15xqowc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=418&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/183569/original/file-20170828-30371-15xqowc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=418&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/183569/original/file-20170828-30371-15xqowc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=418&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Mia Penn, aka The Raisin Did It, makes clothes from vintage and rare fabrics in Sydney. Her suppliers and support services are all within a 2.5km radius.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Paul Jones</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<hr>
<p><em><strong>Further reading:</strong> <a href="https://theconversation.com/how-can-our-cities-match-europes-for-finding-value-in-their-creative-vibe-80954">How can our cities match Europe’s for finding value in their creative vibe?</a></em></p>
<hr>
<h2>Creative-manufacturing favours older industrial sites</h2>
<p>There is, however, a planning dilemma cities must face. Enterprises at the interface tend to locate in inner-city industrial zones. This is where other relevant enterprises are co-located and buildings are more suitable, often older and lower rent, with limited restrictions on noise. </p>
<p>Like-minded micro-enterprises sub-let workshops or pods within older factory complexes. They cannot afford commercial rents in stand-alone buildings. Older industrial zones also provide access to distribution and business networks, cultural venues and institutions, and final markets. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/183566/original/file-20170828-27547-1hnfo9f.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/183566/original/file-20170828-27547-1hnfo9f.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=298&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/183566/original/file-20170828-27547-1hnfo9f.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=298&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/183566/original/file-20170828-27547-1hnfo9f.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=298&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/183566/original/file-20170828-27547-1hnfo9f.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=374&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/183566/original/file-20170828-27547-1hnfo9f.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=374&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/183566/original/file-20170828-27547-1hnfo9f.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=374&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Carrington Road, Marrickville, the natural inner-city habitat of creative micro-enterprises and small manufacturers.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Paul Jones</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>These are the very zones favoured for major “renewal” schemes. In practically every case, this means medium- and high-rise apartments. Retail space is provided, typically at ground-floor level (which often sits vacant for months or years). </p>
<p>Ironically, the presence of creative industries <a href="http://rsa.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/08111146.2014.967392">helps sell real estate</a>. But such renewal schemes rarely, if ever, provide replacement workshop space zoned for industrial uses. </p>
<h2>Carrington Rd, an unassuming creative-manufacturing hub</h2>
<p>Our <a href="http://www.urbanculturalpolicy.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/Made_in_Marrickville_DP170104255-201702.pdf">new report</a> documents enterprises in one such industrial precinct in Marrickville, inner Sydney, that’s slated for redevelopment. A single 700-metre-long stretch of Carrington Road is home to more than 200 diverse micro-enterprises and small manufacturers. </p>
<p>These have strong local ties, employing an estimated 1,800 workers. Fifteen discrete enterprise clusters thrive there. These include theatre production, puppet and prop-making, furniture restoration, fashion and textiles. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/183564/original/file-20170828-27560-1bywwsg.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/183564/original/file-20170828-27560-1bywwsg.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/183564/original/file-20170828-27560-1bywwsg.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=859&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/183564/original/file-20170828-27560-1bywwsg.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=859&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/183564/original/file-20170828-27560-1bywwsg.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=859&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/183564/original/file-20170828-27560-1bywwsg.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1080&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/183564/original/file-20170828-27560-1bywwsg.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1080&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/183564/original/file-20170828-27560-1bywwsg.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1080&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Functional clusters in Carrington Road, Marrickville.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Made in Marrickville report, 2017</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>What underpins this pre-eminent creative-manufacturing interface precinct? It’s a combination of affordability, sympathetic landlords, industrial land use zoning, and a mix of small and large factory spaces with suitable features. </p>
<p>Proximity to the CBD, media corporations, major entertainment venues and iconic cultural institutions is vital. That’s because these firms supply stage sets, install event equipment, rent studios for photography, television and film shoots, and perform at corporate functions. </p>
<p>The social and cultural milieu of surrounding areas is also crucial. These areas generate nearby markets for locally made fashion, jewellery and ceramics. </p>
<h2>No consultation on a looming loss for the city</h2>
<p>Shockingly, enterprises in industrial zones potentially affected by this latest renewal strategy are not being consulted before rezoning. </p>
<p>NSW Planning and Environment commissioned a consultancy firm to <a href="http://www.planning.nsw.gov.au/%7E/media/Files/DPE/Reports/sydenham-bankstown-corridor-employment-analysis-2016-10.ashx">investigate employment impacts</a> of proposed redevelopments throughout the Sydenham-Bankstown corridor. The report was a desktop study. Detailed site inspections “were not undertaken nor interviews or consultation with businesses in the Opportunity Sites”.</p>
<p>When we visited Marrickville’s creative-manufacturing enterprises, it became clear none had been consulted about the details of renewal plans for the precinct. They were unaware the closing date for public submissions was imminent. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/183570/original/file-20170828-17108-wx69pt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/183570/original/file-20170828-17108-wx69pt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=333&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/183570/original/file-20170828-17108-wx69pt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=333&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/183570/original/file-20170828-17108-wx69pt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=333&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/183570/original/file-20170828-17108-wx69pt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=418&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/183570/original/file-20170828-17108-wx69pt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=418&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/183570/original/file-20170828-17108-wx69pt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=418&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Kings Knitwear, on Carrington Road, is one of Sydney’s last woollen knitwear factories and supplies local makers and designers as well as national fashion brands.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Paul Jones</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Creative micro-enterprises and small manufacturers reported that city fringe relocation is not feasible. Rezoning this industrial space, one of inner Sydney’s last, may force enterprises to close altogether. Others said they would move overseas. </p>
<p>The loss for Sydney could be tragic. As one artisan said:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>If all the people who worked on this street worked in one company and were sacked, it’d be national headlines.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Similar processes are under way in Melbourne’s inner north, an iconic part of that city’s cultural profile. Rezoning in the name of urban density has given a green light to the conversion of old light industrial buildings into residential developments. </p>
<p>So, just as Creative Victoria establishes a <a href="http://capmelbourne.org/">Collingwood Arts Precinct</a> to host creative practitioners, tenants next door have been evicted to make way for a 12-storey apartment block. The developer has now objected to the potential noise from local venues.</p>
<h2>Learning from other global cities</h2>
<p>Our project’s next phase is to explore how other global cities foster creative and manufacturing enterprises. </p>
<p>Chicago has <a href="http://www.architecture.org/architecture-chicago/topics-news/retrofitting-buildings/5-things-to-know-about-chicagos-planned-manufacturing-districts/">planned manufacturing districts</a> and Portland, Oregon, has <a href="http://www.portlandonline.com/shared/cfm/image.cfm?id=58694">industrial sanctuaries</a>. These are long-standing and successful examples of industrial land preservation. The <a href="http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/01944360708978524">German zoning system</a> has also long mixed “non-disturbing” industry with other uses. </p>
<p>San Francisco’s <a href="http://sf-planning.org/about-eastern-neighborhoods">production, distribution and repair (PDR) zone</a> attempts to accommodate the growth of small manufacturers. New, higher-rent office development cross-subsidises lower-rent industrial space. Austin, Boston, Los Angeles and Nashville in the US and Vancouver, Canada, are pursuing similar policies.</p>
<p>In China, <a href="http://english.gov.cn/2016special/madeinchina2025/">Shenzhen</a>, the 21st-century “workshop of the world”, is looking to the “creative economy” not to replace but to enhance Chinese manufacturing prowess.</p>
<p>While growing cities like Sydney clearly need to plan for housing, another conversation in our cities is needed, not just about high-rise redevelopments, but about what’s at stake when industrial lands are rezoned.</p>
<hr>
<p><em>This article has been updated to correct a reference in a caption to Kings Knitwear being Sydney’s last woollen knitwear factory.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/83042/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Chris Gibson receives funding from the Australian Research Council. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Alexandra Crosby is a board member of Frontyard Projects, a Marrickville-based arts organisation. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Carl Grodach receives funding from the Australian Research Council.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Justin O'Connor receives funding from the Australian Research Council</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Xin Gu receives funding from Australian Research Council. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Craig Lyons does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>A new project documents who uses urban industrial lands slated for redevelopment. It reveals a vibrant but largely hidden sector at the interface between creative industries and small manufacturing.Chris Gibson, Director, UOW Global Challenges Program & Professor of Human Geography, University of WollongongAlexandra Crosby, Senior Lecturer, Design, University of Technology SydneyCarl Grodach, Professor Urban Planning & Design, Monash UniversityCraig Lyons, Research Assistant, Australian Centre for Culture, Environment, Society and Space (ACCESS), University of WollongongJustin O'Connor, Professor of Communications and Cultural Economy, Monash UniversityXin Gu, Lecturer in Communications and Media, Monash UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/796502017-07-25T20:08:37Z2017-07-25T20:08:37ZNot jobs and growth but post-capitalism – and creative industries show the way<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/175132/original/file-20170622-3053-1m2990k.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">The creative economy is failing to live up to the fast-growing, young entrepreneurial image it promotes. </span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/arselectronica/14959708488/">Ars Electronica/flickr</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/">CC BY-NC-ND</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>The term “creative industries” was <a href="https://www.sagepub.com/sites/default/files/upm-binaries/42872_Flew.pdf">first applied</a> to the cultural sector by UK New Labour in 1998, and rapidly gained global traction.</p>
