Governments' digital programs in response to COVID-19

In this blog post I have started to gather information about government’s digital support for audiences to connect with cultural content during the pandemic and for artists to get their activity online.

I have collated information about recovery approaches and emergency funding in my post about government responses. Below is more info about some of the examples I have found so far of online support for public experiences of the arts. Please do send through any examples you come across and I will add!

Australia

ABC Fresh Start Fund: AU$5 million for the Australian production industry

(c) ABC 2020

The Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) launched a AU$5 million development fund entitled “ABC Fresh Start Fund” to support sustainability and growth in Australia’s production industry. The fund has the following streams:

1. Enhanced Development & Production Fund: kickstart existing productions impacted by COVID-19 after the lifting of restrictions and new stories in any genre about Australian culture and communities, particularly in new formats.

2. Innovation Fund: supports individual Australian creatives who may not have worked with the ABC previously.

3. Arts Digital Fund: supports Australian creatives and production companies with innovative ideas for new arts content, particularly documentary storytelling.

4. Children’s Content Fund: supports excellence in children’s content in scripted/factual productions and music commissioning.

5. Australian Music: supports independent Australian artists and musicians across all ABC music networks, including commissioning new works for ABC Classic and ABC Jazz, and music scholarships.

Screen Queensland

As part of its AU$3.3 million (US$2.1 million) COVID-19 support package, Screen Queensland will dedicate AU$50,000 to help support the online shift of the state’s film festivals. The V-Fest initiative will offer five grants of up to AU$10,000 each, to assist with costs related to running and delivering a virtual screen festival in the next 6 to 12 months. The focus is primarily for Queensland-based audiences with the possibility of each event expanding to reach a larger audience across Australia.

Screen Australia

Screen Australia has more than doubled the available funding through the Story Development: Premium Fund from AU$1.4 million to AU$3.4 million in 2019-20, focusing on projects in advanced stages of development so as to be ready to shoot once the lockdown eases.

Belgium

Belgian cinema at home

The Federation of Wallonia-Brussels is supporting the virtual release of Belgian films on national streaming platforms. This initiative is supported by the Centre du Cinéma et de l'Audiovisuel of the Wallonia-Brussels and is called "Belgian cinema at home". A media campaign will promote the films thanks to a dedicated website and Instagram account @lecinemabelgealamaison. The website also lists other Belgian French-language films (feature films, shorts, documentaries) available, for free and for a fee, on the various platforms including Proximus, Voo, Auvio, Universciné.

Canada

#CanadaPerforms website

#CanadaPerforms

In first ten days, streams generate 1.3 million views.

A joint venture between Canada’s National Arts Centre (NAC) and Facebook Canada: artists across the country can have their 45- to 60-minute performances livestreamed to audiences. Canadian performing artists (including musicians, comedians, dancers, singers, theatre artists and ensembles of less than 10 people) can apply.

Performers receive a CAN$1,000 (US$705) grant, with NAC staffers and industry leaders to select the fund recipients. The fund started with an initial grant from Facebook Canada of CAN$100,000 (US$70,522), but on March 21, Slaight Music announced a donation of CAN$100,000 (US$70,522). This was followed by a CAN$200,000 (US$141,000) boost from RBC Bank and another CAN$200,000 (US$141,000) from satellite radio provider SiriusXM.

“Canal Squat”

Platform uses cartoons and videos to communicate COVID-19 with young people.

Canal Squat is a new information feed designed specifically for young people and broadcast on Télé-Québec's Le Squat platform. Every day, articles published in daily newspapers are rewritten especially for Le Canal SQUAT. The press cartoonists are also called upon to contribute to a better understanding of the news for youth. Squat Canal will also offer daily news on other topics of interest to them and original video clips.

Leadership Emergency Arts Network

This is a grassroots pro bono response network to help Canadian professional, non-profit arts organisations deal with the COVID crisis. The network already has more than 100 advisors, including board members, Eds and consultants, providing support with strategic decision-making, crisis response, financial analysis, board direction, relationships mediation. HR management, systems change and leadership.

Cape Verde

100 Artists on Stage

The Ministry of Culture has launched “EnPalco100Artistas” (100 Artists on Stage) to support 100 artists whose performance will be disseminated online for free. Each artist will receive 10,000 escudos (US$100) from the government.

Chile

Nearly 500 artists will also be hired for a total of 7.2 million pesos to produce content to be transmitted on the Ministry's digital platforms.

Screenshot from “When the Stages Sleep”

Cuba

The Cuban Institute of Music (Instituto Cubano de la Música) promotes various musicians whose performance on social networks and on the radioto raise the morale and hope of those who are in quarantine or who work in hospitals. This initiative is the result of a collaboration between the Institute, the Ministry of Culture and the Cuban Institute of Radio and Television under the slogan #EstamosContigo (we are together) and #MusicosPorCuba (music for Cuba).

The Ministry of Culture (MINCULT), together with the Cuban Radio and Television Institute, will capture the musical performances at home or in cultural centres and broadcast them on Facebook and the Cuban Ministry of Culture's YouTube channel, Canal Clave and Radio Progreso.

Egypt

25 million visits to YouTube channel in 60 days

Egyptian Ministry of Culture YouTube channel

The Egyptian Ministry of Culture launched “Stay at Home: Culture is in Your Hands” initiative. All cultural sectors began broadcasting and uploading their content on the internet. The Supreme Council for Culture launched the "Read with Us" initiative. The initiative presents a chapter reading from a book or novel, a short story, or a poem, in a 10-minute recording made by the writer/ poet himself. The Supreme Council of Culture then uploads the daily readings on Facebook and YouTube.

England

BBC Culture in Quarantine website screenshot

• The BBC Culture in Quarantine Fund will support 25 artists to produce works that ‘could be made at no other time’. Grants range from 3,000-8,000 per project.

• The BBC has also launched the Culture in Quarantine initiative that will run across UK radio, TV and digital platforms which will include guides to shuttered exhibitions or permanent collections in museums and galleries; performances from musicians and comedians; new plays created especially for broadcast; the experience of book festivals with access to authors; and quarantine diaries from creative visionaries.

Indonesia

BudayaSaya YouTube channel

Screen shot of the Budaya Saya YouTube channel

The channel has more than 32,000 subscribers

The Directorate-General for Culture has launched a digital campaign with the hashtags #asikdirumah (fun to be home), #bahagiadirumah (happy at home), #creativedisaatsulit (creative in difficult times), and #dirumahaja (just be at home). Indonesia’s campaign has prompted various artistic performances that are being live streamed or taped remotely from the homes of artists, and shown through the Directorate-General for Culture’s YouTube channel “BudayaSaya”.

Aside from the performances, cultural artists and artisans are also sharing their knowledge by providing online master classes/tutorials on dancing, painting, music, storytelling, and film production. The dates and times of the performances and knowledge-sharing sessions are being shared through Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, and other social media platforms in cooperation with arts institutions. Moreover, the Directorate-General for Culture provides professional remuneration for the performances and online classes provided by the artists and artisans.

Poland

Culture.pl website

Culture on the Web

“Culture on the Web” is a program to aid the dissemination of creative activities or the presentation of their effects in electronic communication channels, primarily on the Internet. The programme's budget is PLN20 million (US$4.84million) and was funded on 31 March 2020 as part of the Anti-Crisis Shield for culture with a planned budget of PLN4 billion ($US 958.7 million).

Polish Film Institute Crisis Team

The Polish Film Institute has a 16-person crisis team to support the film industry during the crisis. They have engaged in a range of crisis measures including advanced and increased funding for domestic films, working on online systems to allow festivals to occur online.

The team estimates that the market for Polish films will be “cannibalised” by non-Polish productions, especially in autumn 2020, and in response the team plans to create a special schedule of premieres to address this.

Switzerland

Close Distance

«Close Distance» call for projects by arts agency Pro Helvetia. The aim is to encourage arts practitioners and cultural institutions to initiate new forms of collaboration and new forms of connection with audiences or to intensify existing ones – within Switzerland or in cooperation with international partners. Experimental formats of artistic collaboration and reflection, as well as international networking, partnerships and platforms are of special interest in this context. The aim is to support and stimulate the creation of new formats which can be maintained beyond the crisis and which demonstrate that physical mobility need no longer be a prerequisite for cultural production and reception. A selected project can be supported with a grant of up to CHF 50,000 ($US 51,355).  

Ukraine

Media Change Ukraine

The National TV and Radio Broadcasting Council of Ukraine has established a 'TV content exchange’ project entitled ‘Media Change Ukraine.’ This is a content database which any TV company in the Ukraine can upload content to, stipulating licenses to the National Council for the period of the COVID quarantine.

Uruguay

Sala Zitarrosa & Montevideo Department of Culture program: “My Song, My Stage”

Montevideo Cultura

In Montevideo, the City’s Department of Culture has launched an “Art in Times of Quarantine” open call for projects of any art form which are related to the experience of COVID by the artists of Montevideo. In addition:

• in partnership with the Sala Zitarrosa, they have launched the online program “My Song, My Stage” to support musicians to share performances and talk about the creation of a song online.

• The Department is supporting videos generated for the #MyBookInHouse campaign to promote books and support the literary sector

• The Department is also supporting a range of online platforms so people can enjoy various art forms at home via #DesdeCasa.

• The Audience Development area is also inviting young people to participate in “Cultubers”

Our predictions for the post-COVID world's impacts on arts and culture

Like everyone, I’ve been thinking a lot about what the future holds for arts and culture. We can’t know anything for sure, but here are my two-yens worth of thoughts on what arts and culture practitioners and professionals might want to contemplate in preparing for the post-COVID world.

Key Points

The arts landscape will be irrevocably changed post-COVID. Artists, who have already been disproportionately harmed by the pandemic, will experience further trials into the foreseeable future. In COVID’s wake, we may see an epochal change in which only the most prominent cultural brand names, digitally savvy and leanest business models survive. In such a scenario, when green shoots finally emerge, most arts practices and arts organisations will be smaller and more nimble.

The avenues to recovery are few, traumatic and uncertain. Building public funding support for the arts will involve tying arts benefits to: political legacy and status markers; symbolic capital, soft power and statecraft; health and wellbeing; helping nations redefine or reassert themselves to provide social cohesion, identity and pride.

Some arts organisations will be under pressure to monetise smaller, but more lucrative niche offerings. There will also be an increased trend towards more digitally focused business models that are leaner in infrastructure and personnel. At one end, we will have prominent, large arts organisations whose brands stand above others and can appeal to a broad base; and at the other end, specialist artists able to produce sufficient digital output to attract enough patronage to support themselves in niche segments. These digitally enabled business models will be able to attract an international audience. Economically rational arts businesses will focus upon higher value patrons at the expense of more numerous, lower fee-paying audience.

At the smaller end, artists will need to identify ways to subsidise their practice and/or scale their digital output sufficient to provide a living, as the ‘conversion ratio’ of people happy to view digital content for free, into paying customers/donors is extremely low. 

On the bright side, the pandemic will lead to a greater appreciation of those facets of the arts that were denied us during lockdown – e.g. the social, live and communal, the tactile and the ‘real’ (as opposed to ‘virtual’).  

Economic context

• The IMF predicts the worst downturn since the Great Depression[1] with the global economy projected to contract by -3 percent in 2020.  Many respected economists fear a slow, ‘U’-shaped, recovery (as opposed to a rapid ‘V’-shaped recovery) with some predicting a global depression.[2]

• Global recessionary conditions are already here, and most governments that can (e.g. OECD nations) have been using large fiscal stimulus measures to avoid extended or widespread depression. Many of these nations are carrying significant debt levels into this crisis. This is likely to limit the speed of recovery and will mean increased competition for public arts funding. 

• In the short term, there will be deflation (falling prices of most goods and services) due to falling demand as households and businesses spend less on many things under lockdown, seek to repair damaged balance sheets and lower risk in an uncertain environment. This will especially pertain to discretionary expenditure, including the arts. 

• This will also impact the creative industries which provide alternative income sources for many artists.  Creative industries are generally ‘pro-cyclical’, meaning they go well when the economy goes well, but suffer more during downturns. This means artists will face a double-sided income decrease from their art, and any creative work they do in the broader economy, including art education (see below).

• In the medium to longer term, high debt levels from fiscal stimulus combined with loose monetary measures by central banks, raise a concern amongst some notable economists of ‘stagflation’ – inflation with stagnation - last seen in Western economies as a result of the 70’s oil crisis. Inflation acts as a de facto ‘flat tax’ impacting poorer people in society, such as artists, more greatly. In some cases, inflation may metastasise into hyperinflation.

• A combination of international border lockdowns, a renewed focus upon domestic self-sufficiency in vital industries (see below) and the potential for increased nationalist sentiment may lead to the resurgence of mercantilism. This is tantamount to a reversal of globalisation and ‘just-in-time’ logistics strategies which emphasised efficiency over resilience. The overall effect is to increase the cost of goods and services, again, first impacting the poor – such as artists - and leaving even less money for discretionary spending on such things as the arts. 

• Governments will focus spending on ‘resilience’ measures in domestic economies, in particular construction, education infrastructure, health care, and developing ‘security’ i.e. domestic manufacturing of essential consumer goods, med tech security, water security, food security, energy security and national security. 

• Cultural agencies could potentially translate this focus on security to advocate for cultural security.

