The role of cultural and creative industries has been given increased importance since 2000. This has been evident in inter-ministerial cooperation on the national level, but even more so in cultural policies on the regional and local levels. Especially in some municipalities and regions, the creative industries have now become the focus for cultural policy in the hope of developing the regions and strengthening their financial situation.
In describing cultural and creative industries, the Swedish government generally uses the same definition as the EU. In national statistics, cultural and creative industries include architecture, audiovisual media, computer games, film and TV, radio, art, design, photo, archives, museums, historical and archaeological sites, press, literature, libraries, fashion, advertisement, music, art education, and stage arts. Studies in this area have been performed by the Swedish Agency for Economic and Regional Growth (Tillväxtverket) in collaboration with the Swedish Agency for Cultural Analysis, the Swedish Agency for Growth Policy Evaluations and Analyzes (Tillväxtanalys), and Statistics Sweden (Statistiska Centralbyrån). In a 2018 report, they conclude that increased efforts have to be made not only to support this sector, but also to adequately measure its contributions to the economy, for example the contributions of digital production and of cultural and creative industries in regional growth. According to their studies, cultural and creative industries contributed 3.1 percent of GDP in 2016, and there were approximately 130,000 businesses and 143,000 employees in the sector. During the period 2010–2016, the export of goods from cultural and creative industries increased from just over SEK 16 billion to almost SEK 21 billion. The number of companies increased by almost 15,000 from 2010 to 2016. The number of employees in the sector remained relatively stable during the same period. Most new companies had 0 employees (the owner of the company not counted). This highlights the importance of improving conditions for small businesses in order to strengthen cultural and creative industries, as well as other innovative businesses (Tillväxtverket 2021). Cultural and creative industries were significantly hit by the Covic-19 pandemic and the measures taken to address it (SOU 2021:77) but by the end of 2022 the numbers of people self-employed within the culture sector had recovered to pre-pandemic levels, and the number of employees, and full time employments, had reached even higher levels (Swedish Agency for Cultural Analysis 2023b).
In 2022, a strategy on cultural and creative industries was proposed by a government appointed special inquiry (SOU 2022:44). Six strategic areas were proposed:
- Clear responsibility and cross-cutting policies
- New support structure for finance and innovation
- Far-sighted and fast-moving action in the copyright market
- Exports, internationalisation and value creation abroad
- Sustainable labour market and skills supply
- The importance of the place for cultural and creative industries (and vice versa).
The year before, the Government Commission on the Restart of Culture had proposed the creation of an inter-ministerial coordinating unit for government initiatives directed at cultural and creative industries, as well as a fund for cofounding matching private initiatives in support of arts and culture (SOU 2021:77). This recommendation has so far not been realized by the government. Similar measures have been taken previously. The Foundation for the Culture of the Future (Stiftelsen Framtidens kultur) was established by the government in 1994 to support long-term and innovative cultural projects and stimulating regional culture in a wider sense. It ceased its operations in 2011. In its 2009 Government Bill on Cultural Policy (prop. 2009/10:3), the government created a new fund for similar purposes, the Culture Bridge (Kulturbryggan), which is currently administered by the Swedish Arts Grants Committee, focusing on innovative arts and culture projects, rather than specifically on financially innovative projects.
Much more than on the national level, cultural and creative industries tend to be in focus on the local level, and to some extent on the regional. Several Swedish cities and less populated municipalities have made efforts to use culture as a means to revive the local economy and make the municipality a more attractive place to live or invest in. Such efforts are often guided by the notion of cultural planning, focusing on mapping and making use of all of the cultural resources available in the local cultural life. Measures to stimulate cultural and creative industries are commonly discussed in the regional culture plans presented by regional authorities to the Swedish Arts Council, which thus plays a role in approving these measures on the national level. .
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