<p>It was a kind of Faustian bargain for the cultural sector, which gave up its traditional suspicion of commercial imperatives in return for a seat at the grown-ups’ table where the governmental big bucks were allocated. </p>
<p>Perhaps it was not so Faustian after all. It seemed the “new” economy was all about ideas and experiences, creativity and left-of-field innovation. That’s less a sell-out and more a win-win. As cities shed their dirty industries, the creative sector would provide new, more fulfilling employment, rewriting the rules of the old economy as it did so.</p>
<p>The problems with this narrative are <a href="https://currencyhouse.org.au/node/174">well aired</a>. Software (which had been included precisely to bump up the numbers) and advertising and marketing accounted for most of the <a href="https://www.acola.org.au/PDF/SAF01/6.%20Culture%20creativity%20cultural%20economy.pdf">employment growth</a>. </p>
<p>Outside these sectors (and often within) <a href="http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/13504630.2015.1128800?src=recsys&journalCode=csid20">studies</a> showed persistent low wages, high debt, self-exploitation, precarious employment (the “<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2015/jul/26/will-we-get-by-gig-economy">gig economy</a>”), multiple job-holding (“don’t give up your night job”) and a nepotism that comes with excessive reliance on networking. </p>
<p>The divergence between the shiny narrative and the mundane reality is now blindingly obvious (at least outside the consultancy reports). Few in the cultural sector do more than lip-sync to its hymns. </p>
<p>But is this simply a story of deflation, of promises reneged? Might there be another narrative?</p>
<h2>A new narrative emerges</h2>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/178549/original/file-20170718-21774-10k3q7j.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/178549/original/file-20170718-21774-10k3q7j.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/178549/original/file-20170718-21774-10k3q7j.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=916&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/178549/original/file-20170718-21774-10k3q7j.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=916&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/178549/original/file-20170718-21774-10k3q7j.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=916&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/178549/original/file-20170718-21774-10k3q7j.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1151&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/178549/original/file-20170718-21774-10k3q7j.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1151&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/178549/original/file-20170718-21774-10k3q7j.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1151&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">PostCapitalism: A Guide to our Future, by Paul Mason (Allen Lane, 2015)</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PostCapitalism:_A_Guide_to_our_Future">Wikipedia</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>In recent years the notion of “post-capitalism” has become more widespread. <a href="http://affirmpress.com.au/publishing/a-revolution-in-the-making/">Guy Rundle</a> has been talking about this in Australia, and <a href="https://www.bookdepository.com/Postcapitalism-Paul-Mason/9780141975290?redirected=true&utm_medium=Google&utm_campaign=Base1&utm_source=AU&utm_content=Postcapitalism&selectCurrency=AUD&w=AF45AU99ZZC1SZA80C5LAF4S&pdg=kwd-309568335522:cmp-680104063:adg-37898644947:crv-151944074570:pid-9780141975290:dev-c&gclid=CO3Vos2ky9QCFYuUvQodBOUJAg">Paul Mason</a> in the UK. </p>
<p>In part it continues the optimism about the transformative potential of new technologies that formed around the internet in the 1990s, and which gave the early “creative industries” agenda such a powerful charge. </p>
<p>But since 2008 many have felt that capitalism is no longer capable of delivering on that potential. It has been locking it up in monopoly platforms and extracting “rent” from what is essentially free.</p>
<p>Indeed, capitalism is intent on maximising short-term profit from these technologies while allowing the ecological catastrophe of climate change to let rip. </p>
<figure class="align-left zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/178550/original/file-20170718-21790-vg3gfc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/178550/original/file-20170718-21790-vg3gfc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/178550/original/file-20170718-21790-vg3gfc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=933&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/178550/original/file-20170718-21790-vg3gfc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=933&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/178550/original/file-20170718-21790-vg3gfc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=933&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/178550/original/file-20170718-21790-vg3gfc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1173&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/178550/original/file-20170718-21790-vg3gfc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1173&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/178550/original/file-20170718-21790-vg3gfc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1173&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A Revolution In The Making: 3D Printing, Robots and the Future, by Guy Rundle (Affirm Press, 2014)</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://affirmpress.com.au/publishing/a-revolution-in-the-making/">Affirm Press</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Rundle and Mason evoke the enormous potential of technological innovation, not just in communications but in medicine, materials science, agriculture, transport and the rest, but this potential is stuck in the old relations of capitalism. </p>
<p>Post-capitalism evokes not just the technology but the new kinds of social relations required for it to live up to its full human potential. They argue that these new technologies – distributed, networked, ideas-rich, decreasingly expensive – are giving rise to enclaves within contemporary society that provide a glimpse into a more human future. </p>
<p>Peer-to-peer networks, sharing and gift economies (for real, not Uber), open-source movements, non-monetary labour exchanges – all of these grow out of the essentially public and democratic nature of knowledge-based production and distribution. Capitalism squats on these new democratic forces, wringing profit from a knowledge it does not produce but seeks to own. </p>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/178551/original/file-20170718-21752-1e7hfus.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/178551/original/file-20170718-21752-1e7hfus.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/178551/original/file-20170718-21752-1e7hfus.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=918&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/178551/original/file-20170718-21752-1e7hfus.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=918&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/178551/original/file-20170718-21752-1e7hfus.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=918&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/178551/original/file-20170718-21752-1e7hfus.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1154&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/178551/original/file-20170718-21752-1e7hfus.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1154&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/178551/original/file-20170718-21752-1e7hfus.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1154&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A Postcapitalist Politics, by J.K. Gibson-Graham (University of Minnesota Press, 2006)</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.upress.umn.edu/book-division/books/a-postcapitalist-politics">University of Minnesota Press</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Rundle is the more naive politically, while Mason, re-inventing a Marxist political economy long thought dead and buried, recognises that systems are not given up without a fight. </p>
<p>What stands out, however, is a sense that things are already changing. We need not wait for the big collapse, but can work in the here and now to effect real social transformation. </p>
<p>This connects with <a href="https://www.upress.umn.edu/book-division/books/a-postcapitalist-politics">the work</a> of <a href="http://www.communityeconomies.org/people/jk-gibson-graham">J.K. Gibson-Graham</a> and others, who see older forms of social activism as working towards a different kind of post-capitalist future right here, right now.</p>
<h2>Creating a more human future</h2>
<p>There are, and will be, many objections to the coherence of the term post-capitalism and the agenda it announces. But perhaps it can help us rethink the creative industries. </p>
<p>Rather than the narrative of the fast-growing, entrepreneurial, start-up economy moving us into the next stage of knowledge capitalism, post-capitalism gives us a different story. </p>
<p>The low-waged, under-employed, precarious creative sector embarrasses the policymakers by not being really serious about growth (“lifestyle”) and failing to live up to the entrepreneurial image promoted at all those glitzy creative industry events. But these low-growth, socially embedded and ethically driven creatives may represent a future far more convincingly than those MBAs in hip clothing setting out to be the next “unicorn”.</p>
<p>The job of the creative sector is not to produce “jobs and growth” but cultural value. Those long hours on low wages and short-term contracts are accepted (mostly) as the price to create something of cultural value, to alter the world a little bit, to make us see it in a different way, to critique and to celebrate ourselves, and to bind us together. </p>
<p>This ecosystem of micro-businesses, freelancers and serial project workers represents the vast majority of <a href="https://ccskills.org.uk/supporters/blog/freelancing-and-the-future-of-creative-jobs">cultural sector employment</a>. They have been systemically sidelined from the grand creative industries narrative, but are, in fact, its main business.</p>
<p>Arguments for culture dressed up as economics no longer convince anyone. <a href="https://theconversation.com/how-brandis-plans-to-insulate-the-arts-sector-from-the-artists-42305">George Brandis</a>, <a href="https://theconversation.com/reagan-called-america-a-city-on-a-hill-because-taxpayers-funded-the-humanities-74721">Donald Trump</a> and 100 right-wing authoritarian cultural budget cuts across the globe testify to this. </p>
<p>It is time to give up on the fiction of the creative industries delivering post-industrial capitalism. Instead, we should acknowledge the new ways of making and sharing, the commitments to community and place, the social labour involved in creative work as a powerful resource for wider transformation of our common culture.</p>
<p>And, at the moment, the future of that common culture points us toward some kind of post-capitalism – rather than simply more of the same.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/79650/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Justin O'Connor does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>The notion of the creative sector driving fulfilling work as cities shed old industries has worn thin. But those creatives might be delivering value of a different kind, offering a more human future.Justin O'Connor, Professor of Communications and Cultural Economy, Monash UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/809542017-07-23T20:09:09Z2017-07-23T20:09:09ZHow can our cities match Europe’s for finding value in their creative vibe?<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/178940/original/file-20170720-23992-1l9vijb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Edinburgh is one of the European cities that make the most of their creative and cultural assets.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/topaz-mcnumpty/9425861004/in/photolist-fmW15U-fti4HW-2A8KwB-2A8BPF-fv8XzL-71UmQR-ftpCEa-oFPdEt-cNL8s3-fnyJkZ-fvxiQ7-acU4NJ-fQ4mEw-VeZbgB-nfGB2-fqLD6s-fqobox-fvLeCS-fmU94i-oU4ytV-5bXXpQ-5e2qPA-fzWWhp-fqmwUB-fu6Sns-fvyeUw-cMDtMW-xfPNM-ay7HPA-5f66XN-fncGas-9fBRmh-fmZvwT-2yehya-fmZxAD-fu5Jh1-5f1J9p-5fF58g-2ZEXt8-nfGB4-cNFgXL-cNA8rs-Vo1u9A-WqFPZt-fqLEsF-d5fyCs-5f1JnP-ay4ZTx-fmZrEM-fmZwCH">Hamish Irvine/flickr</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/">CC BY-NC</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>European cultural and creative cities have stronger economic output and more jobs than their Australian counterparts. So why is our urban creative vibrancy associated with city size, not economic performance?</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Culture nurtures our souls and binds our communities together, while creativity helps reveal new answers to our challenges and anxieties. Industries that build on creativity and culture are also a source of great economic value and social well-being.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>So opens the latest European Union report, <a href="https://ec.europa.eu/jrc/en/publication/eur-scientific-and-technical-research-reports/cultural-and-creative-cities-monitor-2017-edition">The Cultural and Creative Cities Monitor 2017 Edition</a>. The report and supporting data represent an effort to measure something we all know is important – the creative vibe of cities. </p>
