2009, the Year of culture and creativity in Europe, in review

2009 was the year of the adoption of the Lisbon Treaty: majority voting (over unanimity) becomes the rule with increased power given to the European Parliament.  Von Rompuy, a little known Belgian politician, is nominated President of the European Council and Barroso is appointed President for a second term promised to be driven by social cohesion and sustainability imperatives.  

The fate of the cultural and creative industries will be considered by 6 commissioners:  Vassiliou (culture), Barnier (copyright), Kroes (digital agenda), Almunia (competition), Reding (consumers) and Tajani (Innovation policy and enterprise).  The European Parliament is headed for the first time by a citizen from Eastern Europe, Jerzy Buzek.  The traditional conservative / socialist balance of power within the EP is left almost unchanged. The turnout to the European election remains poor (less than 43%). The European project or utopia fails to trigger the imagination and interests of European citizens.

2009 was also the European year of creativity and innovation. This contributed to raising awareness on the importance of non-technological innovation and may lead to mainstreaming culture in other (more prominent and better funded) policy areas. In its study on the Impact of Culture on Creativity, KEA developed the concept of culture-based creativity to characterize the contribution of arts and culture to creativity in society and the economy.

The “content” industry is experiencing another year of transition towards the digital shift.  A large US cable company (COMCAST) is taking over NBC Universal valued at 7.25 bn USD.  Are synergies between content and distribution finally on the agenda?  Does this herald the take-off of electronic distribution? Social networking continues to boom on the basis of technological innovation from the other side of the Atlantic (Facebook, Twitter  ...).

Avatar, the latest creative epic from James Cameron, hit the screens (released the same day in 65 countries on 15 000 screens!), propelling audiences into the 3D digital cinema experience. The King of Pop Michael Jackson left a world he never felt at ease with. Despite the economic crisis Hollywood broke old box office records in 2009, whilst online movie sales remain very low (less than 250 million USD). The movie industry seems less affected by digital distribution than the broadcast, newspaper, book and music industries are.   This is bound to change with the increased interconnection between TVs and Internet. Premium content has yet to move onto the web in a big and legal way.

Europe is still struggling to transform its creative talents into worldwide popular successes despite masterpieces from the usual suspects: Hanneke (The White Ribbon), Almodovar (Los Abrazos Rotos), Audiard (The Prophet) or Fatih Akin. Slumdog Millionaire from Danny Boyle however enjoyed global success in 2009.

At support level EU member States are competing to attract investment in cinema through tax incentives, leaving regions to promote cross-border co-productions. To roll out a true European creativity brand on the world scene, national cultural competition is yet to be replaced by more collaboration.

The relationship between content and technology is becoming increasingly complex.  Google, the search engine, is moving into book, music and video distribution. The company is still figuring out its way in the maze of international and national copyright law. It has become media mogul Murdoch’s main target in the crusade against the “free economy”. Nokia, the phone manufacturer, aims to become a major music platform. Apple, one of its main competitors, dominates legal downloads of music and software applications running on smartphones.  Orange, the dominating French telecom operator, invests in film production whilst Telefonica sold its interest in Endemol. During Christmas season Amazon trumpeted that ebooks on Kindle outsold paper versions.  An important challenge will be the ability of ICT industries to understand the cultural impact of technology innovation and to nurture artistic creativity.

Whilst the US is talking business, Europe is mainly struggling with legal issues in quest of the holy grail – how to achieve an internal market for cultural content in a continent fragmented by different languages, cultures and varying  legal approaches to copyright infringements.  France, the UK and Spain have decided to get tough on online piracy, whilst Sweden has elected 2 MEPs representing a generation of voters that want free access to content on the Internet.   Europeana, the European digital library, is an attempt to mutualise efforts at European level to offer alternative access to information and culture.

Rights licensing bodies for musical works are still fighting each other and have lost all sense of solidarity in the interest of their membership. It is a race between those that want to become the largest rights management bodies (a EUR 5 Billion business) and those that are merely trying to survive. The European Commission’s intervention has not made the licensing of musical works in Europe any easier. In any event the licensing issue has become very political within the EC.  No easy solution in sight as predicted in 2007 KEA ‘s report for the EP: Collective Rights Management: The Quest for Efficiency”. 

KEA is looking forward to a year which will see the development of a European policy aimed at creative industries and non-technological innovation. There is an opportunitywith the EU 2020 Agenda to mainstream creation and culture into other EU policy domains (regional, environmental, competition, innovation, and trade and development policies).  Cultural exchanges, a support for individual creativity, are a tool for economic prosperity (Europe’s achievement is evidence of this) and political influence.  Brazil, India, Russia and China are increasingly turning to Europe’s experience in nurturing diversity, a corollary of creativity, innovation in businesses and social cohesion.  

Let’s hope that cultural policy will not be the main victim of the financial crisis. It would be a pity, as it is now firmly established that investment in art and culture contributes to goals of social cohesion and economic growth. 

KEA will continue to highlight the contribution of culture to the European project.  Our relevance lies in promoting culture-based creativity.

 

Philippe Kern, 8 January 2010