Creative industries export £46bn worth of goods and services including music and games

The UK’s creative industries exported £46bn in goods and services last year, new research has revealed today.

British music, art, advertising and digital technology all contributed to the value of the sector, according to a report by the Creative INdustries Federation.

The research indicates that the value of the creative industries is larger than previous estimates. This is due to the inclusion of ditiral creative service exports, which are now thought to be worth £21bn rather than £15bn.

This area includes aspects of the industry such as musicians benefitting from global consumers playing their songs on YouTube, or the large numbers of fans of online gaming around the world.

“Digital is the future and the creative industries are leading the way,” commented John Kampfner, chief executive of the Creative Industries Federation. “And, while the scale may be international, the impact is local. Last year creative jobs grew by 25 per cent in Yorkshire and the West Midlands, with regional economies, from Scotland to the West Midlands all growing faster than London.”

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Digital exports in the creative sector make up two thirds of total creative service exports around the world, the research concluded.

Alina Dimofte, who handles public policy at Goole, said: “On YouTube, the UK is already one of the biggest content exporters with 78 per cent of all views on videos uploaded in the UK being watched by users in a different country. Similarly, game developers or createch entrepreneurs have their apps available for the whole world by just publishing them on an app store.”

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