<p>Creativity is making its way more and more into policy discussions. Note the European <a href="https://ec.europa.eu/culture/policies/strategic-framework/strategy-international-cultural-relations_en">policy</a> announced last year, Towards an EU Strategy for International Cultural Resolutions, and the European Parliament’s <a href="http://www.europarl.europa.eu/sides/getDoc.do?type=TA&reference=P8-TA-2016-0486&language=EN">resolution</a> to deliver “coherent EU policy for cultural and creative industries”. </p>
<p>Australia <a href="https://eprints.qut.edu.au/89368/">lacks a current national cultural and creative industries policy</a>. There are clear parallels, though, with the national <a href="https://industry.gov.au/innovation/GlobalInnovationStrategy/index.html">Global Innovation Strategy</a>. Other innovation and creative programs are happening at state level, such as <a href="https://www.business.qld.gov.au/running-business/growing-business/becoming-innovative/innovation-grants-support/innovate-queensland">Innovate Queensland</a>.</p>
<p>The European work shows that having cultural and creative cities can deliver significant economic benefits. The positive associations between cultural and creative cities and annual GDP per capita and jobs per capita are clear and strong.</p>
<p>Overall, they also found city size isn’t everything: smaller cities perform just as well as big cities. </p>
<h2>How do the biggest 36 Australian cities compare?</h2>
<p>We don’t have the data to construct the same metrics as the EU. However, based on the <a href="http://www.regionalaustralia.org.au/Great_small_cities_data_tool">publicly available data</a> from the Regional Australia Institute, we use the <a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/national/archive/2010/06/bohemian-index/57658/">Bohemian Index</a> as a proxy indicator for creative economy. </p>
<p>This index, <a href="http://www.creativeclass.com/rfcgdb/articles/6%20Bohemia_and_Economic_Geography.pdf">devised</a> by <a href="https://www.creativeclass.com/rfcgdb/articles/The%20Australian.pdf">Richard Florida</a>, <a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/national/archive/2010/06/bohemian-index/57658/">measures</a> “the concentration of working artists, musicians, writers, designers, and entertainers across metropolitan areas”.</p>
<p>Australian findings show no association between creatives and city output, measured as gross value added (<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gross_value_added">GVA</a>) per capita. There is only a slight positive relationship between jobs and creativity, as shown below. In contrast, the European <a href="http://www.politico.eu/blogs/playbook-plus/2017/07/eu-identifies-the-ultimate-european-city/screen-shot-2017-07-06-at-13-39-30/">Creative and Cultural Cities Index</a> is highly and positively correlated to both GDP and jobs per capita.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/178376/original/file-20170717-14267-w1hvkb.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/178376/original/file-20170717-14267-w1hvkb.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=361&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/178376/original/file-20170717-14267-w1hvkb.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=361&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/178376/original/file-20170717-14267-w1hvkb.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=361&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/178376/original/file-20170717-14267-w1hvkb.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=453&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/178376/original/file-20170717-14267-w1hvkb.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=453&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/178376/original/file-20170717-14267-w1hvkb.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=453&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Figure 1. Bohemian Index of Australia’s 36 largest cities and output (GVA) per capita and jobs per capita.</span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>As we can see, there is a positive relationship between Australian city size and creative employment. This is the opposite of what the Europeans found. </p>
<p>So what do Australia cities share with European cities in the way of creative economy and economic performance? Basically, there is a positive and strong correlation between a city’s Bohemian Index and new business start-up rate, trademark rate (see Figure 2) and rate of business owners.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/178377/original/file-20170717-30889-1v3042m.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/178377/original/file-20170717-30889-1v3042m.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=361&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/178377/original/file-20170717-30889-1v3042m.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=361&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/178377/original/file-20170717-30889-1v3042m.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=361&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/178377/original/file-20170717-30889-1v3042m.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=453&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/178377/original/file-20170717-30889-1v3042m.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=453&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/178377/original/file-20170717-30889-1v3042m.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=453&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Figure 2. Bohemian Index of Australia’s 36 largest cities and trademark applications.</span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Creativity also has significant positive associations with higher rates of bachelor degree qualifications or higher, housing affordability and commute time. </p>
<p>Disturbingly for Australia, creativity is positively associated with income inequality (measured as 80:20 ratio) as well. Does this mean that our cities with more creative jobs also have more rich patrons and poor arts students?</p>
<p>Importantly, not all cities perform the same. Our 31 regional cities show a significant and negative relationship between unemployment rates and Bohemian Index. Maybe the metro “Big 5” can learn from our regional city strengths in delivering stronger creativity and lower unemployment. </p>
<h2>What can Australia learn from Europe?</h2>
<p>Creative and cultural cities are obviously valued as important for global society, but European research clearly shows that these cities are also capable of delivering jobs and strong economic output. </p>
<p>Do we want all Australian cities to resemble Gladstone, with its high jobs and output, or Hobart, with its strong creative occupations? The Europeans have shown us we can have both in the one city – and not just in the big cities.</p>
<p>Importantly, if Australia follows a policy-transfer approach to creative and cultural cities, we should be cautious. These policies are also promoting economic performance in Europe, but what will they do here when we don’t see the same relationships?</p>
<p>While the latest EU work shows you can measure the cultural and creative aspects of a city, it does stipulate that this is not a be-all-and-end-all metric. It’s more the start of the discussion: how can we better measure our cities’ creativity and cultural values?</p>
<p>Europe uses three metrics (combining quantitative and qualitative data) to gauge a city’s cultural vibrancy, creative economy and enabling culture environment. The work is long and involved. Cities are required to provide information on 29 indicators – number of seats in a theatre, for instance. </p>
<p>We have just used one metric here, perhaps highlighting that poor data hinders good decision-making. A better measure of creative and cultural Australian cities could have provided different associations. </p>
<p>Australia is the “lucky country”, so why can’t we have it all – jobs and creativity in all our cities?</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/80954/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Leonie Pearson works for the Regional Australia Institute (RAI). The RAI is a not-for-profit think tank and receives funding from government and non-government organisations. </span></em></p>A comparison of 36 Australian cities finds that, unlike Europe, the data on their creativity and culture are not closely linked to their capacity to generate economic value and social well-being.Leonie Pearson, Adjunct Associate, University of CanberraLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/789872017-06-13T20:20:44Z2017-06-13T20:20:44ZIn defence of serendipity: the Silicon Emperor is wearing no clothes<p>Serendipity is the process of finding something useful, valuable or just generally “good” without actually looking for it. Throughout the history of invention and discovery serendipity has functioned as a sort of Freudian unconscious, leading – or, perhaps better, tricking – the curious human mind onto unexpected novelty. </p>
<p>And yet, only recently have we started to become truly aware of the crucial role of serendipity in our attempts to creatively grasp toward the future. </p>
<p>Over the last few years, it has become an important – if not overused – reference for the creative industries and for our innovation-obsessed economy in general. This is remarkable as “serendipity” was conceived in mid-18th-century literary circles. <a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Horace-Walpole-4th-earl-of-Orford">Horace Walpole</a> <a href="https://interestingliterature.com/2015/01/28/a-short-history-of-the-word-serendipity/">coined the term</a> in 1754. </p>
<p>Walpole had come across the “silly fairy tale” <em>Peregrinaggio di tre giovani figliuoli del re di Serendippo</em>, an Italian translation of the Persian parable of the three princes of Serendip. During their travels, Walpole <a href="https://www.theparisreview.org/blog/2016/01/28/the-invention-of-serendipity/">wrote</a>, they “were always making discoveries, by accidents and sagacity, of things they were not in quest of”.</p>
<p>Walpole’s definition of serendipity spread through the world of literates and bibliophiles. Scientists were always able to relate to the term. Louis Pasteur’s <a href="http://www.bartleby.com/73/174.html">adage</a> about chance favouring only prepared minds reflects serendipity’s significance for scientific discoveries and inventions.</p>
<h2>Accident and sagacity</h2>
<p>Today, serendipity is emerging as an important reference for those whose job it is to make our economies more innovative, our industries and cities more creative, and our future, well, better.</p>
<p>Yet unsurprisingly, in this world of <a href="https://www.ted.com/">TED</a>, <a href="http://www.pechakucha.org/">PechaKucha</a> and awesome one-liners, serendipity is fast becoming a fad. </p>
<p>This is unfortunate as the notion offers more than meets the Google-glassed eye. Walpole defined the term as a convergence of accident and sagacity. </p>
<p>And this allows us to understand serendipity as a response to an age-old conundrum that the philosopher Plato baptised <a href="https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/epistemic-paradoxes/#MenParInqPuzAboGaiKno">Meno’s paradox</a>: the search for new knowledge is a sheer impossibility as one either knows what to look for, in which case the object of the search is not new, or one doesn’t know what to look for, which makes the search impossible. </p>
<p>Serendipity offers a possible solution by suggesting that the new always enters the world through the back door of the accident. For true novelty to emerge, anomalies, detours or confusions are required to occur. </p>
<p>However, it is equally important to notice these accidents and recognise their potential. This is where sagacity comes in. It represents the ability to turn the virtuality of the accident into the actuality of something new entering the world.</p>
<h2>The capitalist dilemma</h2>
<p>Unfortunately, our infrastructures of innovation are neither susceptible to accidents of the disruptively generative kind nor particularly hospitable to the kind of sagacity that would recognise disruptive potential – in the non-Californian sense of the term. </p>
