💡 Creative Briefing #83
News, research, case studies & opportunities for the UK creative sector
Hello,
The UK Government has published its response to the consultation on copyright and AI - a process launched after widespread concern across the creative industries about proposals that could have allowed copyrighted works to be used for AI training unless rightsholders actively opted out.
Industry bodies have welcomed the government’s decision not to press ahead with immediate, broad changes to copyright law.
Instead, the government has set out a programme of further work focused on protecting human creativity while supporting innovation.
Key points include:
No broad copyright exception for AI training
More evidence before any major legislative change
Plans to remove copyright protection for wholly computer-generated works
Further exploration of protections against digital replicas and deepfakes
No new AI copyright regulator at this stage
Work with industry on transparency, labelling and licensing
One licensing avenue the government is exploring is the Creative Content Exchange (CCE), an idea first raised in the Creative Industries Sector Plan, developed in partnership with the CIC.
The CCE is designed to be a trusted marketplace for buying, selling, licensing, and enabling permitted access to digitised cultural and creative assets. An operational pilot platform for the CCE, launching this summer, will test a range of commercial models for licensing material from 12 UK cultural institutions.
Meanwhile, the Publishers Association published an in-depth report earlier this month looking at how book and journal publishers are successfully licensing content for use in AI.
Creative industries news
Black music contributed 80% - £24.5 billion - to the UK recorded music market across 30 years, a new landmark study from UK Music has revealed.
Blackpool, Inverness-Highland, Ipswich, Middlesbrough, Milton Keynes, Portsmouth, Sheffield, Swindon and Wrexham have been longlisted to become the UK’s City of Culture 2029. More than 230 towns have thrown their hat in the ring to become the UK’s first-ever Town of Culture. Expressions of interest are open until 31 March.
London Games Festival next month will be the biggest edition yet, with extra backing from the government’s Games Growth Package helping unlock a three-year development plan and a larger industry and trade programme.
Small Prophets is BBC’s big hit
The nation’s been charmed by gentle comedy Small Prophets - the BBC’s biggest new scripted launch so far this year.
The hit series was created, written and directed by Mackenzie Crook, who also stars alongside Sir Michael Palin, Pearce Quigley and Sophie Willan.
Filmed in the Manchester area, it’s the story of an eccentric shop assistant who summons the supernatural in his quest to discover the whereabouts of his missing partner.
The first episode has been watched by more than 7.9million people - making it BBC2’s biggest comedy episode of the last 10 years.
One of the show’s wonders are the small prophets themselves, which were brought to life by animators Ainslie Henderson and Will Anderson using puppets created by Manchester-based Mackinnon & Saunders.
🚀 Creative Growth
🎵 Music marketing platform un:hurd has secured a £250,000 investment from Creative Growth Finance to expand its machine-learning attribution engine and grow its B2B offer.
🎬 Planning permission has been granted to expand Production Park, West Yorkshire’s world-class campus for stage and screen production, with two new studios for the site.
🚪 The number of creative businesses in Hackney Wick and Fish Island Creative Enterprise Zone has grown by 25% since the introduction of a creative enterprise zone in 2018.
🎦 A creative centre to help disadvantaged young adults secure long-term employment is being built in honour of the late entrepreneur Jamal Edwards, who sat on the Creative Industries Trade and Investment Board. Opening on the same housing estate in Acton where Jamal grew up and recorded his earliest SBTV content, the Self-Belief Community Hub will support 31 young adults with co-working spaces, a recording studio and a subsidised kitchen to provide daily hot meals.
🏗️ A major regeneration project in Doncaster’s former industrial Waterfront site near the River Don Navigation could see it become a national hub for digital production and creative industries.
🕹️ Support from Creative Wales / Cymru Greadigol helped Penarth studio Wales Interactive to expand its game Sker Ritual, which has more than two million players, with the wider Sker franchise reaching 11 million downloads worldwide.
Opportunities
Creative Enterprise Foundations. Early-stage business support for founders in the screen industries, with workshops, mentoring and peer support. Apply by 23 March.
Greater Manchester Freelancer Network. Freelancers are invited to apply for 20 paid roles on this new advisory group representing the freelancers powering Greater Manchester’s creative industries. Apply by 28 March.
Supporting Grassroots Music. Funding for live music venues, promoters, festivals and recording studios. Round 8 closes on 29 March and Round 9 closes on 26 April.
Royal Greenwich Create Grants. Up to £3,000 for locally based artists and creatives to deliver community arts and Black History 365 projects. Apply by 16 April.
For a full list of funding and development opportunities, visit our opportunities page.
Events
13–19 April - London Games Festival. Consumer expo New Games Plus moves to a larger venue, while the Games Finance Market has been expanded to include streams for co-developers and self-published games.
18 April - V&A East Museum opens at Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park in Stratford - a significant new cultural asset for the UK.
11–18 May - London Craft Week. Over 1000 established and emerging makers, designers, brands and galleries from around the world showcase their creativity.
Until next time,
Rachel Wareing (Newsletter Editor) &
Carlos Grande (Editor, thecreativeindustries.co.uk)