Cultural and creative industries are generating an increasing number of jobs (that are difficult or impossible to relocate), and they are economically robust and are catalysts for innovation. Authors and performers are at the origin and the very source of CCIs. CCIs comprise a majority of small and micro-companies which main strength shall remain the short value chain between artists and creators and their final output and production.
It is erroneously argued that there is a higher degree of risk involved in investing in CCIs compared with other types of business, and that argument is based, inter alia, on the fact that CCIs are IPR-intensive and that there are difficulties involved in using intangible goods as guarantees for financing. Creative industries are amongst the most entrepreneurial sectors, developing transferable skills such as creative thinking, problem-solving, teamwork, and resourcefulness.
Despite the fact that more creative and cultural content is being accessed, shared and interconnected today than ever before, in particular on services such as user-uploaded content platforms and content aggregation services, the cultural and creative sector has realized that traditional business models, often based on oligopolistic positions, are not able anymore to translate in additional revenues this increase in consumption.
Such obsolescence indicates that enormous value-creation opportunities can be seized by the creative and cultural system, if it dares to develop innovative models, combining business excellence with widespread citizens participation, matching the needs of modern society and the potential of fast-evolving technology.
The Commission is urged to take steps to put a stop to the transfer of value to ensure that authors, creators, performers and right holders receive fair remuneration for their works, and whereas this will result in more content for the public and a strong cultural and creative industry, as well as representing a guarantee to safeguard European cultural and linguistic diversity.
As a result of digital and communication technology, access barriers to many types of cultural production and distribution have sharply fallen both in terms of cost and of technical difficulty, resulting de facto in a much more democratic and participative cultural system, where the intervention of an industrial contributor providing specific know-how and relevant capital becomes only necessary for some highly specific typologies of cultural production.
CCIs remain undervalued and unrecognised, especially in terms of their ability to access start-up capital and financing. CCIs are undergoing considerable modifications as a result of increased digital technologies witnessing changes in the conditions of artistic production and influencing intellectual property law. There is a need to promote an exchange of best practices and freely encourage the Member States to enhance their cooperation, particularly as regards combating counterfeit and pirated products and services.
The worrying size of international traffic in counterfeit and pirated goods is still another indicator of the extreme vulnerability of struggling business models, and indicates the pressing need to develop innovative ways of protecting value-creation, especially through increased controls at the external borders of the EU, specific policies addressed to third countries which adopt different IPR approaches, and other measures which reward the long-term vision of those creative and cultural industries which have gallantly resisted delocalisation, nurturing stable relationships with their suppliers, and ensuring through the supply chain a strict respect of labour, environment and tax law.
In the industrial economy, investment was primarily focused on tangible goods, which were the main drivers of growth, while in today’s creative economy, intangible goods are the principal targets for investment, sources of value and drivers of growth. The financing of CCIs should be seen in this context.
The Commission is advised to introduce an umbrella scheme that bridges the gap between R&D, European creative content production and technological innovation in the media field and beyond. Such an umbrella scheme would foster the production of creative and competitive EU services, commercial and employment opportunities, and enhance access to market for SMEs and start-ups, while nourishing a pluralistic and diverse European landscape built on strong synergies between CCIs and technological innovation, strengthening the European Digital Single Market.
The cultural and creative industries benefit considerably from public funding for culture, which also contributes significantly to cultural diversity in the European Union. The atypical employment of cultural and creative artists is becoming increasingly common. The Commission and the Member States are urged within their respective spheres of competence, to devote greater attention to legislative provisions regarding the employment and working conditions of cultural and creative artists and in particular their social protection.
Technology and infrastructure enable creators to spread their content for free and to easily acquire a broad and international audience. The creative sector has specificities and different challenges, notably arising from the different types of content and creative works and from the business models used. Any reform should strike the right balance between all the interests involved and authors, performers and right holders should be fairly remunerated for the use of their work on the internet without hampering innovation.
Amendments (de) are included in the text whether in a form of a wording, replacing initial text, or in a form of a text included in initial draft.