Creative Economy: A Feasible Development Option

2.4 The creative economy in the developing worldand transition economies2This section provides an overview of recent developmentswith impact on the creative economy in developingcountries and economies in transition, on the basis of availableinformation at the UNCTAD secretariat. It highlights markettrends, relevant events at national and regional levels, and somepolicy interventions adopted to enhance the creative economy.2.4.1 AfricaThe creative industries in Africa are generally fragmented.As a consequence, the cycle of production, marketing anddistribution is not coherent. Despite the profusion of talenton the continent as well as the richness of cultural traditionand heritage, there has been limited commercialization ofAfrican cultural and artistic creations in both the domesticand foreign markets.This situation is problematic as it could lead to thegradual impoverishment of the cultural heritage of Africancountries. In the absence of a secured decent income, it is notsurprising that talented people are less attracted by a career asan artist, musician, filmmaker or craft worker and that theleakage of talent from developing economies is severe.Without development of the industries that support this talentin these economies, there is every reason to assume thatthis trend will continue. The International LabourOrganization (ILO) study on crafts and visual arts describedhow visual artists see themselves, with international recognitionbeing the ultimate mark of success. Artists from southernAfrica are keen to work abroad and “do not validate theirown context as much as their perceived idea of workingconditions abroad”. 7In the poorest countries, the majority of culturalproduction takes place in the informal economy and can typicallybe the only form of income-generation for entire communities.8 Even in more sophisticated markets, it is difficultto break out of the informality into the established industry.The value chain is not yet sophisticated (primary inputscombined to produce outputs sold directly to consumers);however, this does not translate into an industry where allaspects of the value chain are present.At the same time, it must be noted that establishedmusic industries in the developed world are facing a high levelof uncertainty. The existing value chain model based onincome generation through Intellectual Property Rights (IPR)is under intense pressure. The impact of social media networkingand digital downloads on IPR is not yet fully understoodand business models are still evolving. There are plentyof opportunities for developing countries to formulate newapproaches that recognize, and capitalize on, the value that isbeing created through the existing local music industries thatare currently operating informally. One such approach isoutlined in the Tecnobrega case in box 3.1.In many African countries, for instance Nigeria, musicplays an important part in daily life, rituals and commemorations,but the formal production and circulation of recordedmusic products is extremely limited. Not all economic hubshave strong, economically viable, legal production and consumptionof cultural products. While Dakar, Senegal, Cairo,Egypt and areas of South Africa such as Gauteng province orthe cities of Cape Town and Durban, are hubs for productionand consumption of a range of cultural goods and services,other strong economic hubs such as Botswana have a dearthof cultural production. Yet countries such as Mali,Mozambique, Rwanda or Zambia have significant productionand consumption of cultural products such as music, dance,crafts and visual arts.In regard to the music industry specifically, the focusis largely on live performance rather than on either recordingsor the protection of content through well-functioningIPR systems. Unfortunately, in these circumstances, creativetalent often gets attracted overseas. It is not only that thereis often little recognition locally compared to the internationalstar status that some African artists receive (for example,the internationally renowned Mozambican artist,Malangatana, the South African contemporary dancer,Robyn Orlin, or Youssou N’Dour of Senegal). Also, artistsThe development dimension7 ILO (2003).8 Refers to a comment made by the Zambian Director of Cultural Services (housed in the Department of Social Development) about a community in the south of the country thatused the straw to produce brooms, baskets for shopping and display, Lusaka, 2001.CREATIVE ECONOMY REPORT 201041