<p>This may sound counterintuitive, given the omnipresent chatter about disruption and digital innovation, but look around: where are the mind-blowing innovations promised by the prophets of Silicon Valley and their local subsidiaries? </p>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/173523/original/file-20170613-10193-1v0lgx6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/173523/original/file-20170613-10193-1v0lgx6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/173523/original/file-20170613-10193-1v0lgx6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=726&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/173523/original/file-20170613-10193-1v0lgx6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=726&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/173523/original/file-20170613-10193-1v0lgx6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=726&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/173523/original/file-20170613-10193-1v0lgx6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=913&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/173523/original/file-20170613-10193-1v0lgx6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=913&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/173523/original/file-20170613-10193-1v0lgx6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=913&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">One of the great contemporary icons of product innovation is basically a digitally pimped wristwatch.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Blake Patterson/flickr</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The new iPhone? Thank you for getting <a href="https://theconversation.com/iphone-updates-charm-and-annoy-in-equal-measure-but-apple-leaves-mac-users-in-the-shade-65086">rid of the headphone jack</a>. Flying cars? Nowhere to be seen. And what happened to supersonic air travel – ’50s technology that seems too advanced for the digital age? </p>
<p>If we look more closely at what passes as the great contemporary icons of product innovation, we might realise that these are a <a href="https://theconversation.com/apple-watch-why-are-so-many-prepared-to-pay-so-much-without-even-knowing-why-40059">digitally pimped wristwatch</a> and a car that takes away the <a href="https://theconversation.com/the-winners-and-losers-in-the-race-for-driverless-cars-63874">experience of driving</a> (remember: this is the <a href="https://hbr.org/1998/07/welcome-to-the-experience-economy">experience economy</a>).</p>
<p>Harvard Business School professor <a href="http://www.claytonchristensen.com/biography/">Clayton Christensen</a> refers to this lack of real innovation as “<a href="https://hbr.org/2014/06/the-capitalists-dilemma">the capitalist’s dilemma</a>”: the economy is losing creative momentum thanks to its entrenchment in the matrices of finance. The risk-averse logic of finance, he argues, prevents companies from investing in exciting new ideas that could lead to new products and services. </p>
<p>Christensen’s argument links the innovative impotence of the economy to businesses’ increasing inability to serve society. Thanks to its thorough financialisation, the economic game has become radically hermetic. </p>
<p>The result is not just soaring social inequality, as <a href="https://theconversation.com/piketty-challenges-us-to-consider-if-we-need-to-rein-in-wealth-inequality-67552">bemoaned by Thomas Piketty</a>. It also cuts off economic rationality from the diversity of non-economic inputs needed to move the economy forward.</p>
<h2>The naked silicon emperor</h2>
<p>It would be wrong to believe that Silicon Valley is an exception to such economically dysfunctional navel-gazing. When its venture capitalists are not busy funding the latest app for dog shit collection, they tend to focus on the so-called <a href="https://theconversation.com/renting-isnt-lending-the-sharing-economy-fallacy-27084">sharing economy</a>. They are looking to invest in the “next Uber for X”. </p>
<p>The question is: how innovative are these platform business models in fact? They are certainly disruptive, but not exactly in the way that brilliantly innovative products or services are. </p>
<p>Look at the platform poster boys: Airbnb is disrupting the sustainability of urban living by <a href="https://theconversation.com/australian-governments-are-treading-lightly-around-airbnb-76389">driving up rents and real estate prices</a>, while Uber and its offshoots happily introduce <a href="https://theconversation.com/driverless-uber-cars-are-coming-to-disrupt-the-sharing-economy-but-capitalism-carries-on-as-usual-64245">feudalist work conditions</a> for their hyper-exploited pseudo-entrepreneurs. </p>
<p>And these companies can do these things because they can rely on massive funding that effectively takes them out of any market competition. </p>
<p>The goal of these financially overfed business-bullies is to create super-monopolies that capture entire markets to lock vendors and customers into their platforms – pseudo-markets that function according to their supreme (often algorithmic) rule. </p>
<p>These business models not only have disastrous effects on their societal “environment” but are also – because they absorb entire markets into the hermetic space of self-referential platforms – great inhibitors of serendipity and, indeed, innovation.</p>
<p>If this tendency towards platform capitalism goes unchecked, we will soon face a situation similar to that at the end of the Eastern Bloc. While the global party press (TED, <a href="https://www.wired.com/">Wired</a>, <a href="https://www.oreilly.com/">O’Reilly Media</a>) runs hot churning out the credo of the innovation economy, the hiatus between the image of the world according to the digital innovation gospel and the real economic (and social) stasis grows to comical proportions.</p>
<p>It is high time we called out the Silicon Emperor for being naked and did so in the name of innovation – that is, in defence of serendipity.</p>
<hr>
<p><em>The author is the keynote speaker at the June 15 <a href="https://www.eventbrite.com.au/e/symposium-smart-city-creative-city-tickets-34763468470?utm_source=eb_email&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=order_confirmation_email&utm_term=eventname&ref=eemailordconf">Smart City-Creative City symposium</a> hosted by Monash University’s <a href="http://mfjcme.wixsite.com/culturemediaeconomy">Culture Media Economy</a> (CME) research unit in Melbourne.</em> </p>
<p><em>The Australian launch of the author’s book, In Defence of Serendipity: For a Radical Politics of Innovation (Repeater Books, London 2016), will be hosted on Wednesday, June 14, at 4pm by CME. Register for the free public lecture and launch <a href="https://www.eventbrite.com.au/e/in-defence-of-serendipity-book-launch-public-lecture-by-seb-olma-tickets-34788928622">here</a>.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/78987/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Sebastian Olma does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>The digital pin-ups’ business models actually inhibit serendipity and, indeed, innovation by absorbing entire markets into the sealed-off space of their platforms.Sebastian Olma, Professor of Autonomy in Art, Design and Technology, St Joost Art Academy, Avans University of Applied SciencesLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/782582017-06-11T20:30:41Z2017-06-11T20:30:41ZCreative city, smart city … whose city is it?<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/172600/original/file-20170607-3668-1wymt6h.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">When the smart city looks inhuman: a robot police officer from Dubai greets guests at last November's Smart City Expo World Congress in Barcelona.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Ramon Costa/AAP</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>In 2007 US creative cities “guru” <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Rise-Creative-Class-Transforming-Community/dp/1491576766">Richard Florida</a> was flown up to Noosa to tell the local city council how they, too, could become a creative city. </p>
<p>Noosa was one of a long line of cities across the globe queuing up to pay big bucks to the US-based academic-entrepreneur. “Being creative” had become an almost universal aspiration. Who would not want to be a creative city? </p>
<p>And so Creative [insert name of city here] signs sprang up in the most unlikely places, along with stock shots of creative young things hunched over laptops in cafes.</p>
<p>Ten years later, different gurus are being flown around and the signs have been replaced by Smart [insert name of city here]. The stock shots are much the same, but now the young things are being innovative, disruptive and above all “smart”. That’s the trouble with fast policy: here today, gone tomorrow.</p>
<p>Below the surface more tectonic shifts can be felt. In its first outing in the mid-1990s the “creative city”, associated with thinkers such as <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Creative-City-Toolkit-Urban-Innovators/dp/1844075982/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1496259774&sr=1-1&keywords=charles+landry+the+creative+city">Charles Landry</a>, was an energising vision of a new role for cultural creativity in our cities.</p>
<p>Now expanded in democratic fashion beyond the world of “high art” to embrace popular, everyday creativity, culture would be a key resource for the 21st-century city. </p>
<p>Culture could re-activate the decayed industrial zones of the inner city, breathing new life into the dead infrastructures of factories and power stations, dockyards and tram depots, schools, barracks and banks. Culture could renew stale urban identities, catalyse new aspirations and stamp a different global brand on long-dormant cities. </p>
<p>And with the creative industries – culture plus all things design and digital – all that was needed were some creative people and a bit of entrepreneurial flair. Then we would have one of the industries of the future. </p>
<p>Creativity broke cities away from the old bureaucratic top-down planning silos of the industrial city and let them approach the future holistically. Culture would be what cities do best, earning a living and enjoying it at the same time. </p>
<p>By the time Florida had left Noosa the discontent was growing. Big investments in photogenic CBD developments seemed more intended for the creative class than local citizens, generating massive real estate profits while the suburbs languished unloved. </p>
<p>Creative industries turned out not to be so inclusive after all. They failed to soak up all those unemployed dirty industry workers and were reliant on educated workers willing to work their way up on low pay and high debt.</p>
<h2>The turn of the smart city</h2>
<p>Since the global financial crisis the energising vision has been around social justice, citizenship and the <a href="https://theconversation.com/will-habitat-iii-defend-the-human-right-to-the-city-57576">right to the city</a>, with a return of community and activist-focused arts activities. Creatives are now less Californian start-ups and more counter-cultural “post-capitalists”.</p>
<p>Enter the <a href="https://theconversation.com/while-governments-talk-about-smart-cities-its-citizens-who-create-them-59230">Smart City</a>, creativity without all those messy cultural bits. The tech start-ups were just as cool, the fab labs and hacker spaces just as disruptive, but now slotted onto a very different agenda.</p>
<p>This too promised a re-invention of the city, not now a cultural re-imagining but a complete re-tooling of the social and governmental infrastructure of the city. Courtesy of some very big global tech companies, a new digital infrastructure could be rolled out, applying sensors, data-capture devices and large-scale computing power to urban life.</p>
<p>Smart cities are data cities, promising efficient management of transport and utilities, security, and customised commerce. If the early Creative City embraced the messiness of city life, viewing it not as chaos but creative fecundity, the Smart City give us a clean utopian picture of the perfectly transparent city. </p>
<p>It’s messy on the surface, but with a big data back-room providing bespoke information for almost any aspect of urban living your care to ask for. What’s not to like?</p>
<h2>A corporate taming of creativity</h2>
<p>That the brains of the Smart City – as envisioned by its corporate promoters – are increasingly embedded in its walls rather than its inhabitants reveals much about the trajectory of the digital economy so closely tied to Florida’s conception of the Creative City and its industries. </p>
<p>Internet scholar <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Future-Internet-How-Stop/dp/0300151241/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1496259831&sr=1-1&keywords=jonathan+zittrain">Jonathan Zittrain</a> has described the rise of “app” culture as a betrayal of the creative potential unleashed by the mainstreaming of the internet. If the open internet was messy and chaotic, Zittrain argues that it was correspondingly “generative”, promoting experimentation and creativity. </p>
<p>By contrast, the “app” represents the pacification and domestication of the internet: its transformation from a productive medium to an infrastructure for consumption and marketing. Apps sort our music and photos for us, tell us where to eat, how to get there, and what to watch afterwards. The price of the newfound convenience that renders smart phones so addictive is a shift in the balance of control away from the end user. </p>
<p>For Zittrain, the “applified” world is “one of sterile appliances tethered to a network of control” – which is not a bad description of the corporate blueprint for the Smart City. </p>
<p>As urbanist <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Against-smart-city-here-Book-ebook/dp/B00FHQ5DBS/ref=sr_1_3?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1496259876&sr=1-3&keywords=adam+greenfield">Adam Greenfield</a> has observed, the corporate world has taken the lead in both envisioning and promoting its version of the “informated” city. It looks suspiciously like the commercial internet projected out into physical space. </p>