• Spending on arts will probably vary by country (and political leader) – in some countries, even when government spending is increasing as % of GDP, arts spending won’t necessarily also increase – funding may be diverted to capital spending and construction (due to its flow-on effect to other parts of the economy) and ‘security’ (see above).

• In countries where the arts are politically weak, budget cuts or stagnation in the arts are likely, with a renewed push towards financial sustainability of artists and arts organisations. Those most affected will be areas already experiencing some aspect of market failure, such as artistic process and development, First Nations arts, gender, disability and cultural diversity (e.g. BAME, CALD, PoC) inequalities. The flipside is that these may result in distinctive niches able to cut through a crowded digital landscape should they be supported by digital capacity-building initiatives. 

• Post-COVID restrictions will cost money – similar to the ‘flat tax’ pressure of inflation - with a disproportionately greater burden upon venues with little space and lower income, such as smaller theatres.

• Many economies are being forced to experiment, or continue their experiment with, Modern Monetary Theory, which conjectures, amongst other things, a much higher limit of indebtedness for nations with their own, fiat currency, and advocates a universal basic income (UBI). UBI’s are popular in the arts community, as they are seen as a way for artists to make their art without the burden of economic pressure.  

Political context

• Post-COVID, we expect to see polarising political change with some countries moving towards more extreme parochialism, and yet others moving towards social-democratic models. High debt will mean an ongoing risk of nation-state default and even nation-state failure.

• Economic pressure will lead to political uncertainty in many nation states leading to a strong domestic policy focus.

• Authoritarian governments will seek to further restrict private freedoms, including artistic expression.

• Governments at political risk may use COVID-19 to distract their populous from their own short-comings with easy political scapegoats.  

• Arts and culture will have a critical role to play in counteracting some of the negative effects of the potential rise in extreme parochialism, as well as any instability caused by a potential uptick in crime post-COVID, and bringing people together locally to re-build a sense of solidarity and unified local/national/international identity. 

Environmental context

• Climate change should return to the forefront of activist agendas post-COVID, especially highlighting potential links between unsustainable environmental practices and the transmission of COVID to humans.

• Investment in ‘Green tech’ is one avenue for energy-dependent states to invest public expenditure seeking to increase self-sufficiency.  Counter to this, governments dependent upon fossil fuel exports may choose policies that stimulate their economies in the short-term, favouring environmentally unfriendly policies. In either case, these initiatives will tend to compete for public expenditure on the arts.

• Arts and cultural agencies will have a role in managing their carbon footprint, which may further reduce international exchange, and encourage digitally-assisted cultural exchange. (See below, Technological context)

Social context

• The pandemic will refocus government spending upon public health, but many Western societies are aging, meaning an increased proportion of government spending away from other areas, including the arts.  This means opportunities for arts spending in these economies are likely to be in ‘Art and Healthy Ageing’ and ‘Art and Wellbeing’, including ‘Art and Mental Health’ in countries expecting an uptick in rates of suicide as unemployment rises.

• Inequities will rise in relation to access to arts experiences as arts companies focus on their higher-net worth individual audience members (e.g. expensive ticketed shows for the wealthier patrons, whilst everyone else can watch online). Some companies and governments will attempt to address equity of access via digital access, but this will sometimes be an inadequate substitute and even reinforce digital inequities. 

• Inequity is also set to rise between richer and poorer countries globally, as richer countries focus on domestic spending and poorer countries are unable to access the kind of monetary policies which support that kind of spending. Likewise, many emerging economies borrow in US dollars, leaving them subject to US monetary policy. It is natural for the US to defend its own interests prior to others. All of the above may lead to more geopolitical unrest.

• We have already seen ‘scapegoating’ behaviours against people of East Asian-descent.  This will increase as economic pressures increase, and may need national and local cultural funding and programs to stabilise social relations. 

• There will be a ‘lost generation’ of artists from this period, much as we saw in the wake of the 90’s recession, only this time more severe.

• An enduring ‘work-from-home’ culture – perhaps not as strong as it is under lockdown, but much higher than it was before the pandemic – as well as cash-strapped bottom lines will likely mean a fall in commercial property values, especially in city centres.  This could lead to a ‘donut’-effect as workers seek cheaper, more pleasant dwellings (‘sea’ and ‘tree-changers’), further from the city, but with good Internet connections. The resulting vacuum could provide an opportunity for artists and arts organisations to return to city centres, occupying repurposed commercial spaces. Similar to the ‘warehouse-conversions’ and ‘New York loft style’ of the 80’s and 90’s, this movement is likely to define a new architectural style and cachet.

 Cultural context

• Possible rise of nationalism post-COVID may lead to shifts in national cultural identities. Arts and culture will be important in defining these identities. Politics will determine whether arts and culture is funded to support diverse identities or promote mainstream identities. 

• Arts advocates are talking about how artists can re-imagine the future. We hope to see this happening, and government agency support for this kind of activity. This pandemic will live on in the cultural landscape for generations, marking a defining global event on a scale similar to the World Wars. The arts will be crucial to how we manage the trauma and how we redefine ourselves into the future.

• Arts for mental health and wellbeing may gain more momentum as we see an uptick in suicide and mental health issues post-COVID and with growth in unemployment. Arts in health promotion might also gain support.

• Arts higher education – another important alternative source of income for artists in addition to the creative industries - will probably be affected by loss of income in higher education institutions which have been impacted by a loss of international students. There are opportunities for known brands in higher education (e.g. The Sorbonne, RADA, The Julliard School etc) to offer international, online programs, thus cutting on-costs and reaching more markets, perhaps offering local, in-person small group activity at a premium. This could negatively impact each country’s local arts education providers but may also create opportunities for niche ‘in-person’ education.

• Commercial arts sectors (e.g. popular music, musical theatre) may need government support to regain financial footing. This may affect the funding available to smaller arts companies/artists but could also be leveraged for greater value visibility.

• The lack of cultural and social activities during lockdown will drive a greater appreciation for the social, live and tactile. Those who can afford to, will spend more on these, using them as a status indicator.

• The focus on domestic spending will probably curtail international exchange for some time, so cultural ministries could use the time to develop digital forms of intercultural exchange.

• Cultural tourism and live attendances have also been disproportionately affected due to the combination of social-distancing and international travel restrictions. As these restrictions ease, or pragmatic solutions arise to permit air travel, in the absence of additional funding to address inequities, most major arts companies will need to concentrate efforts upon attracting fewer, higher-value patrons (see Societal context). 

Technological context

• Acceleration of digital trends has occurred due to lockdown restrictions. Whilst some of these trends may recede as lockdowns ease, many will persist or at least not return to levels pre-COVID. 

• The lifting of restrictions on online health, and sudden need for online education, may lead countries to improve their internet capabilities to overcome digital access inequities. This may have a flow-on effect and improve digital access to arts and the quality of digital arts experiences.

• The increased flow of digital data may lead to increased data security risks. This may have unintended consequences for freedom of speech and privacy, copyright and intellectual property. Each of these have bearing upon artistic expression and its monetisation.

• Digital acceleration means increased digital content supply compared to demand, especially post-lockdown. In this environment of digital abundance, those artists and arts organisations that have a dominant brand or well-defined niche will be able to be heard above the noise and stand to prosper when restrictions recede.

• As described in earlier BYP Group blogposts, in the arts, many smaller arts organisations and artists may evolve towards a hybrid online/offline model, in which they attract audience or increase awareness through digital means, focusing upon a niche expertise or aesthetic, and monetising said interest through non-digitally replicable goods or services, e.g. merchandise, live performances (charging more for ‘super-fans’). Examples of this can be seen in arts and cultural sector with the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment’s YouTube channel. 

• At the other end of the scale, cultural institutions wishing to raise income whilst restrictions in public gatherings apply, can focus upon higher value, smaller group clients in niche areas of expertise. Examples of niche expertise in cultural institutions can be seen around the British Museum’s ‘Curator’s Corner’ on their YouTube channel.  Interest in these niche specialties could be monetised through increased small group workshops and guided, study tours. (This may lead to social inequities – see Societal Context).

• Some cultural institutions will be under pressure to digitise their collections for the purposes of access and equity. In business terms, this digitisation may reduce overall numbers of visitors, but increase the value of those who do decide to visit or donate. 

• Many cultural organisations simply will not survive this downturn. Whilst devastating, this will be an opportunity for those that survive and those that arise to reconsider their business models afresh, along post-Internet lines. In the creative industries, the Internet and accompanying technological improvements have generally favoured smaller businesses (with the exception of a handful of large ‘aggregators’) with organisations in between these two poles such as national mastheads and commercial broadcast networks declining. This trend encourages and enables niche, lean businesses (e.g. individual artists) that have strong digital skills and a compelling niche offering to flourish in a post-COVID world. 

[1] https://www.imf.org/en/Publications/WEO

[2] E.g. Nouriel Roubini

Five Top Tips to Communicate Your Value

Arts organisations and practitioners are always looking for ways to communicate their value, and this has become critical in the current context.

I thought it might be helpful to share some tools and advice we’ve been working on that could be helpful if you are trying to build a case for support, a case to demonstrate the sector’s value, or a case to illustrate the impact this is all having on lives, livelihoods and culture itself. 

I have developed these resources in our work as the Social Impact Evaluation Partner for Creative Victoria. The resources include tips and advice to help you present data and communicate findings in a compelling way.  The resources relate specifically to evaluation findings but could apply to any research or advocacy efforts. 

Check out the resources here.

Here are my 5 top tips if you find yourself trying to mount an argument using data.

1.     Tell a story, then back it with data

I’m a big advocate for using data to help make decisions and build a case for support.  But the reality is, no one has ever been able to persuade anyone about anything relying on data alone. If that were possible, data that points to the billions of dollars the creative industries contributes to the economy would be all we need, surely? 

Our best shot is to try to mobilise people emotionally and then back it up with data.  You don’t have to choose between talking about why we, as a society, value the arts versus the ‘value’ it generates. 

Do both. We call this “narrative plus numbers.”

Data and stories are just one tool in your advocacy tool-box of course. You also have to think politically and draw in your influential allies, seek lobbying expertise etc. 

But if you are going to invest effort in gathering data, think about communicating the story the data is telling you.  Who better to tell stories than the storytellers? Persuade hearts as well as minds. 

2.     Consider the kind of information and method of presentation that will cut through

 There are many ways you can present results.  Fact sheets, content for social media campaigns, video, articles, press releases etc.  Think about the ones that will gain most traction with those you are seeking to influence.

 When deciding on what data to include, don’t only think about what you consider necessary to make a convincing case.  Think about how other people need to use the information too e.g. what kind of information do arts bureaucrats require to convince their treasury colleagues that something is worth pursuing?

By articulating who you want to influence, the kind of information they are likely to need and respond to, it will become clear what to spend your time on.

3.     Use comparison data to give you findings meaning

Comparison data helps give meaning and context for your data.  For example, if you were trying to illustrate the popularity of the performing arts in Victoria you could say something like this:

“The most recent available data from Live Performance Australia shows that there were approx. 7.9 million attendances at performing arts events in Victoria across the 2018 calendar year.”

That’s pretty impressive.  But what if you were to say something like this instead.

“The most recent available data from Live Performance Australia shows that there were approx. 7.9 million attendances at performing arts events in Victoria across the 2018 calendar year. That’s about the same as national attendances at AFL games recorded during the 2018 official pre-season games, home and away season, finals series and AFWL season combined (approx. 7.8m).”

Everyone knows how popular going to the footy is in Victoria. The comparison gives the statistic more meaning, makes it more memorable and therefore easier to recall. 

Be sure to compare apples with apples though.  If I were going to use the comparison data in the above example, I would check how the AFL records their attendances to double-check that it can meaningfully be compared with Live Performance Australia’s methodology.

4.     Use the free and low-cost tools out there to create engaging presentations

 There are lots of handy free and low-cost tools out there to make your presentation of data more engaging.  Free explainer videos, infographic tools, graphic design social media campaign templates and many more. Find the ones that you like and work best for your needs. 

Free/low cost graphic design software: provides great adaptable templates for reports, infographics, social media infographic templates etc.

Two I have used in the past are:

• https://infogram.com

• https://www.canva.com

Explainer video software: provides great templates for designing video presentations

One I have used in the past is:

• https://biteable.com

5.     Be ethical, transparent and honest

This might seem obvious but it Is worth saying;  when using data or research findings to try to make a case it is really important to be ethical.  So, for example:

 –      Don’t cherry pick only positive results

–      Be accurate and transparent

–      Don’t overstate your data

–      Maintain confidentiality and anonymity

–      Don’t use disempowering language when referring to people e.g. labelling people as “disadvantaged”

–      Check yourself for bias, or ask a “critical friend” to check for you

–      Don’t confuse advocacy with evaluation activity – advocacy should never drive evaluation design or reporting. Evaluation helps you improve, and advocacy has to be based on truth to be believable, robust and effective.

