The evolution of the creative industries – Creative clusters, creative citizens and social network markets

This paper traces the evolution of the concept of the creative industries, arguing that it has transformed via three phases. The first phase, of creative clusters, is the one made famous by the DCMS definition in the UK – a dozen or so 'industries' including advertising, film & TV, software, publishing and design, whose outputs are creative. The second phase, creative services, foregrounds the contribution of creative inputs into other services, from health and government to tourism and education. The third phase, creative citizens, emphasises consumer co-creation, user-led innovation and iterative improvement by community input. It has been accelerating as Web 2.0 increasing the ubiquity, affordability and flexibility of internet affordances.