<p>The promise is one of efficiency, convenience and security: smart streets that adjust traffic flow in real time, walls that change images to suit our tastes (which have become indistinguishable from market preferences), even floors that cushion us when we fall. </p>
<p>For all the talk of disruption, the paradoxical promise of the smart city is one of data-driven efficiency and predictability. The promotional materials feature the same smart young things, freed up from the impositions of daily life (traffic, shopping, routine decision-making, even driving), to do … what? </p>
<h2>Whose city is it?</h2>
<p>There are surely possibilities here, but the version of smart city as automated city looks inhuman. It promises to serve people by rendering them increasingly efficient, perhaps to the point of their own redundancy. </p>
<p>To subject the future of the city to the corporate imaginary is to concede too much to the galloping privatisation of our cultural and informational infrastructure. </p>
<p>What if the right to the city were also a right to participate in shaping its information infrastructures and their implementation? Can we envision an alternative to centralised corporate control of the city’s data? And how might public priorities be redefined in ways that distinguish them from the private imperatives of the ruling tech giants? </p>
<p>These are the guiding questions for our <a href="https://www.eventbrite.com.au/e/symposium-smart-city-creative-city-tickets-34763468470?utm_source=eb_email&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=order_confirmation_email&utm_term=eventname&ref=eemailordconf">June 15 symposium</a> in Melbourne, which explores the possibility of another kind of urban culture beyond the tightly controlled formats of the Smart City/Creative City.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/78258/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>The corporate world has taken the lead in promoting various creative/smart city visions, which struggle to be inclusive, let alone entrust citizens with control over their lives.Justin O'Connor, Professor of Communications and Cultural Economy, Monash UniversityMark Andrejevic, Guest Lecturer, Monash University; Professor and Chair, Department of Media Studies, Pomona CollegeLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/785942017-05-31T20:13:51Z2017-05-31T20:13:51ZThe best way to support writers is to feed them new ideas<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/171584/original/file-20170531-25664-i4krd4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Writing has never been easy, but sending writers out to find new ideas and people might be one way to help. </span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock.com</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Books and writing seem to be <a href="https://theconversation.com/has-the-print-book-trumped-digital-beware-of-glib-conclusions-77174">as popular as ever</a>, but writers are having a hard time making a living from their work. While <a href="https://theconversation.com/scrounging-for-money-how-the-worlds-great-writers-made-a-living-77779">writers may have always struggled</a>, a number of recent ideas have been put forward suggesting ways to help them out. </p>
<p>Writing in <a href="http://103.37.9.18/%7Emeanjinc/?p=4451">Meanjin</a>, Frank Moorhouse proposed, among other measures, renewable ten-year “national contracts” for mid-to-late career writers. And in <a href="http://sydneyreviewofbooks.com/balancing-the-books/">the Sydney Review of Books</a>, <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/ben-eltham-172467">Ben Eltham</a> describes an initiative that he is working on that would aim to provide literary fellowships for fixed periods of three to four years. </p>
<p>Both writers make the valid point that, as fewer successful writers are able to sustain themselves via book sales and royalties, the role of public support becomes more important. They both argue for the need to radically expand the range of fellowships available to writers.</p>
<p>While more secure fellowships are certainly welcome ideas, there are other ways to support writing that address the current economics. So in the spirit of keeping the conversation going, here are a few thoughts.</p>
<h2>The value of books</h2>
<p>Moorhouse and Eltham both seem to be arguing for fellowships that might provide the long-term security that many working writers currently lack. This suggests a fundamental shift in the purpose of this kind of writing support. </p>
<p>Individual grants and fellowships have typically been provided as a short-term investment in a writer or author, with a duration ranging from a few months to a year. They are there, ideally, to encourage new projects and innovation – offering opportunities for a concentrated period of work, for research, for travel. <a href="http://asialink.unimelb.edu.au/arts/residencies">The University of Melbourne Asialink arts residencies</a> program is a strong example of this. It offers support to a range of Australian writers and artists to live and pursue creative projects in Asia for six weeks to three months.</p>
<p>Longer-term fellowships would certainly have many benefits for established writers. They help compensate them for cultural labour that is not always adequately rewarded in the literary marketplace. As Moorhouse observes, the value of a book often goes beyond its cover price. Books are read and reread, loaned to family members and friends, speculated upon and debated. They inspire insights, arguments and critical and creative forms of engagement. Singular sales and royalty payments cannot reflect this hidden or social value of a book. </p>
<p>However, the criteria that Moorhouse proposes for his ten-year contracts – multiple publications, international distribution, being the subject of academic research – could cluster a lot of funding around a small number of conventionally successful authors. </p>
<h2>A particular kind of writing?</h2>
<p>In his article, Eltham suggests that a lack of individual fellowships has contributed to the rising importance of literary prizes in Australia. According to Eltham, prizes have become “the closest thing to a fellowship most Australian writers can aspire to”. In the same vein as Ivor Indyk’s <a href="http://sydneyreviewofbooks.com/4-september-2015-literary-prizes/">2015 Sydney Review of Books article</a>, he argues that “‘prize literature’ is now a discernible genre of its own, taken to represent a certain form of middlebrow that is accessible, appealing and safe.” The implication is that the exclusive pursuit of prizes results in stylistically homogenous literary fiction, and that more individual grants and fellowships would provide writers with more freedom to experiment and take risks.</p>
<p>However, shifting a writer’s focus from winning a literary prize to appeasing a grant committee or funding body will not necessarily result in more adventurous fiction. Writing in 1971 about the Commonwealth Literary Fund (which subsidised Australian writers from 1908 to 1973), <a href="http://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/110683348">Maurice Dunlevy</a> reflected on the value of literary fellowships, observing that “the fund has yet to aid the birth of a genius” or even a “classic Australian novel”. </p>
<p>He went on to claim that “the overwhelming number of fellowships have been awarded to well-known mediocrities who have produced mediocre work.” I won’t pretend to know exactly how fair Dunlevy is being to the fellowship writers of this period. But his critique can easily be compared to some of the contemporary objections to Australian prize culture.</p>
<p>There are a number of questions any new fellowships would need to answer. What kinds of literary work and lives would they encourage writers to work towards? What kinds of writing would be eligible for this kind of support? Would it favour the writer who produces a steady output of moderately successful publications over a powerful single work? Or the traditional print-based author over a writer creating innovative material for digital platforms?</p>
<h2>Meeting the world</h2>
<p>I don’t want to argue against more fellowships for writers (especially since, given the state of arts funding, this would likely be an argument over imaginary money). But we should question whether fellowships of the length that Moorhouse and Eltham are proposing are sustainable or even desirable. </p>
<p>In his 1991 lecture, <a href="http://tannerlectures.utah.edu/_documents/a-to-z/d/davies92.pdf">On Writing</a>, the Canadian author Robertson Davies expressed some of his reservations about the culture of writing grants, noting that even as they seem to offer freedom for writers they also potentially isolate them. Davies argues that, for a writer, a job isn’t just a distraction from the serious business of their craft. It is also a valuable opportunity to “meet the world” in their own particular way, and to find a daily task that keeps them from “writing too much” to the point where “their talent has become diseased, hypertrophied because of the continual gross and indecent solicitation of the imagination”.</p>
<p>I can’t pretend to share Davies’s distain for writing grants, having been the grateful beneficiary of a couple myself. But I think that there is a spleeny contrarian wisdom to his critique that is worth considering. </p>
<p>Relatively few successful authors throughout history have lived <a href="https://theconversation.com/scrounging-for-money-how-the-worlds-great-writers-made-a-living-77779">professional lives</a> that were focused solely on writing. For many, the kind of subsidy that Eltham and Moorhouse have proposed might not be particularly useful. Being able to focus solely on writing for three, four or ten years might offer some incredible benefits, but it also presents the possibility of isolation, insularity, and a continued dependence on this kind of funding that might be detrimental for a writer’s work in the long run. As Davies writes: “Nothing - including grants - is for nothing”. The kind of freedom they offer always comes at a cost. </p>
<p>On balance, individual funding might be more suited to providing opportunities for travel (like the brilliantly conceived <a href="http://www.antarctica.gov.au/news/2017/antarctic-arts-fellowship-offers-icy-inspiration">Antarctic Arts Fellowship</a>), cultural exchange, or residencies. These require engagement with the life and rhythms of unfamiliar institutions, offering both emerging and established writers new ways of meeting the world.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/78594/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Julian Novitz has received funding from the Australian Postgraduate Award, Creative New Zealand and the Frank Sargeson Trust. </span></em></p>Writers like Frank Moorhouse and Ben Eltham have proposed new long-term fellowships to support writing. But a better way may be more smaller grants, offering opportunities for travel.Julian Novitz, Lecturer, Writing, School of Media and Communication, Swinburne University of TechnologyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/712302017-01-17T14:30:00Z2017-01-17T14:30:00ZHow to be human when technology is driving the new industrial revolution<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/153013/original/image-20170117-23058-2gvqlc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=242%2C97%2C3709%2C2258&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption"></span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/planetart/6431819321/in/photolist-aNmKNz-dTyUyH-8oiQUR-dTEtAd-8oixkk-8on5fq-8oiuNg-dTECg1-dTEzGm-8on5Wb-8oiGmF-8omEJh-8oisRZ-dTz5xH-qGxDDp-8omEWm-dTyWRr-8oiv5Z-8omUfG-8oiKhH-dTEw57-8omG8E-dTEjPu-8oiw1a-dTyNMB-8omCsf-dTEBeo-8oisfT-dTz4bK-8oiRxi-dTyDGn-8oiS94-8omGXy-8oiW5k-8oiMPM-8omKfj-8oiu1P-5Chrb1-8oiV8P-8omHrQ-dTEzgo-8omXiN-5Cd9pg-dTyXF4-8omYLu-8on2PL-8oiRQe-8omXJd-dTErHG-dTyXuT">PLANETART/Flickr</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/">CC BY-NC-SA</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>As the World Economic Forum convenes in Davos, on the agenda for the assembled super-rich, politicians and celebrities will be the implications of a dramatic and impending shift in how our world works. This transition, the so-called fourth industrial revolution, brings us the convergence of effectively unlimited computer power, ever-smarter artificial intelligence (AI) and globalisation. They will combine to challenge our understanding of what it means to be a worker, and even <a href="https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2016/01/the-fourth-industrial-revolution-what-it-means-and-how-to-respond/">what it means to be human</a>.</p>
<p>Proponents of this revolution offer the promise that automation and AI will remove the need to work, or viewed less favourably, <a href="https://www.technologyreview.com/s/515926/how-technology-is-destroying-jobs/">take people’s jobs</a>. In truth, these dire warnings have been coming regularly for <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2014/06/22/opinion/sunday/steven-rattner-fear-not-the-coming-of-the-robots.html">centuries</a>.</p>
<p>But while it is easy to be alarmed by the implications of automation and AI, a careful look at the nature of humans, computers and how they interact points to a way forward. </p>