Virtual Delivery Webinar deck for Create NSW, 15/5/20

Below is a slide deck for the Create NSW panel discussion webinar on Virtual Delivery - Does putting your work online pay?

https://www.brandwatch.com/blog/facebook-statistics/

*https://fortune.com/2018/02/27/youtube-success-poverty-wages/ ; https://www.thestreet.com/personal-finance/what-is-the-federal-poverty-level-14690998

BYP Group blog version: https://www.bypgroup.com/blog/2020/3/26/nerd-immunity-what-the-arts-community-can-learn-from-pioneering-digital-content-nerds-a-strategic-view

Screenhub version: https://www.screenhub.com.au/news-article/features/covid-19/yen-yang/nerd-immunity-can-geeks-save-the-arts-from-covid-19-260112

Aggregation Theory – A theory on the forces at play in the digital arena: https://stratechery.com/concept/aggregation-theory/

Aggregators are at different stages in different industries e.g. music/audio (Spotify vs iTunes), search (Google), online shopping (Amazon), accommodation (AirBnB), rides (Uber vs Lyft)

Go big – Generate a small amount of revenue from a large audience/customer base e.g. Facebook, YouTube

Go niche – Identify a niche in the market at which you are uniquely compelling (Unique Selling Point – USP).

The glut in digital content means non-digitizable and ‘experiential’ e.g. live performances, tangible goods becomes more valuable – but only to some i.e. ‘super fans’.

Nerd business models:

To cut through the noise they have gone niche and they are leveraging the Internet and aggregators to distribute their content and allow audiences to discover them.

Top of their niche: https://critrole.com/

Second in their niche, focusing upon podcasts: https://glasscannonpodcast.com/

A newcomer using more interactivity to drive monetisation: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SE88lTM2Dfs

Content differentiation and the subscription model: https://www.patreon.com/mathasgames

Nerd business models:

-Very niche: Nerds playing Dungeons & Dragons: https://critrole.com/

-Low production costs: Borrowed set, skeleton crew. Eventually get more elaborate sets, intro trailer, miniature figurines, etc.

-Leverage their online fanbase through … online donations: Critical Role would break the Kickstarter record for a film or TV series, raising US$11 million from around 88,889 donors.

-Monetise the ‘experiential’ (non-digitizable: During normal times they regularly sold out 4000-seat theatres with the cheapest tickets averaging over US$100. They also have a flourishing merchandise shop, affiliate marketing and sponsored ad-content that they either create for their sponsors or the sponsors have pre-made and slot into their show. This is in addition to any Google AdSense advertising revenue they get from ‘ad-roll’ insertions. Note that in addition to being professional voice actors, they all had considerable theatre and live performance training.

Deeper discussion at https://www.bypgroup.com/blog/uncategorized/the-david-versus-goliath-battle-faced-by-australian-creative-industries-and-what-they-might-do-to-win-part-3-new-media-business-models

Nerd business models:

Second in their niche, focusing upon podcasts: https://glasscannonpodcast.com/

They also do live shows (but they are presently smaller) and sell merchandise, but are also selling subscriptions to more content, similar to what their fans already know and love.

Nerd business models:

A newcomer using more interactivity to drive monetisation: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SE88lTM2Dfs

The candles in the background of the left image has candles that get lit when viewers donate money. Viewers can also influence the outcome of the game by providing their heroes with bonuses (a bit like in the Hunger Games), or they can bid against the heroes. Bidding wars often ensue between those in favour and those against. They also use more CGI and started off using elaborate models, props and figurines.

Nerd business models:

Content differentiation and the subscription model: https://www.patreon.com/mathasgames

Clearly there are low barriers to entry to playing games and sticking the videos online. To differentiate, some of these ‘Let’s Players’ provide a more labour-intensive role-playing style, that allows emergent storylines to evolve. Here, the YouTuber, Mathas Games is playing a game called Project Zomboid, in which he roleplays the experiences of his avatar surviving a zombie apocalypse. He successfully raised enough from a Patreon subscription campaign to fund his time and an editor’s time to make a couple of series of this.

The exception that proves the rule: The National Theatre https://onefurther.com/blog/visualised-3-national-theatre-at-home

National Theatre was built with pre-Internet assumptions.

Note: They have significant brand awareness as the premier contemporary English-language theatre company. So one question to ask yourself is: “What area am I the National Theatre in?”.

Note 2: They also achieved this at the peak of the pandemic and early on in the UK lockdown. The material – a light farce to cheer us in our darkest hour – may also have played a role in its relative success.

Note 3: One-off?: Subsequent performances not so strong: Twelfth Night had 839,320 views as at 30/4/20 having premiered on 24/4/20. Timeliness of the first event as the pandemic picked up in the national consciousness was probably critical.

The Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment (OAE) show off their niche expertise in Baroque instruments.

Note, despite their relative success, they may need a leaner musicians’ roster to ensure costs are kept in line.

The British Museum have multiple items on their playlist. This item is from their ‘Curator’s Corner’ playlist, in which they demonstrate their specialist knowledge in how to make a Celtic torc. Note the potential for higher-value, boutique tours and classes with these curators.

Ben Thompson, the tech analyst that developed Aggregation Theory, is a firm believer in subscription models for digital content, so much so, he runs his own business along precisely these lines, going so far as to keep his content off aggregators of any form: https://stratechery.com/2020/dithering-and-the-open-web/

Thompson’s business model is to sell a technology newsletter subscription. People go to his website to subscribe (monthly or annually) and pay. He then emails them his newsletter. It’s extremely ‘scalable’ (can become very large easily) because the additional cost of sending out another copy of his newsletter is nearly zero.

Definition of a Subscription: https://stratechery.com/2017/the-local-news-business-model/

Australian State and local government responses to the impact of COVID-19 on the arts and cultural sectors

Last updated 18 June 11.00 am AEST

This is a blog post specifically about Australian State, Territory and local government initiatives. It is a sub-post from my blog post which lists international government responses to the impact of COVID-19 on the arts and cultural sectors.

For an analysis of this funding, see Benjamin Eltham’s piece in the Guardian (26 May 2020).

Summary

In brief, total Australian government funding to help the arts deal with COVID-19 is approximately:

• Federal: $32 million (including $5 million repurposed)

• NSW: $56.34 million (including $6.34 million repurposed)

• VIC: $49.1 million new (I think...) I have not included the Rising Festival $2 million as I think this festival is replacing White Night and MIAF

• WA: $1.5 million from Art Gallery WA (I think this is new...) and a share of Lotterywest $159 million (repurposed)

• QLD: $11 million emergency funding and $22.5 million rescue package (this latter looks like new money)

• SA: $3.5 million (at least $0.7 million is repurposed)

• TAS: $3.5 million ($2.0 million is repurposed)

• ACT: $2.0 million (not sure what is new vs repurposed)

• NT: $2.0 million (includes screen, and I think this might be new money)

Victoria

Total State government funding: $49.1 million

(I think most of this is new money.)

On 13 May the Victorian government announced an additional $32.3 million for the arts and cultural sector as part of a $150 million Experience Economy Survival Package. The $32.3 million will support creative agencies and initiatives, including funding for the Geelong Arts Centre, Museums Victoria, National Gallery of Victoria, Arts Centre Melbourne and Melbourne Recital Centre.

The funding also includes $6 million to support live music industry workers and bolster the Sustaining Creative Workers initiative.

In total, the new funding will be channeled through three separate streams:

• $26.3 million for immediate viability support for five of the state’s iconic arts and cultural institutions: Arts Centre Melbourne, the National Gallery of Victoria, Museums Victoria, Geelong Arts Centre and Melbourne Recital Centre.

• $4 million for a dedicated Music Industry Support Package.

• $2 million extra funding for independent creatives and micro-businesses through the Sustaining Creative Workers program.

The Experience Economy Survival Package also includes:

• $11 million for the tourism industry

• $40 million for community sport and recreation bodies

• $16 million for national sporting organisations

• $5.3 million for the State Sport Centres Trust and the Kardinia Park Stadium Trust

• $44 million for the racing industry

On 24 April the Victorian government announced a $16.8 million survival package for the creative and cultural sector. This includes:

• $13 million Strategic Investment Fund which will be shared amongst almost 100 non-government arts and cultural organisations including festivals, performing arts companies, museums and galleries

• A new $2.2 million “Sustaining Creative Workers” grant round, offering quick response grants for Victorian-based creatives and micro-organisations with at least five years professional experience. Grants of $5,000 are available for individuals and $10,000 for micro-organisations. An additional $2,500 will be available in access funding for artists with a disability and disability-led organisations

• $1.6 million will be invested directly through VicArts Grants, Music Works, and Innovation in Marketing programs.

The Victorian government has previously announced:

• Payroll tax refunds for the 2019-20 financial year to small and medium businesses with payroll of less than $3 million

• Allow these businesses to defer payroll tax for the first thee months of 2020-21

• Commercial tenants in government buildings can apply for rent relief

• It will pay all outstanding supplier invoices within 5 business days

• $500 million Business Support Fund to support the hardest hit sectors, including hospitality, tourism, accommodation, arts and entertainment, and retail.

• $500 million Working for Victoria Fund to help workers who have lost their jobs find new opportunities, including cleaning and food delivery, and facilitate job matching for short-term and casual work

Click here for more info

The City of Melbourne has announced a local stimulus package of $10 million which will include:

• Halving rent for Council building tenants for three months

• Opportunities to deploy casual and part-time staff to enhance city cleanliness and amenity

• Developing a rates hardship policy

• Supporting businesses to develop e-commerce

The City of Melbourne has also announced $2 million quick response arts grant program for artists and creatives to invest in new works and digital presentations.

Click here for more info.

New South Wales

Total State government funding: $56.34 million

(This includes repurposed State government funding of $6.34 million.)

On 24 May the NSW government announced a $50 million COVID-19 Rescue and Restart Package for NSW arts and cultural organisations. The Rescue and Restart package will be delivered in two stages:

• Funding available now to enable NSW not-for-profit arts and cultural organisations to hibernate temporarily.

• Funding available in the coming months to enable NSW not-for-profit arts and cultural organisations to restart operations after the COVID-19 pandemic.

On 24 April Create NSW announced new funding initiatives and the repurposing of existing funding totalling $6.34 million to support independent artists and small-to-medium arts, screen and cultural organisations. This includes:

• Over $1 million for accommodation assistance – through a six-month rent and outgoings waiver that will immediately support 38 arts organisations housed across the Create NSW arts property portfolio of buildings.

• $450,000 for new COVID-19 Support Round – a new arts funding program specifically targeted at those impacted by COVID-19. Funding is available across four program categories (Digitise, Creative Koori Digital, Health and Well-being and Regenerate events) to digitally deliver support for community and audience engagement outcomes in the immediate and long term – including new events that will premiere once restrictions are lifted.

• $700,000 for new Screen Slate Development Fund – NSW production companies and producers can apply for a maximum of $100,000 to develop a slate of three or more projects for TV Drama, Factual, Features and Online.

• $350,000 funding increase to Small Project Grants – this quick response grant mechanism offers grants from $500 to $5,000 towards projects. Allocated funding has been increased, and the program re-aligned to address those coping with COVID-19 impacts on artistic careers.

• $180,000 for new rounds of Creative Leadership – six new fellowship opportunities (each valued at $30,000) will be offered for individual artists and groups to experience digital residency programs, professional virtual placements and professional development provided by leading NSW organisations including the Art Gallery of NSW, the State Library of NSW, Sydney Youth Orchestra, Hayes Musical Theatre and Byron Writers’ Festival.

• Further arts industry support – Over $2 million in funding for Round 2 of Create NSW’s Annual Organisations, Creative Koori Projects and Projects will proceed, plus the Independent Arts and Cultural Organisations (Multi-year) and Local Government Arts and Cultural Programs will also continue.

• Further screen industry support – Over $1.5 million delivered over coming months through existing Early and Advanced Development Funding, Production Finance, PDV Rebate, Screen Industry and Audience Development and Strategic Opportunities rounds of screen funding programs.

• Webinars, factsheets and how-to videos – to support well-being and facilitate skills development for arts, screen and cultural workers during self-isolation, Create NSW will produce a range of webinars, factsheets and how-to videos to demystify digital platforms for performances, exhibitions and event presentations, and explain digital meeting and information platforms.

The NSW government has previously announced:

• $450 million to waive payroll tax for businesses with payrolls up to $10 million for three months

• $56 million to bring forward the next round of payroll tax cuts by raising the threshold limit to $1 million in 2020-21

• $250 million to employ additional cleaners in public assets

Click here for more info.

City of Sydney has a AUD $72.5 million in its ‘Business, Arts and Creative Support’ package which includes:

• AUD $2.25 million in Cultural sector resilience grants: immediate financial support for non-profit cultural organisations with less than 20 employees and sole traders reliant on grants and project-based funds to keep staff and pay artists. Provides immediate financial support for those who have had to cancel, postpone or reduce operations, programs or events. ($10,000 per sole trader and $20,000 per organisation)

• AUD $1 million in Creative fellowships fund: To help keep arts and creative professionals working during a time of reduced opportunities. Projects can be presented during or after the pandemic. Up to $20,000 per grant.

• AUD $0.5 million in quick response grants for small scale projects.

• AUD $250,000 donated to locally operated online platforms which raise money to offer emergency relief to cultural workers in crisis e.g. Support Act NSW, Artists Benevolent Fund and Actors Benevolent Fund

Click here for more info.

Western Australia

Total State government funding: $1.5 million from Art Gallery of WA; and a share of $159 million (shared across non-profit community sector).

It looks like all of this is repurposed funding.

On 25 May the WA government approved a $1.5 million support package, developed by the Art Gallery of WA’s Board and the Art Gallery’s Foundation, to help WA artists. Under the initiative, all living Western Australian artists represented in the State Art Collection will receive $2,000 towards creating an online State Art Collection archive. 

