The creative industries will benefit from a new package of support announced by the Department for International Trade (DIT) yesterday (20 September).
The new measures were announced as business leaders from the industry came together for an event celebrating its export successes.
The sector covers firms that export fashion, film, games, advertising, music, publishing and immersive technology.
Creating jobs
New exports minister Mike Freer said: “The UK’s creative industries are a force to be reckoned with. We create, write, produce and code amazing products, and sell them to the world. The nation can be proud of our creative industries exporters, and the jobs they create in our economy.”
The new support package forms part of the DIT’s ‘Made in Britain, Sold to the World’ campaign, which seeks to raise awareness of international opportunities for the UK’s most creative firms.
The next Beatles?
The package of new support includes £330,000 in grant funding for the music industry via the Music Export Growth Scheme (MEGS) in joint partnership with Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport and the International Showcase Fund (ISF). The scheme helps bands cover the costs of tours and promotion.
Music Week reports that since its launch in 2014, around £4m has been awarded by the scheme, generating £51m in UK music exports – a return of £12 for every £1 invested.
Applications for the next round (20) of funding close at midnight on 27 September 2021.
World leader
According to the government, creative exports in 2019 were worth £37.9 billion, making up nearly 12% of total UK service exports.
The UK is also the second largest exporter of music in the world, with international sales reaching a record high last year, up 6% since 2019 to £519.7m.