<h2>Skill sets</h2>
<p>In their prescient 2000 book <a href="http://people.ischool.berkeley.edu/%7Eduguid/SLOFI/toc.htm">The Social Life of Information</a> (due to be <a href="http://people.ischool.berkeley.edu/%7Eduguid/SLOFI/">re-issued</a>) John Seeley Brown and Paul Duguid explored why claims of an IT revolution often fall flat – remember the <a href="http://economia.icaew.com/features/july-2014/paper-weight">promise of a paperless office</a>? Their answer was simple – humans are social creatures and the way we learn and interact depends on our interactions with others. You learn more discussing something with someone than by sitting alone, head in a book, memorising facts. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/153017/original/image-20170117-23034-8kx86.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/153017/original/image-20170117-23034-8kx86.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/153017/original/image-20170117-23034-8kx86.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/153017/original/image-20170117-23034-8kx86.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/153017/original/image-20170117-23034-8kx86.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/153017/original/image-20170117-23034-8kx86.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=501&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/153017/original/image-20170117-23034-8kx86.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=501&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/153017/original/image-20170117-23034-8kx86.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=501&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Artist Aram Bartholl’s Google Maps pin drop project.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/caseorganic/8419867339/in/photolist-dQ32dx-8T8nMg-BD6rA-BD63v-BD6sB-dQ2ZEx-BD6dD-8TdcsY-BD6fA-BD6kb-BD6hA">Amber Case/Flickr</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/">CC BY-NC</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Even our relationship with technology is mediated by our own social nature, and this will continue to be the case in a world going through rapid technological change. The things that IT has done thus far are, let’s face it, the easy stuff: maps are organised, websites published, contacts managed, and social networks made simpler. The hard stuff – and the things that humans do well – are the things that involve knowhow, experience and creativity. </p>
<p>The challenge is to structure our education system to prepare students for this future, in which the ability to be flexible, intuitive and creative will be vital. Then, we might get workforces with skills which are relevant to a global economy undergoing profound change. </p>
<p>In the UK, <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-25187997">much has been made</a> of the country’s <a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/education/leaguetables/10488555/OECD-education-report-subject-results-in-full.html">relatively low position</a> in international student tables. But academic performance only gets you so far.</p>
<p>Those “hard skills” – the cognitive and mathematical skills that are measured in academic rankings – are the things that machine learning and AI technologies will find easy. “Soft skills” like motivation, teamwork and social skills <a href="http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0927537112000577">are vital</a> for pupils, and workers, but far more difficult to replicate. </p>
<p>Calculating insurance claims based on a range of expenses? <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2017/jan/05/japanese-company-replaces-office-workers-artificial-intelligence-ai-fukoku-mutual-life-insurance">A computer can do that</a>. Gently convincing a customer to change his or her mind on a business matter, or <a href="http://www.avclub.com/article/ais-attempt-write-christmas-carol-absolutely-bone--247140">writing a decent Christmas carol</a>? That is much harder.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/153025/original/image-20170117-23071-1ygx8ql.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/153025/original/image-20170117-23071-1ygx8ql.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/153025/original/image-20170117-23071-1ygx8ql.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=373&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/153025/original/image-20170117-23071-1ygx8ql.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=373&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/153025/original/image-20170117-23071-1ygx8ql.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=373&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/153025/original/image-20170117-23071-1ygx8ql.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=468&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/153025/original/image-20170117-23071-1ygx8ql.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=468&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/153025/original/image-20170117-23071-1ygx8ql.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=468&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Carol singers. No robots.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/deventer-netherlands-costumed-participants-dickens-festival-335035247?src=gy5j1xeXUdBMhTRfLON3Pg-1-1">Chantal de Bruijne/Shutterstock</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>STEAM powered</h2>
<p>Ultimately the human touch also matters to how innovative an economy can be. Recently, <a href="https://www.ed.gov/stem">there has been considerable</a> <a href="https://www.stem.org.uk">emphasis</a> <a href="https://www.studentsfirst.gov.au/restoring-focus-stem-schools-initiative">worldwide</a> on the encouragement and funding of STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) skills. While the societal and economic benefits are clear – <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/uk-innovation-survey-highly-innovative-firms-and-growth">research on the most innovative UK firms</a> has identified clear innovation and performance benefits from investing in STEM skills – these subjects are expensive to teach and suffer from considerable <a href="http://www.esa.doc.gov/reports/women-stem-gender-gap-innovation">gender gaps</a>. That has led to an series of <a href="http://www.hefce.ac.uk/kess/stem/">policy commitments</a> around the world aimed at <a href="https://www.ed.gov/Stem">increasing the number of students</a> studying STEM subjects. </p>
<p>However, the risk of this approach is to lionise STEM at the expense of other subjects. In Britain, while science budgets have been largely protected from austerity, arts education has faced a much more difficult funding environment: departments have closed and <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-38172253">A-level courses threatened with the chop</a>. Yet this comes at a time when the UK creative industries are proving to be an economic success story, growing faster than the UK economy as a whole <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/creative-industries-economic-estimates-january-2015/creative-industries-economic-estimates-january-2015-key-findings">and employing over 1.7m people</a>. The <a href="http://www.nesta.org.uk/publications/manifesto-creative-economy">creative economy</a> (the wider economy which draws indirectly upon creative skills), is larger still, <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/creative-industries-economic-estimates-january-2015/creative-industries-economic-estimates-january-2015-key-findings">employing 2.6m people</a>, or one in 12 UK jobs.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/153032/original/image-20170117-23043-1if72x3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/153032/original/image-20170117-23043-1if72x3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/153032/original/image-20170117-23043-1if72x3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/153032/original/image-20170117-23043-1if72x3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/153032/original/image-20170117-23043-1if72x3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/153032/original/image-20170117-23043-1if72x3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/153032/original/image-20170117-23043-1if72x3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/153032/original/image-20170117-23043-1if72x3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Hogwarts delivers a boost to the creative economy.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/nivrae/10507607156/in/photolist-h1wewC-ozknLH-cuDLrE-a1QmYx-qfKoE2-a1TeKN-86zezt-r7toTT-ovtxMQ-canmwh-8mneaR-p4CoQy-7C4Uxy-rg4J34-5Dx8p9-cfVGDL-7C4Uww-c8wuVq-aWHvGr-edL6Ty-c9N2mA-dssdNn-bVhynB-bXoz5v-dZX3L1-HNrH99-99qXp6-canxgy-jsMu8g-8FiGQ9-do7Amv-pm6FcA-cohZ7q-cAVkYm-bVhyVk-ceL57w-qnctMG-c6UtsW-3KhVpe-c8EMgW-cuEz7w-kQgEhg-kQiq6p-a1YicU-ipcCVy-a3m75F-mgKnBV-pYbFoY-mgJBtB-2j6zod">Elen Nivrae/Flickr</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>But what is the impact of those creative skills? Our recent report <a href="http://www.nesta.org.uk/publications/fusion-effect-economic-returns-combining-arts-and-science-skills">The Fusion Effect, published by Nesta</a>, finds that companies which combine creative and STEM skills outperform those that focus on just one, not just in one industry but in nearly all industries. The implication of this is clear – creative and arts skills are not simply a “nice to have”, but play a vital role in the economy. </p>
<p>Given that companies do better when they marry creative skills with STEM skills, <a href="http://stemtosteam.org/">recent</a> <a href="http://www.steamco.org.uk">efforts</a> to shift the discussion from STEM to STEAM (Science, technology, engineering, arts and mathematics) are welcome and valuable. Together, these elements – soft skills, collaboration and creativity – are the types of things that humans do well, and will be <a href="http://www.nesta.org.uk/news/future-shock/creativity-vs-robots">hard for robots to replicate</a>. </p>
<p>Of course the world faces innumerable complex challenges – climate change, economic inequality, gender inequality, and governance of these new technologies being just a few. It goes without saying that soft skills and artists won’t on their own prove to be solutions. But maybe – just maybe – a diverse workforce that is prepared to inspire, collaborate and innovate together may deliver solutions to these challenges which make the fourth industrial revolution a triumphant human endeavour after all.</p>
<p><em>This piece has been published in cooperation with the World Economic Forum to coincide with its annual meeting in Davos, Switzerland. <a href="https://www.weforum.org/events/world-economic-forum-annual-meeting-2017">You can read more here</a>.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/71230/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The 'Fusion Effect' report was funded by a research grant from Nesta.</span></em></p>The defining characteristics of our species will make us and our labour relevant in a new era.Josh Siepel, Lecturer in Management, SPRU, University of Sussex Business School, University of SussexLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/639922016-09-20T19:53:55Z2016-09-20T19:53:55ZCreate to regenerate: cities tap into talent for urban renewal<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/135706/original/image-20160829-17859-kz0vn1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">At Tolhuistuin, the government provides the land, old building stock and a maintenance budget for a fixed period while the creatives develop the precinct themselves.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/crossmediaweek/8022949675/">Maurice Mikkers/flickr</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">CC BY-SA</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>The creative industries – ranging from game development to architecture, media, design and the arts – are a hot issue in urban development. </p>
<p>Creative businesses, almost by definition, are innovative. They drive new ideas, people and technologies into the market from the experimental edge. It follows, then, that strategies to make a state, city or town more creative can fuel cultural development, urban regeneration and economic growth.</p>
<p>The logic flows: attracting creative talent is increasingly tied to competing in global markets. Places with a creative industries base attract businesses and skilled workers from other knowledge-intensive industries like health, science, engineering and technology. This realisation has prompted regional governments across the globe, including some in Western Australia, to implement policies to make themselves more creative.</p>
<p>Australia’s creative industries <a href="https://www.sgsep.com.au/projects/valuing-australias-creative-industries">contribute A$90 billion to the economy</a> every year. While making a city “more creative” has obvious economic rewards, gaps can emerge between policy and reality. </p>
<p>Creative businesses often struggle in the face of rising rents and development pressures. They may have difficulty in accessing property, finance and business advice. </p>
<p>The sector is also characterised by freelance, part-time and portfolio work. This means financial insecurity, uncertain employment and demanding working conditions are real challenges for a large proportion of its workers.</p>
