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A newly released report from the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) has advised that 10 million jobs in creative industries worldwide were lost in 2020 as a result of the COVID pandemic, and the increasing digitisation of cultural output means it is harder than ever for artists to make a living.

In a foreword to the 328-page report, Reshaping Policies for Creativity, Audrey Azoulay, Director-General of UNESCO, the UN’s cultural body, advises that the Coronavirus pandemic has led to “an unprecedented crisis in the cultural sector”, noting that “all over the world, museums, cinemas, theatres and concert halls - places of creation and sharing - have closed their doors (and) what was already a precarious situation for many artists has become unsustainable, threatening creative diversity.”

Although the cultural and creative sector is one of the fastest growing economic sectors in the world, the report advises it is also one of the most vulnerable and is often overlooked by public and private investment.

It explains that governmental spending on creative industries was declining in the years preceding the pandemic, and COVID led to a collapse in income and employment.

Although many national and local governments offered emergency support to creative industries hit by pandemic restrictions, the global gross value added (the measure of a sector’s value) of the creative industries contracted by US$750 billion in 2020.

Reshaping Policies for Creativity calls on governments to bring labour protection of artists and cultural professionals into line with the general workforce, and suggested a minimum wage for cultural workers, and better pension and sick pay for freelancers.

It states “even in countries with social security schemes designed for freelancers or self-employed people (who constitute a large part of the creative economy workforce), a significant proportion of such workers were often ineligible” adding that as a result of the pandemic “digitisation took a front seat … as it became more central to creation, production, distribution and access to cultural expressions. As a result, online multinationals consolidated their position, and inequalities in internet access became more significant”.

It goes on to say that action was needed to address the “streaming value gap” - the disparity between the value that streaming platforms extract from content and the revenue generated by those who create and invest in creation.

Commenting on the findings, Ernesto Ottone, UNESCO’s Assistant Director-General for Culture, explained “a basic paradox has emerged, whereby people’s global consumption of, and reliance on, cultural content has increased, however at the same time those who produce arts and culture find it increasingly difficult to work.

“We need to rethink how we build a sustainable and inclusive working environment for cultural and artistic professionals who play a vital role for society the world over.”

On the upside, many artists and cultural professionals have “seized the opportunity of the rise of niche streaming services to develop innovative projects in the digital sphere”.

Click here to view the Reshaping Policies for Creativity report from UNESCO.

Main image: Harry Potter and the Golden Child playing to a full audience at Melbourne's Princess Theatre.

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