In addition, independent and art centre-based Aboriginal artists will share up to $525,000 through a targeted acquisition program to purchase existing works from up to 15 independent Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander artists and from 25 Aboriginal art centres.

In total, more than 400 Western Australian artists will directly benefit from the initiative, injecting up to $1.5 million into the arts sector economy.

WA artists who receive the $2,000 will use the funding to generate archival content focusing on expanding artist bios, artist statements and extended insights into artistic practice.

The purchasing of Aboriginal artworks for the State Art Collection through the Aboriginal Art Centres, will both support the artists involved and their local community.  

On 30 March the WA government announced:

• Small businesses that pay payroll tax will receive a one-off grant of $17,500

• $1 million payroll tax threshold brought forward by six months

• $114 million to support small businesses

• Freeze on household charges including electricity, motor vehicle charges, emergency services levy, water and public transport

On 30 March, the WA government also announced, in partnership with Lotterywest, the AUD $159 million COVID-19 relief fund for non-profit community organisations, including the arts.

• The fund will start with an initial AUD $59 million for crisis and emergency relief support, with an anticipated further $100 million to be allocated from all profits previously assigned to the grants budget

The Lotterywest COVID-19 Relief Fund includes the following programs relevant to the arts:

• Event Cancellation Relief for Arts, Sports and Community Groups ($14 million from Lotterywest and the government)

• Sector Support for Resilient Organisations ($25 million from Lotterywest) for NFP arts, sports and community organisations to maintain staff, pivot operations, collaborate, develop new ways of working, maintain viability, and build resilience for recovery.

Click here for more info about the WA general response.

Click here to find out about the $159 million emergency fund.

Queensland

Total State government funding: approx. $33.5 million

This includes a rescue package of $22.5 million

On 16 June the Queensland government announced a “Arts and Cultural Recovery Package” of $22.5 million. This includes support for live music events, temporary outdoor venues, funding support to maintain viability, First Nations art, and venues trying to safely reopen with social distancing.

The Queensland government had previously announced emergency support including:

• $500 million loan facility for businesses to retain employees and maintain operations, allowing for low-interest loans of up to $250,000

• Payroll tax relief for small and medium businesses

• Fees and charges relief for hospitality and tourism providers

• $27.25 million to support local government, business and industry with ‘resilience and recovery strategies’

• $11 million of measures for the arts sector, which includes:

  • Companies that are current recipients of the 2017-2020 Organisations Fund will be guaranteed a further 12 months’ funding at current levels to December 2021

  • Arts Queensland is also suspending applications for the next four-year funding round and waiving rental payments for tenants in Queensland government-owned arts facilities for the rest of 2020

  • its Individuals Fund has been boosted to $500,000, and extended the closing date to 21 April 2020. Expanded criteria includes building digital skill, creative development, small project activities, digital delivery of works.

  • the Queensland Arts Showcase Program was boosted to $2 million, with funding caps increased

  • Waived rental payments for Qld-government Brisbane-based arts facility tenants

  • On 26 May, the Qld government announced a further $0.5 million for a stART grant program for independent artists and arts workers. Applicants can access up to $3,000 for creating work during the COVID recovery phase. Funding will be distributed through the Regional Arts Services Network and other Arts Qld funded s2m organisations, and allocated to each region on a population basis.

Click here for more info.

South Australia

Total State government funding: $3.2 million

(Includes repurposed State government funding of at least $0.7 million.)

The SA government announced $1.5 million in COVID-19 Arts Grants (and subsequently added a further $1.0 million, taking the total to $2.5 million. I am not sure if this was ‘new’ funding’).

• aimed at independent artists and small organisations

• will provide employment for independent artists and contribute to the sustainability of s2ms

• enable the development of new work in new ways

• support cross-sector collaboration

• outcomes could be bringing work to audiences in new ways, developing new work ready to go at a later time, and support for immediate needs

The Grants are as follows:

• Creative Endeavour: Quick Response Grants for Independent Artists

• Innovating Practice: Quick Response Grants for Independent Artists

• EOIs for Arts Organisations Collaboration Grants

The SA Music Development Office also announced that it would repurpose its contemporary music program to provide $700,000 in ‘Music Development Office Project Support Grants’:

• Creative Development Support Grants - Up to $5,000 per grant to support developing/releasing new work

• Music Business Support Grants - Up to $20,000 per grant to support music businesses and artists in recovery

• Music Industry Initiatives Support Grants - Up to $20,000 per grant to support new approaches during the restriction period

The Music Development Office also provided $300,000 to venue, “The Gov”

Click here for more info about the Arts SA grants.

Tasmania

Total State government funding: $3.5 million

(including repurposed funding of $2.0 million)

The Tasmanian government has announced:

• $20 million in interest free loans to small businesses in the hospitality, tourism, seafood production, and exports sectors. The loans will be available to businesses with a turnover of less than $5 million
  to purchase equipment or restructuring business operations and will be interest free, for three years.

• Payroll tax liabilities will be waived for hospitality, tourism and seafood industry businesses for the last four months of 2019-20.

• Other businesses with payrolls of up to $5 million will be able to apply, based on the impact of virus, to have their payroll tax waived for April to June 2020.

The Tasmanian government has also announced a cultural and creative industries stimulus package of $1.5 million of new funding and new operational measures of over $2 million:

• Arts and Screen Digital Production Fund: grants of up to $10,000 for individuals and $50,000 for organisations to enable the arts and screen sectors to work together for digital distribution and promotion.

• Tasmanian Contemporary Music Fund: grants of up to $15,000 for musicians whose events have been cancelled, to record music videos

• Additional Screen Development Fund: Additional $250,000 for screen industry to undertake new projects and increase development grants

• Additional arts organisations funding: Arts organisations currently on single-year funding or in final year of a funding agreement will have contracts extended for another year, and additional competitive funding for arts organisations not already receiving support through these mechanisms.

Thanks to Kath Melbourne for flagging this with me. We’ll wait and see what comes specifically for the arts sector.

Click here for more info about the general Tasmanian measures, and here for info on the cultural stimulus package.

Australian Capital Territory

Total Territory government funding: $2.0 million

(Not sure how much is new/repurposed)

ACT announced:

• $500,000 funding for artists: grants of up to $10,000 per artist, including screen artists, under the ‘Homefront funding scheme’

• Up to $500,000 in funding to the head-licensees of arts facilities to waive fees for sub-licensees for six months (supporting approx. 65 smaller arts organisations)

• The ACT government will not charge any rent for six months to community groups in government owned properties, including arts facilities

• $1 million will be provided to Canberra arts organisations (Key Arts and Program organisations)

Click here for info.

Northern Territory

Total Territory government funding: $2 million

(I think this might be new money.)

On 24 March the NT government announced a Creative industries Immediate Response and Resilience Package which includes:

• Digital Adaptation Program ($200,000) - help arts sector establish online presence

• Channel NT ($200,000) - develop online platform to livestream NT content

• Territory Arts Projects ($400,000) - grants for artists and arts workers

• Screen Industry Support and Content Development Program ($1 million) - content development

• Indigenous Visual Arts Industry Support Program ($200,000) to the peak bodies for Aboriginal arts centres, artists and arts workers

Arts NT, Screen Territory and NTMEC have been given discretion to provide reporting and other grant condition relief.

The NT Government is also providing:

• a Small Business Survival Fund of $50 million, prioritising hospitality, tourism, restaurants and entertainment businesses

• $2 million Tourism Resilience Plan, providing support for event organisers, suppliers and tourism operators

• Jobs Rescue and Recovery plan, including a Business Hardship package so that businesses with turnover <$50 million with a 30% downturn in turnover due to COVID-19 can access concessions on payroll tax, utilities, rents and rates

For more info see the following links:

Music NT

Tourism NT

Government responses to the impact of COVID-19 on the arts and creative industries

I last updated this post on 30 June 9.00 am (AEST) with the excellent support of research associate Dr Julie Keys.

PURPOSE OF THIS ARTICLE

I am gathering news on how governments and arts funding agencies responding around the world to the COVID-19 pandemic and its impact on the arts and cultural sectors. I am including general measures which are most relevant to the arts and creative industries, as well as targeted measures for these sectors. I am gathering:

• information on recovery approaches

• governments’ digital actions

• emergency support to survive the crisis

I will add to this list, as it is a work in progress, so please do send me what you know and we can all keep up to date.

For more information about government digital initiatives, see my separate blog post.

SUMMARY

I have collected data on 54 countries. Of these, 19 countries had social insurance-style support which did not specify a total figure of support for the arts. Of the 35 countries which announced targeted funding for the arts (almost always in addition to other measures for the general economy and unemployed), 6 countries announced ‘mixed’ packages (ie included sports, heritage or similar). So the graph below just has the 29 countries I identified which had arts-specific packages I could compare.

Note: Only includes countries which had arts-specific packages I could compare. e.g. does not include Germany, Canada, Belgium, Scotland, or South Africa as they bundled other sectors into their announced packages. Also does not include social insurance measures which were not quantified.

Top Five Spenders

The top five government spenders on emergency arts funding packages (out of the 54 countries I have found info for) are:

1. Austria (EUR 2 billion for arts and culture) (c. 8.9 million population; EUR 225 per capita)

2. Poland (EUR 900 million for arts and culture) (c.38 million population; EUR 24 per capita)

3. Japan (EUR 882.2 million, mostly for global demand creation and promotion of content) (c. 126.5 million population, EUR 7 per capita)

4. Netherlands (EUR 300 million for arts and culture) (c. 17.3 million population, EUR 17 per capita)

5. USA (EUR 282.9 million for arts and culture) (c. 328.2 million, EUR 0.86 per capita)

NOTES: This is for emergency funding - I am waiting for more countries to make announcements before I do a comparison. Germany is probably the top of this list, but they have included arts in an overall EUR 50 billion package for small businesses so I can't tell how much is going to the arts yet. Canada may also make it into the top five, but it is not clear how much of their EUR 328 million fund for culture, heritage and sport is going to arts/culture. If we include recovery spending, New Zealand is in the top five for funding calculated per capita.

MY ANALYSIS

Five types of good practice

I wrote an article analysing the international government responses to the impact of COVID-19 on the arts and cultural sector. In the article, I identified the following aspects of ‘good practice’ in governmental support for the arts and cultural industries:

1. Money (preferably lots, and with the possibility of more), targeted at the arts and creative industries across the supply and demand value chain (educators, independents, institutions, meditators, critics, curators, distributors, presenters…)

2. Support for the self-employed and freelancers.

3. Direct support without paperwork.

4. Digital and other programs which work with the current environment.

5. Support the public to access the arts and culture during lockdown.

What governments are doing (in brief)

• First wave of economic stimulus (c. March): a lot of the government measures in the first wave of economic measures targeted small to medium businesses, including rent and tax relief, cash grants and low-cost loans

• Second wave of economic stimulus (c. April): Governments then tended to offer support for the unemployed, including helping businesses to keep people employed at lower rates of pay. Many countries specifically extended social insurance schemes to artists and freelancers, recognising they often fall through the cracks of general economic measures.

• Third wave of economic stimulus (c. April-May): Many governments also provided extra subsidies directly to arts and cultural organisations to prevent them from closing. Some governments also re-directed funding to provide individual artists with additional grant opportunities.

• Access to culture during lockdown (c.March-ongoing): digital programs are popping up across a number of jurisdictions to support artists to create digital content. Countries like Egypt, Indonesia, Poland and Chile are also setting up digital aggregators of arts content so the public can still access cultural content during lockdown.

• Shift to recovery (May-ongoing): Governments are also beginning to develop recovery packages and responses. This includes New Zealand’s NZ $175 million over three years to re-start the arts sector, and Germany’s EUR 1 billion (yes, billion) in ‘Neu Start’ for culture.

Reasons to support the creative industries

It’s worth remembering that the global creative industries contribute $2.25 trillion USD to the world economy annually - approx. 3% of world GDP - and 29.5 million jobs around the world.

The next wave of support will be vital for the arts and cultural sectors, given that in Australia, for example:

• 76% of artists are freelancers

• Four in five artists take on non-arts related work to make ends meet

• 60% of creative industry businesses have no employees, whilst 39% have fewer than 20 employees

• In Australia, creative industries comprise 6% of all businesses and employment, contribute $47.4 billion to national GDP, employ more than half a million people and generate $3.2 billion in export revenue.

• Creative industries employment is growing faster than employment in the rest of the economy

Sources - BYP Group report on NSW creative industries; Throsby report on artists, reports from QUT, Creative Industries Innovation Centre and EY.

There is also the critical issue of mental health and wellbeing. Artists work in precarious environments with multiple stressors. By dint of being creative types, we so often take the world’s malaises and internalise them. Remember:

• RUOK?

• Call someone every day even if you don’t feel like it. Touch base.

• Things always look better after a nap or a walk. Preferably both.

• There are free government-supported mental health counselling. Even if you are physically alone, you are not alone in how you feel. We will make it together. Take care, keep going.

GOVERNMENT RESPONSES FOR THE ARTS AND CREATIVE INDUSTRIES

Argentina

Recovery Approaches

We are not aware of any announcements as at 11 June 2020.

Digital Actions

In April 2020, the Ministry of Culture Argentina announced ARS $7.2 million for hiring nearly 500 artists to develop content for ‘Culture at Home’ through the digital platform Formar Cultura, which is a virtual community of practice.