<h2>What do creative industries need to thrive?</h2>
<p>Many cities, including some Australian state capitals, have to unpick the mechanics of city regeneration, which complicate creative industry development, through investment. </p>
<p>This public investment is often most visible in designated innovation or cultural precincts. The large public institutions and signature buildings typically found in these areas make plain governments’ involvement. </p>
<p>However, iconic architecture and major events alone aren’t enough to build robust creative economies. The creative economy in Australia is underpinned by the 98% of creative businesses with fewer than 20 employees. This sector plays an outsized role in innovation, experimentation and new ideas.</p>
<p>When municipal or state governments join forces with these smaller creative communities to shape urban regeneration the results can be far-reaching, although government’s role is often less visible.</p>
<p>The creative sector <a href="https://theconversation.com/gaming-trends-show-cities-need-to-rethink-how-they-tap-into-creative-economy-63322">feeds on</a> affordable commercial space, physical and digital connectivity and a critical mass of like-minded but diverse neighbours. </p>
<p><a href="https://theconversation.com/small-is-beautiful-artist-run-collectives-count-but-theyre-facing-death-by-a-thousand-cuts-52684">Small-to-medium creative enterprises</a> are often deeply embedded in their local contexts. They are also highly networked, using formal and informal platforms to match ideas with potential collaborators, as well as private, government and third-sector investors.</p>
<p>Creating clusters from scratch is notoriously difficult. Building on latent and emerging clusters by leveraging existing property assets and local knowledge is far simpler. It also usually works a lot better. </p>
<p>This approach sounds intuitive, but often doesn’t happen. The reason is a heavy stakeholder focus on building something new, as well as control over land and property use.</p>
<h2>Lessons from Amsterdam and Toronto</h2>
<p>Amsterdam’s municipal council has introduced economic, cultural and spatial development policies that involve partnering small-to-medium creative entrepreneurs to rehabilitate brownfield sites. Creative-led partnerships have developed clusters at <a href="http://deceuvel.nl/en/">De Ceuvel</a>, <a href="http://www.ndsm.nl/en/over-ndsm/">NDSM Wharf</a> and <a href="http://www.whatsupwithamsterdam.com/tolhuistuin/">Tolhuistuin</a>.</p>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/135707/original/image-20160829-17880-aaovnn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/135707/original/image-20160829-17880-aaovnn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/135707/original/image-20160829-17880-aaovnn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=720&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/135707/original/image-20160829-17880-aaovnn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=720&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/135707/original/image-20160829-17880-aaovnn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=720&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/135707/original/image-20160829-17880-aaovnn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=905&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/135707/original/image-20160829-17880-aaovnn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=905&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/135707/original/image-20160829-17880-aaovnn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=905&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Tolhuisen is home to the world’s first 3D-printed canal house, a publicly accessible ‘Research & Design by Doing’ project initiated by DUS Architects.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Timothy Moore</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The municipality has ceded some of its usual powers to the sector, with responsibility for delivery and success shared. </p>
<p>At Tolhuistuin, the council provides the land, old building stock and a maintenance budget for a fixed period while the creatives develop the precinct themselves (under the watch of a board). The outcome is a new asset-based blueprint for sustainable mixed-use urban development. </p>
<p>Tolhuistuin’s early seeded clusters set the stage for larger projects. These include the <a href="https://www.eyefilm.nl/en/about-eye">Eye Film Institute</a>, the <a href="http://adamtoren.nl/site/">A’DAM Toren</a> and the redevelopment of the <a href="http://theprotocity.com/adaptionadoptionamsterdam-noord/">Van Der Pek</a> and <a href="http://repository.tudelft.nl/islandora/object/uuid:3cda2bbc-93e1-4991-a654-bd88bc28fac0?collection=education">Overhoeks</a> precincts.</p>
<p>This all builds on the municipality’s longstanding <em>broedplaatsen</em> (breeding ground) program. This promotes creative clustering in underutilised buildings across the city by releasing 10,000m² of studio space per year. </p>
<p>The creative industries are empowered to take the lead in developing these projects. Amsterdam council unlocks funding sources and offers expert advice on bureaucratic and legal processes.</p>
<p>In Canada, <a href="http://www1.toronto.ca/City%20Of%20Toronto/City%20Planning/SIPA/Files/pdf/S/SECTION37_Final_JK.pdf">Section 37 of the Ontario Planning Act</a> has helped transform private, government and creative sector partnerships. It allows development regulations to be relaxed in <a href="https://www.thestar.com/news/gta/2015/01/16/section-37-what-it-is-and-why-everybodys-fighting-about-it-keenan.html">exchange for community benefit</a>, which includes creating living spaces for creatives.</p>
<p>In the early 2000s, social enterprise <a href="http://www.torontoartscape.org/about-artscape">Artscape</a>, supported by the City of Toronto, leveraged Section 37 to develop <a href="http://www.torontoartscape.org/artscape-triangle-lofts">Artscape Triangle Lofts</a>, home to 68 creative live/work units and <a href="http://www.propellerctr.com/">Propeller Gallery</a>. An innovative affordable <a href="http://www.torontoartscape.org/our-programs">ownership and rental program</a> ensures a mix of uses and incomes in the building. </p>
<p>Toronto’s far-sighted policy decision helped the city retain and grow its creative community in the face of rising property prices. Today the sector contributes <a href="http://www.investtoronto.ca/Business-Toronto/Key-Business-Sectors/Creative-Industries.aspx">C$9 billion a year</a> to Toronto’s GDP and employs 130,000 people.</p>
<h2>Get in early, start small</h2>
<p>The takeaway from this is that constructing a creative economy means implementing long-term transitional strategies to build talent and capacity over time. This avoids the need for more interventionist, expensive and risky strategies down the line.</p>
<p>WA towns and cities have an enviable opportunity to set up the conditions for a healthy creative economy before regeneration of their older building stock comes to pass. Nurturing this sector through a mix of smaller policy interventions could be an affordable and effective way to kick-start sustainable creative economies. </p>
<p>More modest interventions allow the luxury of learning from failure and trialling more experimental ideas. These can then flow through to the wider creative ecology.</p>
<p>All ecologies rely on an ongoing interplay between the large, medium and small. Each brings something different to the table to create a whole greater than the sum of its parts. </p>
<p>This requires a policy mix that can support big-ticket projects along with investment in sustainable careers and spaces for small-to-medium creative enterprises. This is true creativity at work.</p>
<hr>
<p><em>The Conversation is co-publishing articles with <a href="http://www.alva.uwa.edu.au/community/futurewest">Future West (Australian Urbanism)</a>, produced by the University of Western Australia’s Faculty of Architecture, Landscape and Visual Arts. These articles look towards the future of urbanism, taking Perth and Western Australia as its reference point. You can read other articles <a href="https://theconversation.com/au/topics/future-west-30248">here</a>.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/63992/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Bree Trevena is affiliated with Creative Victoria, Department of Economic Development, Jobs, Transport and Resources with the Victorian State Government.</span></em></p>When municipal or state governments join forces with smaller creative communities to shape urban regeneration the results can be far-reaching.Bree Trevena, PhD Researcher, Research Unit in Public Cultures, The University of MelbourneLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/633222016-08-19T05:26:26Z2016-08-19T05:26:26ZGaming trends show cities need to rethink how they tap into creative economy<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/132914/original/image-20160803-12223-utcsad.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">City policymakers are realising creative workers don't have to be permanently clustered together if they can collaborate as needed.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/stevepurkiss/13945518656/in/photolist-nfjqQQ-dCou8f-ikXbBA-nhCZGi-nhD2RP-nhXFij-nhD5nR-nfSZV3-nhCVvJ-bEzzdt-7xhdHS-7xh13w-65nBfW-FTB7p-65nAUy-4eKahS-qhbHgF-7xdcmz-wFgFRC-7xh1Vd-7xh4jw-ni2QMc-7xh3Nf-hyeB1S-7xh2o1-qf4miE-7xh1wS-368ay3-7xh2YL-9Asmnw-7xdhzM-7MiPFH-7xdgS6-FHsb6q-pknymh-5R6r65-33P8X4-pZWM2M-qT8CUX-quLXkR-qf5yUu-nhV8JH-9TxV9r-nTzH6o-pZMGJE-4SYgYW-4SU4hi-4SYhoJ-qf4hG1-iczfyN">Steve Purkiss/flickr</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">CC BY-SA</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Various cities in Australia have developed creative economy policies with the aim of diversifying their economy. These policies are about attracting and retaining entrepreneurs and firms from the creative industries sector, such as the music and fashion industries. </p>
<p>Creative economy policies were often based on the <a href="https://hbr.org/1998/11/clusters-and-the-new-economics-of-competition">cluster concept</a> developed by Michael Porter in the 1990s. This was the case for the <a href="https://www.brisbane.qld.gov.au/sites/default/files/creative_brisbane_creative_economy_2013-2022.pdf">creative city strategy in Brisbane</a> and also for the more recent <a href="https://theconversation.com/what-are-the-secrets-to-being-a-superstar-music-city-50184">music industry policy in Melbourne</a>. </p>
<p>Brisbane has been very active in this area. The objective was to be less dependent on natural resources in the future. </p>
<p>Planning initiatives such the <a href="http://www.kgurbanvillage.com.au/">Kelvin Grove Village</a> are examples of economic development strategies based on the cluster concept that translated into planned projects. But positive steps are being taken to provide <a href="http://www.creativespaces.net.au/about-us/our-network/brisbane-city-council">affordable spaces for creative workers</a>.</p>
<p>Recent <a href="http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/02723638.2015.1067981#.V5_-lOt97q4%20_">research on the video game industry in Australia</a> has shown that new technologies have greatly influenced the production of games. The industry functions as a “networked community” and not strictly as spatially bounded clusters. The use of new platforms such as the internet enables small companies to produce games from remote areas. </p>
<h2>Industry structures are changing</h2>
<p>The composition of the industry has changed significantly since 2006-07, with the closure of several development studios that focused on console games, such as <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Krome_Studios">Krome Studios</a>. A variety of platforms – <a href="https://unity3d.com/unity?utm_source=youtube&utm_medium=&utm_campaign=demos-showcase-2016-06-21-Global-AdamFulll">Unity 3d</a>, mobile phones etc – is now available to game developers. </p>
<p>With the shift from console games to mobile phone games, the industry has changed dramatically. The nature of the demand has changed too: consumers of video games are now <a href="http://www.lib.umich.edu/blogs/eaten-grue/rise-mobile-games-factors-contributing-their-success">looking for a quick and fast experience</a>. </p>
<p><a href="http://www.disparitygames.com/about/">Disparity Games</a>, operating from Noosa on the Sunshine Coast, is an example of these new successful companies located outside the main cluster. The people behind Disparity Games are two video game developers working from home in an idyllic environment. The map below shows the location of video game firms in Queensland, with some of those companies operating from the Gold Coast and the Sunshine Coast. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/132689/original/image-20160802-17183-1hrz1wl.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/132689/original/image-20160802-17183-1hrz1wl.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/132689/original/image-20160802-17183-1hrz1wl.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=874&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/132689/original/image-20160802-17183-1hrz1wl.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=874&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/132689/original/image-20160802-17183-1hrz1wl.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=874&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/132689/original/image-20160802-17183-1hrz1wl.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1098&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/132689/original/image-20160802-17183-1hrz1wl.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1098&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/132689/original/image-20160802-17183-1hrz1wl.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1098&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Digital connectivity has led to a wider dispersion of video game companies in southeast Queensland.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>In an interview with the author, one of the game developers explained why they decided to move their company to Noosa: </p>
