Creative and Cultural Industries

Whilst sounding uniform on surface, the Creative and Cultural industires (CCIs) consists of several sub-industires that have been grouped togheter due to certain similiar chracteristics. They include architecture, archives, libraries and museums, crafts, audiovisual media (including film, television, video games and multimedia), tangible and intangible cultural heritage, design (including fashion design), festivals, music, literature, performing arts (including theater and dance), books and publishing, radio and visual arts.

The cross-sectoral impact of these ecosystems (spill-over effects) should not be underestimated. For example, the CCIs play an important role in driving innovation and creativity in other sectors. In addition, the social dimension of the CCIs is equally relevant and can be instrumental in driving positive change.

These dynamic industries recognized to have a positive spillover effect on other sectors of the economy, such as technological innovation, hospitality and cultural tourism.

Stockholm - A creative powerhouse

Stockholm is home to some of the biggest brands and players in the global Creative and Cultural Industries, including gobally recognized and diverse icons such as Zara Larsson, Spotify, Minecraft and Acne Studios.

The city has a long legacy of creative output, from being home to world-famous game studios, to being the world's leading music exporter per capita, to being dubbed the 'Unicorn Factory' by the Financial Times.

Sweden is consistently ranked among the most innovative places on earth and a key factor in Sweden's thriving creativity is its freedom. Freedom House has ranked Sweden as the freest country in the world. With freedom comes the opportunity for citizens to share their view of the world and its problems, and by sharing and exchanging opinions and thoughts, new ideas are born.

Another important factor for creative production in Stockholm is not only that everyone has the freedom to express themselves but also the opportunity and ability to do so.

The Swedish Creative and Cultural industries have grown considerably over the past decade and are now larger and more productive than many other industries. This has mainly been driven by developments in digital technologies that enable new ways of creating and consuming creative products.

The Economic development of CCIs

A common misconception is that the creative and and cultural industries are not economically viable and and depend on government support and subsidies to flourish. Data from the Creative & Cultural Cultural Industries in Stockholm suggests the opposite.

The average value added per employee in Creative and Cultural Industries in Stockholm was in 2018 a total of SEK 992,000. This is just below the average in Stockholm (SEK 1,125,000) and slightly above the overall national average (925,000 SEK). The significant value added per job in the creative & cultural industries shows that these jobs are not only new and of cultural value, but also contribute significantly to the Stockholm economy.