Emergency Support

In April 2020, the Ministry of Culture Argentina has announced:

• The Culture Points Program will have its budget increased from 17 to 50 million pesos

• 30 million pesos in emergency funds for cultural centres

• The National Commission of Public Libraries will increase investment in the book program for the purchase of books. The funds earmarked for the Book Fair will be redirected to this.

• The National Theatre Institute will allocate 96 million pesos for studios, plays and festivals

• The National Arts Fund will boost the payment of scholarships, competitions, subsidies and loans with 22 million pesos, and launch a new call with funding of 75 million pesos

• The National Institute of Music is extending the deadline for financial acquittals

• The Infanto Juveniles Orchestras program will have 9.2 million pesos for new instruments

• 7.2 million pesos for hiring nearly 500 artists to develop content for ‘Culture at Home’ through the digital platform Formar Cultura, which is a virtual community of practice

Visit the website for more info.

Australia

Recovery Approaches

25 June, The Australian Prime Minister announced a $250 million support package for  Australia’s art and cultural sectors. The new grants and loan programs will be rolled out over the next 12 months  and includes:

• Seed Investment to Reactivate Productions and Tours – $75 million in competitive grant funding in 2020- to help production and event businesses to put on new festivals, concerts, tours and events as social distancing restrictions ease, including innovative operating and digital delivery models. Grants will be available, from $75,000 through to $2 million. 

• Show Starter Loans – $90 million in concessional loans to fund new productions and events that stimulate job creation and economic activity. 

• Kick-starting Local Screen Production – $50 million for a Temporary Interruption Fund, to be administered by Screen Australia, that will support local film and television producers to secure finance and start filming again.

• Supporting Sustainability of Sector-Significant Organisations – $35 million to provide direct financial assistance to support significant Commonwealth-funded arts and culture organisations facing threats to their viability due to COVID-19, which may include organisations in fields including theatre, dance, circus, music and other fields. The Government will partner with the Australia Council to deliver this funding.

• Creative Economy Taskforce – establishment of a ministerial taskforce to partner with the Government and the Australia Council to implement the JobMaker plan for the creative economy

For further details and to read the media release click here

Digital Actions

On 24 April, the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) announced a AUD $5 million “Fresh Start Fund” for development, and includes an Arts Digital Fund with a focus on documentary storytelling, and an Australian Music fund.

Emergency Support

In Australia, the Federal government has announced a $168 billion stimulus package. Here’s what is relevant to the arts and creative industries:

• Businesses and NFPs with turnover under $50 million and that employ people can access $20,000-$100,000 to keep operating and keep staff. There is also support available to retain apprentices and trainees.

• The Government is allowing businesses and not-for-profits impacted by the Coronavirus to access a subsidy to continue paying their employees. The JobKeeper payment allows affected employers to claim $1,500 a fortnight per eligible employee for a maximum period of six months. Creative and cultural businesses are eligible.

• Government is increasing the threshold at which creditors can demand payment and offering temporary relief for directors from personal liability for trading while insolvent.

• $1 billion to support regions, communities and industries severely affected by COVID-19, ‘including those heavily reliant on industries such as tourism, agriculture and education.’

• From April 27 2020, sole traders, self-employed, contract and casual workers who meet the income tests as a result of the economic downturn due to COVID-19 can access Jobseeker Payment and Youth Allowance Jobseeker. This could also include a person required to care for someone affected by COVID-19. People on these payments will also receive an extra $550 per fortnight COVID-19 supplement, and two x one-off payments of $750. Asset testing for these payments and the Parenting Payment will be waived for the period of the COVID-19 supplement. The Liquid Asset test Waiting Period will also be waived for recipients eligible for the COVID-19 supplement.

• Sole traders accessing Jobseeker Payment will automatically meet the usual requirements of the Payment by continuing to develop their business.

• Individuals can also access up to $10,000 of their superannuation in 2019-20 and a further $10,000 in 2020-21.

• Increased instant asset write-off - individual assets threshold raised from $30,000 to $150,000.

• Accelerated depreciation deductions for businesses with a turnover of less than $500 million can deduct 50% of the cost off an eligible asset on installation.

On 9 April the government also announced AUD $27 million for First Nations arts, regional arts and the music charity Support Art:

• $10 million to Support Act

• $10 million through the Regional Arts Australia’s Regional Arts Fund

• $7 million through the Indigenous Visual Arts Industry Support Program

The government has also brought forward AUD $5 million from its Regional and Small Publishers Innovation Fund to support public interest journalism during COVID-19. More organisations are eligible to apply and there is a greater emphasis on sustainability.

The Australia Council for the Arts has announced:

• A “Resilience Fund" which is a repurposing all uncommitted funds from 2019-20 to immediately respond to the crisis, redirecting $5 million AUD to new programs designed to provide immediate relief for artists and organisations. The Fund has three streams:

  • Survive - small grants or individuals, groups and organisations to offset or recoup financial losses due to cancelled activity.

  • Adapt - grants for individuals, groups and organisations to adapt their practice and explore new operating models.

  • Create - grants for individuals, groups and organisations to continue to create artistic work and develop creative responses in a time of disruption

• Relief on grant conditions including removing requirements for meeting audience KPIs, bringing forward payments, delaying or simplifying reporting requirements, varying the purposes and outcomes of funding, extending timelines for projects, and allowing organisations to use project money to be repurposed to cover core costs

• proceeding with Four Year Funding 2021-24, identifying how to keep as many organisations as possible funded through this critical period (details end of March)

• Suspending investment programs currently or due to open, so as to concentrate on responding to the crisis. Programs which will be suspended include Career Development Grants, Arts Projects Grants, Fellowships, Touring and Travel Funds, Rights Fund for Literature, Translation Fund for Literature

• Launching “Creative Connections,” an online webinar series offering practical, accessible and useful professional development including crisis management and communication, arts in the digital age, ongoing issues of climate change, intercultural working with First Nations artists and inclusive learning practices

• Continuing the Arts and Disability Mentorship Initiative

• Weekly First Nations roundtables

• Weekly COVID-19 support workshop with peak bodies

• New Facebook group “Arts and Creative Industries: Digital Support”, primarily a professional development and distribution resource

Click here for more info about the Federal government initiatives.

Click here for more info about the Australia Council for the Arts responses.

Click here for more info about the $27 million funding.

Click here for info about the public interest journalism funding advance.

Click here to find out what is happening at the State and local government-level in Australia.

Austria

Recovery Approaches

From 15 May, places of presentation such as museums, galleries and exhibitions, libraries, libraries and archives including reading areas have been allowed to reopen. Drive-in cinemas can also reopen. Stages will be as follows:

• 29 May: events with up to 100 visitors 

• 1 July: events with up to 250 visitors

• 1 August: events with up to 500 visitors should be possible

Each event will need its own "corona manager". If a special security approach is available, events with up to 1,000 visitors can also be allowed. These openings only apply to events with seats, which must be at least one metre apart.

Emergency Support

Specific measures have been adopted by the Federal Ministry of Arts and Culture to cover the cultural sector:

• Immediate aid may be granted to artists and cultural workers under the artists' social security fund. The COVID-19 fund has a maximum of 5 million euros and is intended to ensure rapid assistance. A total of up to 6,000 euros will be paid out - in the first phase up to 1,000 euros, in the second phase up to 2,000 euros per month for a maximum of three months;

• The EUR 2 billion hardship fund (yes, 2 billion) has been set up as an emergency aid to all sole proprietorships, micro-enterprises (up to 9 employees), artists or newly self-employed people whose turnover has fallen as a result of the pandemic measures in the creative sector

• Collecting societies have set up various programs for musicians, music labels, visual artists, filmmakers, audiovisual media, writers and translators, performers and producers of sound and video clips e.g. Collecting Societies of Music Austria has established EUR 2 million fund for creatives

• In addition to state instruments to compensate artists for loss of income, there are private initiatives. To help artists in the current crisis, foundations have joined together to form the initiative "Foundations help artists."

• The Ministry for Arts, Culture, the Civil Service and Sport has established a EUR 700 million fund for non-profit organisations.

• The Ministry has also increased film subsidies by EUR 1.2 million, cinema subsidies by EUR 0.5 million, publishing industry subsidies by EUR 0.8 million, EUR 0.42 million to the Austrian Music Fund, EUR 0.25 million for art acquisitions

• The City of Vienna now offers independent artists and independent scientists with their main place of residence in Vienna the opportunity to apply for one-off work grants up to a maximum of 3,000 euros. In this crisis situation, it should be possible to continue to pursue artistic and scientific activity (project development, reading, preparation of exhibitions and conferences, etc.);

• Other indirect support measures exist for cultural institutions and artists: reduction and deferral of social security contributions, tax relief.

On 13 May, the government also announced a corona aid fund of EUR 700 million for NGOs, including from the sports, arts and culture sectors. The fund will cover fixed costs for two quarters (six months).

Click here for more info.

Belgium

Recovery Approaches

The Belgian government has announced a phased reopening:

• 11 May: Museums, libraries and bookstores re-opened; resumption of youth activities

• 8 June: Some cultural activities with audiences can resume

•  1 July: Performances with then public, including cinemas, can resume, always according to specific audience management rules – social distancing and max. 200 people, and avoid large gatherings

•  1 August: gatherings such as festivals can resume gradually, but major mass events will be banned until 31 August

Digital Actions

Culture at home is an online portal supported by the Federation Wallonie-Bruxelles Ministry of Culture. It provides links to offerings from cinemas, lectures, performing arts, museums and other initiatives.

Emergency Support

Belgium announced:

• Financial benefits are available to self-employed people and their spouses. Monthly benefit is 1,291.69 euros per month without family expenses and 1,614.10 euros with family expenses

The Flemish government has announced:

• a one-off premium of EUR 4,000 for entrepreneurs who have had to close their location

• additional premium of EUR 160 per mandatory closing day beyond 5/4/20

• compensation premium of EUR 3,000 (up to 5 premiums) for companies who are allowed to continue working but have experienced a 60% turnover decrease between 15/3 and 30/4

• bridging loans and medium-term loans, postponement of loan payments

• extension of grant deadlines

Click here for more info.

The Wallonia-Bruxelles Finance minister set up a EUR 50 million fund on 19 March to help culture, early childhood, sport, youth, education and university hospitals. Most of this first emergency fund will go to culture and early childhood. This fund will come to the rescue of cultural and associative activities that cannot take place because of the confinement, but for which the remuneration of artists and entertainment professionals must nevertheless be ensured. An online platform will be launched on 6 April in order to gather all the information and procedures to get some support.

On Tuesday 7 April, the Belgian government approved the proposition of the Ministry of Culture to dedicate over EUR 8.4 million for the support of cultural actors that have been impacted by the cancellation of activities and closure of venues. You can find the press release here on the website of Fédération Wallonie-Bruxelles.

Burkina Faso

Recovery Approaches

We are not aware of any announcements as at 11 June 2020.

Emergency Support

The Minister of Culture, Arts and Tourism announced the creation of a 1.25 billion CFA francs (US$ 2.1 million) fund, for the benefit of cultural actors, stressing that, in addition to this sectoral measure, cross-cutting economic measures relating to the economy as a whole have been taken by the President, providing for support for other sectors that have suffered harm as a result of COVID-19, including tourism.

Click here for more info.

Canada

Recovery Approaches

We are not aware of any announcements as at 11 June 2020.

Digital Actions

The Canada Council established the Digital Strategy Fund for grants of up to CA$50,000 for short-term activities. From April to 31 July, artists, groups and organisations can submit proposals that will:

·      implement digital solutions as a strategic response to the COVID-19 crisis

·      demonstrate concrete and immediate benefits to the arts community

·      show elements of openness and potential for growth as a long-term strategy

On 21 April, CBC/Radio-Canada and the Canada Council for the Arts announced the creation of Digital Originals, a new time-limited funding initiative to help artists, groups and arts organizations pivot their work for online audiences during the COVID-19 pandemic. The fund offers CA $5,000 micro innovation grants.

The funding will directly benefit creators of original digital content. The Canada Council is providing CA $1 million in funding to successful applicants to develop, create and share original or adapted works with Canadian audiences online. 

CBC/Radio-Canada will showcase and amplify the discoverability of select projects on one or more of its platforms. Selected projects for the curated CBC-Radio/Canada showcase will receive a supplemental amount of $1000. With the sponsorship of the RBC Foundation, as part of their ongoing activities to support youth in Canada, $150,000 in Digital Originals funding is available for new and early career artists.

Emergency Support

On 17 April, the Canadian government announced a further CA $1.7 billion in targeted measures for the economy, including CA $500 million to establish a COVID-19 Emergency Support Fund for Cultural, Heritage and Sport Organisations. In Phase 1, the Canada Council will distribute CA$55 million to eligible arts organisations experiencing a significant financial impact as a result of the pandemic.

On 30 March, the Canada Council for the Arts announced CA $60 million in advance funding, equivalent to 35% of annual grants held by over 1,100 core funded organisations.

By 4 May, the Council will issue advances enabling core funded organizations to: meet their immediate commitments, help ensure cash flow and address outstanding payments to the artists and cultural workers they employ.

The  Canada Council is also:

• Suspending funding for public events and travel-related activities

• Allowing grantees to postpone events / travel or move events online

• Apply grant funding to eligible expenses, including modifying, postponing or cancelling an activity

• Core funded organisations will not be required too have replacement programming for events or activities

• No penalties for not meeting current reporting deadlines

• Extending some deadlines and continuing to run grant assessments

• Relaxing repayment of grant rules:

  • For grants $5,000 and under

    • If the unused amount is more than 15% or $500 (whichever is greater), the recipient must repay the unused amount.

