Games, film, TV and music generate billions in Sweden. Now the creative industries are to be mapped out to see what they actually contribute.
It's incredibly important both for the industry and for the government, says Culture Minister Parisa Liljestrand (M).
Parisa Liljestrand says that aggregated data from the creative industries, such as games, film, TV and music, is largely lacking today. This data is needed to achieve the government's vision for how to get more out of the industries, the Culture Minister reasons. Now the government is allocating funds and assigning the task of collecting the statistics.
The statistics we have today are from 2017 and are very fragmented. So, I hope we can get a comprehensive picture of what the cultural and creative industries contribute to Sweden in terms of economy, growth, export, and so on, she says, and continues:
Also, of course, we will be able to see how we can promote opportunities for the industry to grow further.
Swiftonomics
Liljestrand mentions the calculations made by the Stockholm Chamber of Commerce that Taylor Swift concerts brought in half a billion kronor to the city. The superstar's economic influence has been given its own name – swiftonomics.
It's clear that we need that type of calculation to also know what the industry contributes, not just in itself but also in second and third order effects in terms of travel, hotel stays, restaurant visits, and so on, she says.
"Can understand the power"
The Swedish games industry was already estimated to generate as much as the mining or pulp and paper industry in 2020.
If you put that in parallel to the type of industries that have helped build Sweden strong and rich once. Yes, then you can also understand the power. How much more is there in the cultural and creative industries and how much more could we actually get out of this?
Gustav Sjöholm/TT
Facts: The Government's Assignment
The assignment to collect statistics from the creative industries has been given to Spelplan-ASGD, an industry association representing game developers and producers, which will collaborate with a steering group of representatives from the association Kreativ sektor.
Kreativ sektor consists of Dataspelsbranschen, Film&TV-producers, Komm! Sveriges Kommunikationsbyråer and Musiksverige.
The government is allocating 881,000 kronor for the assignment, which is to be reported by 31 March 2025.
Source: The Government