<blockquote>
<p>After the collapse of large studios we decided to go indie. With the smaller indie companies, everyone is more supportive. We have meet-ups on marketing, technical issues, game testing. We are exchanging knowledge at those events, [so] we don’t need to be based in the city anymore to be part of the community.</p>
</blockquote>
<h2>New technologies enable new ways of working</h2>
<p>These studios have demonstrated that self-publishing is a viable business model in Australia. Independent developers can now bypass traditional international publishers. </p>
<p>New technologies have thus had the effect of <a href="http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/02723638.2015.1067981">reducing the size of video game companies and increasing their number</a>. This is verified in Queensland, which has become specialised in developing mobile phone games.</p>
<p>New technologies such as the National Broadband Network (NBN) have changed the way video game developers produce games and where they produce them. With the NBN, a small video game company can literally produce a game from anywhere.</p>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/132911/original/image-20160803-12201-1blciey.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/132911/original/image-20160803-12201-1blciey.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/132911/original/image-20160803-12201-1blciey.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=601&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/132911/original/image-20160803-12201-1blciey.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=601&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/132911/original/image-20160803-12201-1blciey.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=601&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/132911/original/image-20160803-12201-1blciey.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=755&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/132911/original/image-20160803-12201-1blciey.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=755&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/132911/original/image-20160803-12201-1blciey.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=755&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Co-working spaces allow creative workers to get together only when they need to.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/janelleorsi/12897062203/in/photolist-kDEPgr-9Apr26-a2KK9g-9ApqXv-ikWRxA-ikYcbZ-njFCnP-92jnme-nhXdYL-nhCzUE-nfjqQQ-dCou8f-ikXbBA-nhCZGi-nhD2RP-nhXFij-nhD5nR-nfSZV3-nhCVvJ-bEzzdt-7xhdHS-7xh13w-65nBfW-FTB7p-65nAUy-4eKahS-qhbHgF-7xdcmz-wFgFRC-7xh1Vd-7xh4jw-ni2QMc-7xh3Nf-hyeB1S-7xh2o1-qf4miE-7xh1wS-368ay3-7xh2YL-9Asmnw-7xdhzM-7MiPFH-7xdgS6-FHsb6q-pknymh-5R6r65-33P8X4-pZWM2M-qT8CUX-quLXkR">janelleorsi/flickr</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>If they already have the professional connections, developers can work on the same game with different experts located in different cities. Face-to-face interactions are important, but this does not mean anymore that video game developers need to be located in the city at all times. </p>
<p>In that sense, creative economy policies should think about flexible ways to accommodate creative workers in the city. The opening of co-working spaces in <a href="https://www.littletokyotwo.com/">South Bank</a> or the <a href="http://www.rivercitylabs.net/">River City labs</a> are good examples in Brisbane.</p>
<p>This research shows it is time to go beyond the cluster type of economic development policies to attract and retain creative workers and firms in cities like Brisbane. </p>
<p>Instead of planning creative neighbourhoods or districts, which are often not affordable for start-up companies, policies should aim for flexible solutions such as co-working spaces. Those are more adapted to an era in which new technologies are to a certain extent changing the geography of creative industries based on technological innovation such as the video game industry.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/63322/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Sebastien Darchen does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Cities seeking to attract creative industries have relied heavily on the cluster concept. New research suggests a technology-driven transformation of how the sector works calls for a new approach.Sebastien Darchen, Lecturer in Planning, The University of QueenslandLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/585762016-04-29T01:49:22Z2016-04-29T01:49:22ZProductivity Commission’s recommendations on IP reform likely to be lost in election haze<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/120639/original/image-20160429-28029-x8ua44.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Recommendations on intellectual property are likely to be filed away. </span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/vox/4398623044/in/photolist-7GG6om-8mjo7c-tTMRnu-cJsqKN-8369Jd-81JCL1-6hvVqV-e3FAsd-5boAwp-qwiUr-bA28j7-sGENa6-srwkxq-cJExYu-6YMEf7-ef5KrQ-snrcTp-57msh1-cJF8dY-eeYZQk-jJuXQk-sDYpZy-81FtLe-8BM5T7-cJExMQ-eeYZPB-dPcqJ1-HVDDh-9ARxwz-aVhVJx-9m7iyr-cJF9mf-eeZ1aP-57mq45-8mkQi2-dCQZ2A-ef5Jwd-dVHkbG-ef5J5y-bPXY4T-pNghfR-ajQQNM-43rAa-sdzaZE-rWx5qV-AUgfWk-okdjCV-8WoFtT-sfHkCf-sfPn3r">Flickr/Ross</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>The <a href="http://pc.gov.au">Productivity Commission</a> aspires to act as the Government’s economic conscience, providing advice that from a neoliberal mindset is rational, but may be politically inconvenient. The Commission has <a href="http://www.pc.gov.au/inquiries/current/intellectual-property/draft">called</a> for a fundamental reworking of Australia’s intellectual property (IP) regime in its 601 page draft <em>Intellectual Property Arrangements</em> report. </p>
<p>The draft is sure to delight some readers, dismay others, remind us of identical recommendations over the past decade and allow the Government to defer hard decisions until well after the election. It features arguments and recommendations of direct relevance to scholars and university administrators. It should provoke a considered response from anyone interested in economic sovereignty, social justice and industry development. Salient recommendations, alas, are likely to be still-born.</p>
<h2>Where does it come from?</h2>
<p>The draft was <a href="https://theconversation.com/hockeys-ip-inquiry-another-opportunity-likely-to-be-missed-46266">commissioned</a> by former Treasurer Joe Hockey. It’s the latest in a cascade of reports by about problems with copyright, patents, designs, plant breeders rights and trade marks. It highlights fundamental imbalances between IP rights holders and users. That imbalance inhibits creativity and does not appropriately foster the innovation that is recurrently rediscovered in “clever country” statements by the Coalition and ALP. </p>
<p>The imbalance has an international dimension, because Australia is an IP colony and has continued to sleepwalk into bilateral/multilateral trade agreements that unduly privilege partners such as the United States. It has a substantive cost to individuals and to taxpayers, through for example burdens attributable to over-protection of patents for <a href="https://theconversation.com/its-time-to-fix-the-free-trade-bungle-on-the-cost-of-medicines-32574">medications</a> that feature in the essential Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme.</p>
<h2>What does Australia need to do?</h2>
<p>The draft report echoes past Productivity Commission reports in questioning the conceptual framework for much of Australia’s IP regime. It notes the impact of the imbalance on Australian households, on artists and new media developers, and on universities. It also notes administrative inefficiencies or omissions in some of the Australian legislation, much of which can be readily fixed for greater coherence. </p>
<p>The draft offers a range of recommendations, which on close reading are less radical than the Commission’s brisk critique of patents and copyright. </p>
<p>The most salient and sensible recommendation is for changes to the Copyright Act. Those changes centre on establishment of a broad principles-based fair use exception, akin to what is in place in the US. The Commission calls for that change on economic rather than human rights or social justice grounds. It emphasises that a fairer, more balanced copyright system will both foster creativity and reduce copyright infringement. Rebalancing, rather than stronger penalties and exhaustive policing, will benefit Australian copyright creators and consumers alike. It will also benefit creative industry stakeholders such as libraries, archives and scholars. </p>
<p>Other recommendations include not extending the period of protection for registered designs, fine-tuning the trade marks and plant breeders statutes, belatedly including an Objects clause in the Patents Act, rethinking the controversial <a href="https://www.ipaustralia.gov.au/about-us/news-and-community/news/economic-impact-innovation-patents">‘innovation’ patents</a> arrangements and bringing intellectual property transactions under Australian competition law. Efforts to streamline the regime will involve substantial investment in the Patents Office and dysfunctional <a href="http://croakey.org/the-tga-a-watchdog-with-dentures/">Therapeutic Goods Agency</a>. We can expect patent practitioners to savage the Commission’s stance on what it regards as trivial patents, alongside its call to deny business patents and software patents. ‘Big Pharma’ will again damn calls to wind back practices such as <a href="https://theconversation.com/julia-gillard-big-pharma-patent-law-and-public-health-10226">evergreening</a>, extended periods of protection for pharmaceuticals and undue protection for test data.</p>
<p>The recommendations are consistent with suggestions by the <a href="http://www.alrc.gov.au/publications/copyright-report-122">Australian Law Reform Commission</a>, the Pharmaceutical Patents <a href="http://blog.patentology.com.au/2014/02/pharmaceutical-patents-review-buried-by.html">Review</a>, the <a href="https://theconversation.com/harper-makes-case-for-competition-overhaul-experts-react-39582">Harper Inquiry</a> into competition policy and the Advisory Council on Intellectual Property – all bodies that consulted widely, thought hard - and were ignored by the relevant Minister. The recommendations are also consistent with developments in Canada, New Zealand and the United Kingdom. Importantly, they would place Australian consumers in the same position as their US peers.</p>
<p>The Commission again calls for caution about signing up to “free trade” agreements and geoblocking restrictions, echoing scholars such as <a href="https://www.mja.com.au/journal/2015/202/6/costs-australian-taxpayers-pharmaceutical-monopolies-and-proposals-extend-them?0=ip_login_no_cache%3Ded2105055db49588831a1dbd26fe55ac">Deborah Gleeson</a> and <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-10-06/rimmer-tpp-favours-old-ip-industries/6830884">Matthew Rimmer</a> who have cogently highlighted that the benefits of those agreements are strongly weighted against Australia. </p>
<p>The Commission has aptly expressed concern about the fundamental lack of transparency in trade negotiations, a secrecy that has been endorsed by both the Coalition and ALP when in government. Its response is unfortunately a damp squib: Australia is to work harder in international fora. On occasion even the conscience mumbles.</p>
<h2>No, Minister!</h2>
<p>What’s going to happen? In <em>Yes Minister</em> poor Jim Hacker is warned about bold brave initiatives. The draft report is bold and rationality is alas not a recipe for success. </p>
<p>The Commission’s recommendations as a whole are thus very unlikely to be embraced by Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull, by his colleagues or by Bill Shorten. The Commission states that “Australia’s intellectual property system has lost sight of users”. We should ensure that the Government does not lose sight of the report.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/58576/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Bruce Baer Arnold does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>The Productivity Commission’s draft report on Australia’s intellectual property system is good. Shame it is likely to be still-born.Bruce Baer Arnold, Assistant Professor, School of Law, University of CanberraLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.