  • For grants between $5,000 and $30,000

    • If the unused amount is more than $1,000, the recipient must repay the unused amount.

  • For grants between $30,000 and $75,000

    • If the unused amount is more than $2,000, the recipient must repay the unused amount.

  • For grants above $75,000

    • If the unused amount is more than $3,000, the recipient must repay the unused amount.

The National Arts Centre with Facebook and Slaight Music has set up the Facebook-National Arts Centre Fund for Performing Artists, allocating $200,000 in artist fees to support live performances. The fund pays $1,000 to each act for their live-streams performances. #CanadaPerforms

Typically, self-employed people may not have access to employment insurance or sick leave. The Canada Revenue Agency will provide:

• Emergency Care Benefit for workers and parents without paid sick leave. People who are not eligible for Employment Insurance and can’t access sick leave can also receive up to $900 every fortnight for 15 weeks if they are off work to take care of others.

• $5 billion for an Emergency Support Benefit to workers who are not eligible for Employment Insurance and have lost their jobs or have reduced hours because of COVID-19. This includes artists and cultural workers. People can apply in April though the CRA website. It refers to a GST-credit payment of $400 to individuals and about $600 for couples; an increase in the Canada Child Benefit of $300 per child; and a 10% wage subsidy for small businesses for 3 months, up to $2,000 per employer.

Small businesses can receive a temporary wage subsidy for three months, equal to 10% of remuneration for that period, up to a cap of $1,375 per employee and $25,000 per employer. Businesses can access this immediately by reducing their income tax remittances.

Click here for more info about Canadian government initiatives.

Click here for more info about the Canada Council’s response.

Click here for more info about the National Arts Centre Facebook initiative.

Chile

Recovery Approaches

We are not aware of any announcements as at 11 June 2020.

Digital Actions

The Chilean government supports the online culture portal, Elige_Cultura. The website aggregates links to cultural offerings from across artforms, including museums, cinema, literature, visual arts, performing arts and music. 

 The Ministry of Culture is also offering a range of online capacity-building workshops for the cultural sector.The Ministry of Culture, Arts and Heritage has allocated CLP $15 billion to support copyright payments, promote artistic creation, and protect cultural spaces and organisations affected by the pandemic. The funds are from a repurposing of existing programs and instruments.

Emergency Support

The Ministry is also continuing to pay 2020 Culture Funds and is suspending Open Windows so artists do not incur expenses on activities that cannot be carried out. Once the pandemic crisis is over, these calls will be replaced. The Ministry is also working on specific measures for the regions and running a survey of the sector.

Click here for more info.

Colombia

Recovery Approaches

We are not aware of any announcements as at 11 June 2020.

Digital Actions

The Ministry of Culture has launched the #CulturaDigital strategy and allocated COP $24 million to the call for ‘share what we are’. The Ministry is also creating a national registry of artists. 

The digital strategy includes access the free films, children’s content, museums online, theater, dance, arts, science and literature. #CulturaDigital and #QuédateEnCasa

Emergency Support

The Colombian Ministry of Culture has announced:

• COP $80 billion for social security for older artists and cultural managers through the Periodic Economic Benefits Scheme

• COP $40 billion for creation, virtual training, production and circulation of public performances of the performing arts, face-to-face or virtual, for the next 18 months

• Extension of deadlines for taxes and fees and funded events

On 31 March the Minister of Culture also announced a new mechanism to assist artists and managers who are not eligible for other government social programs. They will receive a grant of COP $160,000.

The government has also implemented a fiscal incentive to leverage COP $30 billion in investments and donations for creative economy projects, including arts and heritage, and has established tax benefits and exemptions for artistic and cultural organisations.

Click here for more info.

Croatia

Recovery Approaches

The Second Package of measures announced in May aims to encourage and restart cultural life and promote the production and distribution of cultural and artistic content: 

• On 28 May, the Ministry launched  Entrepreneurship in Cultural and Creative Industries which focuses on adapting business models and covers the fields of performing arts, literature, publishing and book activities, visual arts and audiovisual activities. The total amount of funds allocated for this program is 8 million Kuna

• Additional funds will be provided for co-financing films

• The Ministry of Culture is in the process of adopting a State Aid Program to support entrepreneurs in culture and creative industries and facilitate access to finance for small and medium enterprises 

• The Ministry of Culture will consult with the organisers of events and festivals, as well of other beneficiaries of support in order to approve new programs and budgets

• Support to the performing arts and cinema industry who have been unable to launch activities due to restrictions is under discussion

Digital Actions

18 May, as part of the second package, the Ministry published the call Art and Culture Online, with a total grant of 25 million Kuna to finance the preparation and implementation of online artistic and cultural activities.

Please click here for more info (In Croatian)

Emergency Support

In March, the Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Croatia adopted measures to minimise the adverse effects of the COVID-19 pandemic and to protect cultural values. The Croatian Ministry of Culture has established a Crisis Fund (EUR 6.3 million) which will include funds for cultural workers whose projects have been delayed. Those who have lost their work due to the crisis will be given grants up HRK 1,625-3,250 for a period of three months from 1 April.

The First Package, adopted during the suspension of all cultural activities includes:

• The postponement of contracted programs and conditions of payment for approved programs

• Measures for job preservation

• A public call to support professional artists who perform independent artistic activity and whose contributions are paid from the budget of the Republic of Croatia

• A special fund for independent professionals who do not have a regulated status

The Croatian government is also supporting entrepreneurs in the cultural and creative industries, and self-employed artists, through the Croatian Employment Service. Small and micro loans for entrepreneurs and special support programs for sole traders are also being developed.

Please click here for more info. And if anyone can read this language, please correct me - I was using Google Translate!

Cuba

Recovery Approaches

We are not aware of any announcements as at 11 June 2020.

Digital Actions

The Cuban Institute of Music (Instituto Cubano de la Música), in collaboration with the Ministry of Culture and the Cuban Institute of Radio and Television, promoted online concerts via social networks as well as radio and television. The virtual concerts started on March 15 and continued throughout May. They included performances by a range of musicians in support of the national campaign #EstamosContigo#MusicosPorCuba to stop the spread of Covid-19.

Emergency Support

On 6 April the Ministry of Culture announced that artists who are part of the Cuban Institute of Music and the National Council of Performing Arts will receive salary support. The salary coverage begins in April, to be paid in May ,and will be effective through the usual payment mechanisms.

Click here for more info.

Cyprus

Recovery Approaches

As of 9 June, Cyprus entered phase three of the gradual easing of lockdown restrictions.  Attendance at cinemas, theatres, indoor performances, mass and other events such as festivals, remain banned whereas the operations of services such as restaurants, cultural clubs and associations are permissible but subject to the guidelines offered by the Ministry of health. For specific details click here.

Emergency Support

On 7 April, the Minister of Education, Culture, Sports and Youth announced:

• subsidies for salaries in cultural organisations whose work has reduced by at least 25%

• suspension of loan payments

• advance payments of cultural grants for activity to be undertaken in Q1 2021

• expenses already incurred for cancelled events will be covered where appropriate

• EUR 1.045 million allocated to the four Literary and Artistic Houses, the two Dance Houses and the Rialto Theatre

• requests will be considered for damages incurred during filming/pre-production

• increasing by 50% the amount provided for the Purchase of Art Works for the State Collection

• Financially enhancing the cinematic projection of European producers

• Encouraging and promoting online film and AV activity in short films, documentary and animation

• Looking at how to support theatre professionals

For more info click here.

Czech Republic

Recovery Approaches

We are not aware of any announcements as at 11 June 2020.

Emergency Support

The Ministry of Culture has established:

• a EUR 16.1 million support fund for those in the all-year subsidy groups of dance, theatre, music, visual arts and small publishers.

• EUR 1.1 million call for multimedia platform projects in experimental forms

• EUR 10.1 million for arts organisations, museums and galleries

The City of Prague has also announced:

• EUR 9.2 million special subsidy for theatres and other cultural institutions

• EUR 3.7 million campaign to attract local tourists

Click here for more info.

Denmark

Recovery Approaches

Denmark’s cultural life will reopen in stages (Phase 1 related to schools reopening).

Phase 2

• 11 May Resumptions include lending at libraries, artistic programs such as music exams that require a physical presence, professional sports, outdoor sports and associations, visits to zoos by car, art centres, museums, theatres and cinema’s

• May 27 Openings include music and cultural schools, colleges and evening schools, summer activities for children and young people

Phase 3

• 8 June Openings include Indoor sports and associations, swimming pools, training centres

Phase 4 , beginning of August

•  Resumptions include those parts of the artistic education that were not opened in phase two, venues, additional indoor sports and leisure activities

• Bans on events and activities of more than 500 people will continue until at least 31 August

For further details click here (In Danish)

New Laws and Regulations

For information on new laws and regulations that have resulted from COVID 19 click here (In Danish)

Cultural assistance for Senior Citizens

10 Million DKK has been made available to provide cultural assistance to the elderly affected by COVID 19. Initiatives such as collaborations between cultural and social actors with nursing homes and municipalities will be considered. Further details are available from the Danish Ministry of Culture (in Danish).

Emergency Support

On 18 April the Danish government announced an emergency pool of DKK 200 million for distressed public-oriented cultural institutions and seasonal performing arts companies which fall through other relief packages. The fund is for institutions with operating grants from the Ministry of Culture and can cover:

• up to 80% of production costs for performances and exhibitions etc

• these institutions can be further compensated if they are particularly distressed, to prevent otherwise well-run institutions to go bankrupt. The compensation may not exceed 80% of lost revenue

• municipal cultural institutions with Ministry of Culture operating grants and six larger municipal venues can receive salary compensation and compensation for fixed expenses

• distressed performance events etc which are not covered by the general event pool can be compensated for up to 80% of expenses from 9 March to 31 August.

The Danish government has previously announced:

• Compensation for companies’ fixed costs

• Compensation for self-employed persons who experience more than 30% decrease in revenue as a result of COVID-19. The government will provide 75% of the loss of revenue, up to a maximum of DKK 23,000 per month, for three months. The compensation may amount to DKK 34,500 per person per month if the self-employed person employs their spouse. This is targeted at sole traders and companies employing fewer than 10 employees.

• Support for private companies to keep workers on furlough

• Compensation if you had to cancel an event from 6-30 March for more than 1,000 people (or 500 people if the event was targeting COVID-19 high risk groups)

• Temporary deferral of tax payments

On 6 April the Danish government also announced a temporary art support scheme for artists with ‘A and B income’ and taxable profits from self-employment of at least DKK 8,333 monthly on average. The scheme is estimated to cost DKK 100 million kr. Artists can apply who:

• have a total A and B income and taxable profits from independent artistic activities of between DKK100,000-800,000 annually, corresponding to DKK 8,333-66,667 monthly on average in one out of the past three years, based on annual reports from 2017 ,2018 and 2019.

• expect a loss in A and B income and taxable profits from self-employment from the artistic activity of at least 30%. 75% can be covered of the expected loss to a maximum of DKK 23,000 per month

In a press release 15 May, ( in Danish) it was announced that the government would extend aid packages to the temporary art support scheme for artists for an extra month until July 8, 2020.

For more information click here. And correct me if you know Danish - this is courtesy of Google Translate.

Click here for info about the art support scheme and click here for information about the 200 million kroner emergency pool.

England

Recovery Approaches

The Covid-19 recovery strategy is as follows:

• Step one, 11 May: Those who cannot work from home will be encouraged back to their workplaces, exercise will be unlimited, sports may be played with household members, able to drive to other destinations.

• Step 2, 1 June: People may leave their house for any reason, up to six people may meet outside, some schools will resume, shops subject to closure will reopen on 15 June.

• Step 3, at the earliest from 4 July: The government hopes that some parts of the hospitality industry and other ‘public places’ will be able to reopen ‘provided they are safe and enforce social distancing’.

Digital Actions

BBC Arts with Arts Council England has launched a new commissioning strand “Culture in Quarantine Fund,” which will support England-based artists of any discipline to produce new works in creative media – video, audio and interactive – in spring 2020. Grants will be in the range of £3,000-8,000 (ex VAT).

The Arts Council already has a program called the “Digital Culture Network,” which employs “Tech Champions,” who can help artists and organisations to develop their digital skills.

Emergency Support

The UK government is offering:

• Cash grants up to 25,000 pounds for retail, hospitality and leisure businesses through the Retail and Hospitality Grant Scheme

• Taxable grants of 80% of profits for a self-employed person or member of a partnership who has suffered a loss of income from COVID-19, up to a cap of 2,500 pounds per month. The Coronavirus Self-Employment Income Support Scheme is open to those with a trading profit of less than 50,000 pounds and with a full year of accounts.

• ‘Business rates holiday’ for retail, hospitality and leisure businesses in 2020-21.

• For businesses that are too small to pay much in the way of business rates anyway, the government will provide Small Business Grant Scheme funding for local authorities, which will provide one-off grants of 10,000 pounds to eligible businesses to meet ongoing costs.

• Temporary tax relief for self-employed people and businesses, including deferral of VAT and income tax payments for the self-employed until January 2021.

• Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme, to support small and medium-sized businesses to access loans and overdrafts. Government will provide an 80% guarantee on each loan and the Scheme will support loans of up to 5 million pounds first 12 months interest free.

• Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme to provide up to 80% of furloughed workers wage costs, up to a cap of 2,500 pounds per month.

• Statutory Sick Pay refund for up to two-weeks of employees’ sick pay for businesses with fewer than 250 employees.

• Access to Universal Credit (income support), suspending the minimum income floor restriction and removing requirement to go to a job centre

• Access to Employment and Support Allowance (if you have a health condition which prevents you from working), if you have paid National Insurance contributions over last 2-3 years

In the next wave of emergency funding, Arts Council England announced 160 million pounds in an emergency funding package which includes:

• 90 million pounds available to national portfolio organisations and creative people and places consortia

• 50 million pounds for organisations which are not regularly funded but have a track record in receiving public funding, with the aim of addressing cashflow challenges and commissioning work now, to be available to people during the crisis, thus supporting artists as well. Disabled-led organisations will be prioritised, as will organisations’ capacity to deliver “Let’s Create” after the crisis, which includes consideration of whether the organisation is diverse-led.

• 20 million pounds for individuals who are creative practitioners in music, theatre, dance, visual arts, literature, combined arts and museums practice fields (magicians and comedians can apply if they have a track record of receiving public funding); 4 million pounds of this will be grants for benevolent funds targeted at other cultural workers. This is based on the calculation that in place of a single 10,000 pound grant from the “Developing Your Creative Practice” fund, ACE could invest 2,500 pounds in four different artists, helping them through the crisis. There is a higher application ceiling (3,000 pounds) for disabled and D/deaf applicants to factor in additional support needs

The Arts Council is also:

• Relaxing grant funding conditions.

• Offering to advance six months of grant payments to national portfolio organisations and postpone the next national portfolio investment process, so that the current suite of organisations will roll over to 31 March 2023

• Producing guidance in BSL, Large Print and Easyread, and running two rounds so anyone who needs more time can have it

Click here for more info about Arts Council England’s emergency package.

Click here for more info about the UK government economic response.

Click here for more info about the BBC Arts Culture in Quarantine program.

Estonia

Recovery Approaches

Conditions for organising events eased as early as June (in Estonian, 29 May)

• 1 June, the number of people allowed to attend  public indoor events will increase from 50 to 100. The 2+2 and other requirements remain the same.

• 1 June to 30 June, Outdoor sports competitions may resume with a total of 100 participants. The organiser must ensure that disinfectants are available. 

Emergency Support

The Estonian Ministry of Culture has announced an initial EUR 3 million to partially compensate for the direct costs and income lost due to the cancellation of cultural and sporting events and activities, which it increased to EUR 10.1 million. The Ministry of Culture is working with the Cultural Endowment and will launch this measure as soon as possible.

On 22 April, a temporary amendment to the Creative Persons and Creative Societies Act was passed, which aims to support creative practitioners who have lost their income. A minimum wage is guaranteed for six months and is available to freelance creative practitioners who are creators as defined in the Creative Industries Act and whose main source of income is professional creative activity in the fields of architecture, audiovisual, design, performing arts, sound, literature, visual arts. The Ministry of Culture applied for an additional EUR 4.2 million to cover this expansion of the Act to a total of approx. 1,200 people who work in creative fields and have been disrupted by the pandemic. 

Easing of restrictions include:

• allowing someone who has already accessed support in the last two years to receive benefits

• the requirements for income earned in the previous month has been amended

• creative practitioners who do not belong to a recognised creative union, but who met the requirements of the Act, can apply for a creative grant from the Ministry of Culture

• creative practitioners can continue to earn additional income while receiving the grant

These measures are part of a larger government package of EUR 2 billion in stimulus measures. For more information, visit the Estonian Ministry of Culture (in Estonian, dated 25 March).

Finland

Recovery Approaches

On 11 June, the Government announced that partial border control will continue at internal borders while external border traffic will continue to be restricted until 14 July 2020. 

15 June, 14 day self-isolation is recommended for all those arriving in Finland from countries that are still subject to internal or external border control. 

For further information click here (in Finnish)

The Finish government website lists the following information in regard to re-opening of cultural facilities;

• Museums, theaters, the National Opera, houses of culture, libraries, hobby facilities and venues, as well as youth and club facilities can be opened from the beginning of June.

• Concerts, theater performances, festivals and other cultural events are public events. They must take into account the current maximum number of participants of 50 or, by special arrangements, 500.

• Public events of more than 500 people are prohibited until 31 July. For outdoor events with several auditoriums or demarcated areas for the public, it is possible to hold events for more than 500 people

Emergency Support

The government has established a fund for professionals in arts and culture of EUR 19 million., EUR 3.2 million for institutions, EUR 18 million for theatres, orchestras and museums, and EUR 1.3 million for the Governing Body of the Suomenlinna and the Finnish Heritage Agency.

The Ministry of Culture, the Ministry of Education and Culture, and the Finnish Centre for Art Promotion will jointly provide rapid support to arts and cultural professionals in distress due to COVID-19.

• Approximately 1.5 million euros will be distributed through the Arts Promotion Centre (Taike) in April. This money will come from both government and four foundations: 

  • The Ministry of Education and Culture will give Taike additional funding of EUR 500,000. 

  • Taike has previously announced that it will transfer about EUR 100,000 to alleviate the COVID-19 crisis. 

  • The Finnish Cultural Foundation will give EUR 500,000.

  • 4 other foundations will give EUR 100,000 each. 

  • The grant application round will open at the start of April, and grant decisions made by the end of the month. Primarily the aid is intended as short-term grants for freelance artists whose work has been significantly hampered.

  • Taike is expected to disburse 500 grants.

The Kone Foundation is offering a three-month work grant for artists residencies which take place in the artist’s home. It includes a monthly grant and an online work platform to share ideas. The size of the monthly grant varies according to the applicant’s experience: €2,400 (early career), €2,800 (mid-career), €3,500 (experienced artist).

Click here for more info.

The Finnish Cultural and Academic Institutes network has announced a new grant program “Together Alone - Open Call”. The Institutes are seeking artistic proposals related to the following themes: state of emergency, radical change, resilience, artistic practice in the future, alone together. At the same time the project will act as a documentation of the crisis, and one of the major social upheavals of our time and give the artists an opportunity to reflect it through the arts. The application is open to all Finnish and Finland-based professional artists who have lost work opportunities due to the corona epidemic. 

The Institutes are commissioning projects from selected artists or artistic groups to be completed by June 30, 2020. The total grant of an individual project is between EUR 1500–5000.

The aim of the open call is to ensure the livelihoods of artists, and the continuity of international collaboration. Although mobility and physical encounters must now be restricted, we want to support the international networks and cooperation. 

Click here for more info.

France

Recovery Approaches

On 6 May the French Minister for Culture detailed measures to support the resumption of cultural life (in French)

• 11 May, bookshops, record stores, libraries, media libraries and art galleries may reopen, along with certain museums and historic monuments

• The rights of artists and intermittent performing technicians, who have been sanctuarized for three months, will be extended by one year until the end of August 2021

• A guarantee fund of EUR 50 million will be allocated for the filming of cinematographic and audio-visual productions, to compensate producers for “Covid-19 risks”

• An endowment of EUR 50 million has been allocated to the National Music Centre to support the entire music industry.

• AVMS (audio-visual media services) and copyright directives will be transposed into French law before the end of the year to better protect, from January 1, 2021, audio-visual companies within the cultural sovereignty framework 

• A global public order plan will be launched in each cultural area

• The artistic presence will be reinforced via cultural education and there will be a launch of a new initiative, "A learning summer", in July and August 2020.

Resumption of Activity in the Cultural sector

14 May,  Ministry of Culture ( in French) announced that, while guides for the cinema and artistic creation sectors are being finalised:

• Museums and monuments may reopen as they are not likely to encourage significant displacement of the population 

• Theatres and cinemas will remain closed. Likewise, festivals and cultural events bringing together more than 5,000 people cannot be held until August 31.

Specific details in regard to health and safety details will be posted here (in French) as they become available.

Emergency Support

France has announced 45 billion euros in overall action, which includes:

• unemployment benefits for people forced to work part-time

• a ‘solidarity fund’ of 2 billion euros to help shopkeepers and the self-employed

• Paying small and medium businesses to keep workers on furlough

• Bank loan guarantees for businesses and tax deferrals

For the cultural sector, on 18 March the Ministry of Culture announced an emergency fund which will include in its first phase EUR 22 million, which includes EUR 10 million for music, EUR 5 million for entertainment, EUR 5 million for literature and EUR 2 million for visual arts.

The Ministry will:

• count the period that contract-based cultural workers are unable to work as part of the reference period which gives entitlement to unemployment insurance

• pay unemployment insurance benefits for contract-based cultural workers even if their entitlement was set to end during the current period

On 27 March the Ministry also announced additional measures for artists to receive an individual support grant of up to EUR 1,500.

Click here for more info.

In France there are a number of agencies which oversee specific sectors, including specific sector taxes.

The National Music Centre has:

• established an 11.5 million euro emergency fund for the entertainment industry, particularly small and medium enterprises. Each grant, capped at € 11,500, includes an incentive to pay artists compensation for canceled shows.

• suspended the payment of ‘show tax’

The National Centre for Cinema and Animated Image:

• suspended the entry tax in cinemas for March 2020

• is providing financial aid to art house infrastructure and softening criteria for accessing aid

• Grants already awarded for cancelled events will be paid and not required to be paid back

The performing arts sector outside music has had up to 5 million euros allocated for emergency aid.

The National Book Centre is implementing:

• an emergency plan with a first envelope of 5 million euros to respond to the immediate challenges of publishers, authors and booksellers: 1 million euros for direct social aid to book authors, 0.5 million euros to French-language bookshops abroad; 0.5 million euros for the most fragile independent publishing houses; and intervention fund to compensate for operating losses of bookshops.

• subsidies already paid to book events cancelled because of the pandemic will not be required to be repaid, with particular attention to payment of authors who would have appeared at the events.

• the Centre is also postponing the maturities of loans granted to booksellers and publishers.

The National Centre for Plastic Arts has:

• an initial 2 million euro fund for art galleries

• expanded eligibility for gallery grants

• support allocated to galleries to attend postponed fairs will not have to be repaid

The Minister of Culture and the Minister of Labour are working on specific measures for freelance performers and technicians and creators.

At the regions level, governments are planning to support canceled events up to the amount of costs incurred. For example:

• the Ile-de France region has announced an emergency aid fund of 10 million euros for the performing arts

• The New Aquitaine region has committed to the national fund and also reserved 5 million euros for associations in the form of direct grants in culture, sport and the social sector

• The Pays de la Loire region has announced an emergency plan of 50 million euros for businesses in the cultural, sports and community sectors (25 million euros of immediately available loans through existing mechanisms, and 25 million euros of new measures and loans, including 2 million in support of cultural and sports associations, which can be leveraged to grant 325 million euros in loans in the Loire region).

  • This also includes a 6 million euros in cash subsidy for artisans, traders, restaurateurs, very small businesses and social enterprises

  • Rebond loan for SMEs of zero-interest of 10,000-300,000 euros

  • Postponement of repayable advances granted by the regional government due for the next 6 months

  • loan guarantee scheme increased to 80% (from 70%) aimed at very small businesses and SMEs

  • unsecured cash loans of 50,000-500,000 euros at a TEG rate of 2.03%

  • Emergency Events Fund aimed at all associations organising cultural and sport events hard hit by cancellations / drop in attendances due to the pandemic, with a grant ceiling of 30,000 euros.

For more info click here about the general economic package.

Click here for more info about the French Ministry of Culture announcements and feel free to correct me as I used Google Translate on this.

Click here for info about the National Music Centre fund.

Germany

Recovery Approaches

The reopening pf public life and social distancing

6 May, specific details on the federal and state governments restrictions on public life and social distancing can be found here. In general, social distancing and hygiene rules still apply and certain institutions such as schools will gradually open. The federal states will need to determine schedules for the reopening of theaters, operas, concert halls and cinemas.

To watch a video of Chancellor Angela Merkel discussing steps to ease the coronavirus lockdown click here.

NEU START

In a press release (in German) on 4 June, the German government announced that around one billion euros would be made available to the cultural sector via the Neu Start initiative. This funding will cover 2020 and 2021. The Neu Start program is divided into four parts:

• Pandemic-related investments in cultural institutions of up to 250 million euros, to make cultural institutions such as cultural centers, music clubs, theaters, cinemas, trade fairs, literary houses fit for the reopening. This includes measures such as the implementation of hygiene concepts and distance rules, online ticketing systems, the modernization of ventilation systems, different visitor guidance and seating, installation of protective devices, optimization of visitor control, public safety instructions,procurement of cleaning and infection protection equipment, measures to expand IT infrastructure, technical and other equipment 

• Maintenance and strengthening of the cultural infrastructure and emergency aid. This is the largest component of the program with a total of up to 450 million euros. Its purpose is to aid small and medium sized cultural sites and projects who have lost revenue but still have to pay staff. This part of the project also focuses on placing new orders with freelancers and solo professionals.

• Promotion of alternative, also digital, offers. See Digital Actions below.

• Pandemic-related additional needs of up to to 100 million to compensate for corona-related loss of income and additional expenditure that cannot be covered in any other way. The package also provides for federal aid of 20 million euros for private radio broadcasters. 

For a direct link to the Neu Start website click here.

