Scotland’s Creative Sector Generates £3.2bn for Economy

ISPA Member Organization, Creative Scotland along with Scottish Enterprise have commissioned an economic impact study which indicates that Scotland’s arts and creative industries are valued at more than £3.2 billion to the nation’s economy.

To learn more about the findings of this study, as well as who it includes, please read the below article by Thom Dibdin, published on Friday June 29th, 2012 in The Stage News. You may find the original article page here.Scotland’s arts and creative industries are valued at more than £3.2 billion to the nation’s economy, according to a benchmark study published on Thursday.

The Economic Contribution Study, commissioned by Creative Scotland and Scottish Enterprise, indicates that the sector directly employed some 84,000 people in 2010. The study defines the sector with a total of 16 different industries, from software and electronic publishing to the performing arts.

A further 21,000 freelancers and workers outside the creative industries are thought to work in a creative capacity. When indirect contributions and induced effects are included, the Gross Value Added rises to £6.3 billion and employment to nearly 130,000.

Creative Scotland chief executive Andrew Dixon welcomed the study. He said: "Scotland’s talent is recognised world-wide and valued at home for high quality work and the joy that a vibrant cultural life brings to our communities.

"For the first time, the impact that Scotland’s arts and creative industries has on the nation’s economic well-being can now be set alongside these other achievements and is further proof that Scotland thrives on creativity.”

Examination of individual sectors shows that performing arts provided £90 million Gross Value Added to the Scottish economy in 2010 and directly employed 4,700 people. This is 2.8% of the total for the creative industries. With a turnover of £180 million and purchases of £90 million, performing arts is worth £117 million to the Scottish supply chain.

According to the report, there are 1,050 actors and entertainers in Scotland of whom 680, 65% of the total, work in the arts and creative industries. Actors and performers make up 18% of the total of those employed in the performing arts, with musicians accounting for 23% and bar staff 15%.

Deeper analysis shows that while the overall trend of employment in the performing arts is an annual increase of 0.6% since 1971, there are some unexplained anomalies. These include a spike in employment in 2008 when it rose to over a third higher than in 2010.

The ECS uses publicly available, existing data and puts into a set of 16 different industries to mark its scope. While this varies from the 13 industries currently used by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport, the report also includes statistics created on the DCMS model.

Comparisons show that there are broad similarities between UK and Scottish employment in the creative sector. Under the DCMS statistics, performing arts come under the heading of Music and Visual and Performing Arts. This makes up 18.1% of the sector in Scotland while it accounts for 16.4% in the whole of the UK.