Digital Actions

EUR 150 million in  ‘New Start Culture’ funding (see above) will be made available to alternative and digital projects that serve to convey, network and communicate in the cultural field.

For further info click here.

Emergency Support

Germany has announced a huge 750 billion euros in stimulus, which includes EUR 50 billion euros for  the cultural, creative and media sector, including freelancers and small businesses, including artists and caregivers. They are eligible for up to 15,000 euros in direct subsidies over a period of three months. They should be able to apply quickly and with little bureaucratic effort for subsidies to secure their professional or business existence.

At the State level:

• The State of Berlin is providing short-term budget funds to mitigate the worst hardships for self-employed persons and small businesses in the private cultural sector, freelance and solo artists and cultural workers, honorary staff, small art associations and self-employed event organizers.

• The State of north Rhine-Westphalia is offering EUR 5 million in emergency aid for artists.

• The State of Hamburg: EUR 25 million for cultural institutions and EUR 50 million stimulation package by the Hamburg bank for cultural businesses

• Municipality of Cologne: EUR 3 million emergency fund for ‘free culture’

Click here for more info.

Hong Kong

Recovery Approaches

We are not aware of any announcements as at 11 June 2020.

Emergency Support

Hong Kong has announced:

• $1,200 cash subsidy to all adult permanent residents

• cutting payroll, income, property and business taxes

• low-interest, government-guaranteed loans for businesses

The Hong Kong Arts Development Council has also launched the HKD $55 million “Support Scheme for Arts & Cultural Sector” to support small and medium organisations and arts practitioners whose activities and work were cancelled or impacted in 2019-20. Under the Scheme:

• Grant recipients of HKADC’s 2019-20 Year Grant, Literary Arts Platform Project and Eminent Arts Group Scheme can each apply for up to $130,000

• Projects funded by HKADC through the Project Grant (non-publication) and Matching Fund Schemes will receive a direct subsidy of $15,000 and can apply for up to $15,000 further

• Projects funded under the Project Grant (publication) stream will receive a direct subsidy of $3,000 and can apply for up to $3,000 further

• Projects funded by HKADC under the Cultural Exchange Scheme, and commissioned projects will receive a direct subsidy of $15,000

• Arts projects not funded by HKADC may receive a subsidy of $15,000 by application

• Individual art practitioners may receive a maximum of $7,500 by application

HKADC extended the scheme for two more months, originally from 29 January to 30 April now extended to 30 June.

Click here for more info.

Indonesia

Recovery Approaches

We are not aware of any announcements as at 11 June 2020.

Emergency Support

On 11 May, the Yogyakarta regional government received permission from the central government to use the ‘Privileged Fund’ (Danais) to deal with COVID-19, including a fund of RP 600,000 per month to artists and cultural workers affected by the pandemic.

Click here for more info.

Ireland

Recovery Approaches

16 June, the government announced EUR 25 million recovery package to support the arts and culture sector recover from the COVID-19 emergency. The funding will include bursaries and commissions to artists and arts organisations, and resources for museums and culture workers as they prepare for the reopening of society.

A total of EUR 20 million will be allocated to the Arts Council bringing its allocation this year to EUR 100 million. 

Priority areas for the extra funding include averting the closure of key organisations, expanded commissioning schemes for individual artists and arts organisations across all art forms, and expanded bursary schemes, open to artists and groups of artists to develop their professional practice.

Separately, EUR 5 million has been set aside for measures including securing the future of key cultural and museum spaces and the production of high-quality digital art and online performances.

18 May, The Arts Council of Ireland announced the publication of guidelines for reopening of arts centres:

• Phase 2: 8 June  Phased return of workers

• Phase 3: 29 June Return to organisations of employees who have low levels of daily interaction and where social - distancing can be maintained.  

• Phase 4: 20 July  Return to organisations of employees who cannot work remotely.  The re-opening of museums, galleries, and other cultural outlets - where people are non-stationary and social  distancing can be maintained.  

• Phase 5: 10 August Resumption of  'Higher risk' organisations which by their nature cannot easily maintain social distancing. Plans are to be implemented on how they may progress towards onsite return of full staff . This will include the re-opening of theatres and cinemas where social distancing can be maintained.  

The Irish government have a dedicated COVID-19 information page for further information, advice and guidelines which isupdated daily.

Digital Actions

3 April,  Ireland and Culture Ireland will match funding of €100k support with Facebook Ireland for the online showcasing of artists’ work.

The Department of Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltach is partnering with RTÉ, TG4 and others to bring a broad range of cultural, heritage and language content to the public from archive as well as new sources in partnership with organisations such as Druid and Other Voices.

Emergency Support

The Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection is offering a COVID-19 Pandemic Unemployment Payment for people who have lost work due to a downturn in economic activity caused by the crisis. This delivers income support to the unemployed, including self-employed people, for six-weeks. During this period, you can apply for a full Jobseekers payment and receive any additional entitlements backdated.

Those diagnosed with COVID-19 or who have to self-isolate can apply for the Illness Benefit for COVID-19 absences paid at 305 euros per week. This is available to employees and the self-employed.

On 3 April the Arts Council Ireland launched a EUR 1 million fund ‘Arts Council COVID-19 Crisis Response Award,’ to support the creation of new artistic work and its dissemination online for the public benefit.

• The Arts Council is also creating a new digital platform so people can experience artworks in their own homes

• The fund will be made up of 50% from the Arts Council’s existing budgets, and 50% from the Department of Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht

• Successful applicants will be awarded EUR 3,000.

Other initiatives include:

• Department through Culture Ireland match funding EUR 100,000 support with Facebook Ireland for the online showcasing of artists’ work

• Partnering with RTE, TG4 and others to bring cultural content to the public from the archive and new sources in partnership with organisations such as Druid and Other Voices

• Abbey Theatre commissioning writing and performance of 50 new monologues during April

• a new Creative Ireland partnership with Healthy Ireland to promote wellbeing and creativity, including sharing of new Design & Crafts Council Ireland online resources to engage young people and adults in home-based making activities

• TG4 to partner with Comhaltas Ceoltóirí Éireann for a reimagined Fleadh Ceoil and TG4 Molscéal to showcase language-based Arts and stories from Gaeltacht communities in collaboration with Ealaín na Gaeltachta, TechSpace and others

The Arts Council has also previously said that:

• It will honour all funding commitments and allow grantees to draw down 90% of their funding to allow them to fulfil their commitments, especially contracts with artists.

• There will be no penalties for grantees who cannot deliver key activities because of COVID-19.

Click here for more info about the COVID-19 unemployment benefits.

Click here for info on the new Crisis Response Award.

Click here for more info about Arts Council of Ireland’s response.

Italy

Recovery Approaches

Phase 2

As at 1 June, the Italian government website lists the following guidelines in regard to the resumption of cultural activities:

• Shows at theatres, concert halls, cinemas and other open spaces will remain suspended until 14 June 2020. From 15 June 2020, these shows will be held with pre-assigned and spaced seats and compliance with the interpersonal distance of at least one meter with  a maximum number of 1000 of spectators for outdoor performances and 200 people for shows indoors. 

• Activities that take place in dance halls and discos and similar establishments, outdoors or indoors, fairs and conferences remain suspended.

Click here for further information (in Italian)

Emergency Support

Italy has announced EUR 25 billion in stimulus including:

• bank loan guarantees for small and medium businesses

• tax deferrals

• one-off payments to self-employed people

For the cultural sector:

• EUR 130 million in 2020 in the Live Show, Cinema and AV Emergency Fund for the support of cultural workers. The Minister for Culture and Tourism will determine how to allocate the fund

• Refunds with vouchers for tickets to shows, cinemas, theatres and other cultural venues and hotels

• Workers in tourism, culture, entertainment, film and AV sectors can access extraordinary allowances

• Social safety nets are extended to seasonal workers in tourism and entertainment and interventions in favour of authors, artists, performers and agents

• Suspension of withholding tax payments, social security and welfare contributions and compulsory insurance premiums for those who manage or organise venues, cinemas, museums, arts events, libraries, archives, historical monuments, bars, restaurants, spas, amusement or theme parks, transport services, rental of sports and recreational equipment or structures and equipment for events and shows, guides and tourist assistants

• A campaign to relaunch ‘the image of Italy in the world’ for cultural and tourism purposes

Click here for more info about general actions.

Click here for info about cultural sector actions.

Ivory Coast

Recovery Approaches

We are not aware of any announcements as at 11 June 2020.

Emergency Support

The government has granted aid of CFAF 500 million to artists who are members of the Ivorian copyright bureau (BURIDA). As this is a distribution of rights, not all artists will benefit from it. CFAF 70 million has also been granted in food and non-food items to artists in Côte d'Ivoire in the form of withdrawal vouchers.

Click here for more info.

Japan

Recovery Approaches

• Japan’s Ministry for Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT) website states that as of 25 May the national emergency in Japan was lifted.

• Japan’s Ministry of Health Labour and Welfare outlines in its Basic Policies for Novel Coronavirus Disease Control (Revised on May 25, 2020)  their measures in combating COVID-19 including  some general information in regard to holding events such as concerts, exhibitions, sports games, championships, festivals, etc.

Digital Responses

The Japanese Cabinet’s emergency measures include 1.4 billion JPY for digital content infrastructure.

Emergency Support

The Japanese government has announced:

• $15 billion USD in small business loans

The Cabinet also announced a supplementary budget on 7 April of 6.1 billion JPY (EUR 52 million ) to be allocated to the Agency for Cultural Affairs:

• 2.1 billion JPY (EUR 18 million) for measures against covid-19 aimed at reopening cultural institutions (support up to 4 million JPY (about 34,000 EURO)/case for expense such as installation of infrared camera device, disinfectant, etc. preparing for reopening)

• 1.4 billion JPY (EUR 12 million) for digital content infrastructure (see above)

• 1.3 billion JPY (EUR 11 million) for two projects called “Art Caravan” and “creating opportunity for children’s arts and culture experience” respectively.

The supplementary budget also includes an allocation of 87.8 billion JPY (EUR 750 million ) for “Global demand creation and promotion of content business”, a new joint project of the Agency for Cultural Affairs and Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry.

Small and medium sized enterprises whose turnover has decreased by 50% compared to the previous year can apply to “Sustainable Benefits”: 2 million JPY (EUR 17,000) for corporate, 1 million JPY (EUR 8,500) for individual enterprise.

In the meantime, more specific measures to support freelancers in the arts and cultural sector are announced by municipal governments, such as Fukuoka City, which is supporting up to 500,000 JPY (EUR 4,300) per facility for live houses, halls, theatres etc attempting to distribute online contents and taking safety measures.

Click here for more info about loans and here for more info about culture measures.

Lithuania

Recovery Approaches

We are not aware of any announcements as at 11 June 2020.

Emergency Support

The Lithuanian Culture Council has created new funding measures as follows:

• Individual scholarships for cultural or artistic creators: individual developers will be able to receive a 3 months scholarship for the development of individual creative activities. (>300 artists should receive this). This means that the second and third educational scholarship grant rounds are cancelled. Developers with relevant activities will be invited to submit for the new grant round.

• Funding for cultural NGOs: EUR 1.2 million program for cultural organisations has been created (I think - this is via Google translate…)

• Other grant programs are suspended until the end of the quarantine, and applicants will be invited to apply for the new funding measures

• EUR 700,000 will be allocated from the Copyright and Related Rights Protection Program to compensate for losses incurred by cultural workers.

• The Culture Council has also started talking to funded organisations about adjusting projects, reallocating funding and postponing some activities or reorienting others. These organisations will receive 100% of the 2020 funds rather than 90% this year.

Please see the Lithuanian Culture Council for more details.

Luxembourg

Recovery Approaches

We are not aware of any announcements as at 11 June 2020.

Emergency Support

The government of Luxembourg has amended its social assistance laws so that in the event of pandemics and terrorist attacks, the government has:

• extending social assistance scheme to independent and freelance professional performing artists with the possibility of a monthly social assistance benefit up to the minimum social wage for qualified persons, and additional daily allowances (up to 20 per month)

• reducing the income conditions normally required to be able to access aid schemes in proportion to the duration of the exceptional event (7 days per month during which the situation occurs)

• grants for cancelled projects will not have to be repaid as long as the commitments to artists are still met for the most part

• the Ministry of Culture will continue to fund new projects, with a focus on projects that can occur despite the pandemic, or requests from entities or artists in difficulty following the cancellation of a project

• Cultural companies can also access partial unemployment benefits via the Employment Fund, which can cover 80% of normal salary (capped at 250% the minimum wage) for a most 1,022 hours per employee

• Recoverable advances are also available to cover the loss of income of small and medium-sized enterprises and the self-employed

12 June, The Luxembourg Ministry of Culture announced  an extension of its aid via the independent and intermittent professional performing artists scheme until August 31, 2020. 

Click here for more info.

Malaysia

Recovery Approaches

We are not aware of any announcements as at 11 June 2020.

Digital Actions

Music from Home, an initiative of the Ministry of Communications and Multimedia Malaysia in collaboration with the Malaysian Music Committee, saw 300 artistes and musicians perform a series of virtual concerts on  8 April. The project provided a platform for artists to continue working and producing digital content to entertain their fans at home.   Click here to read about this project (In Malay)

Emergency Support

The Communications and Multimedia Ministry (KKMM) has allocated RM1.32 million (US$302,884) as an Incentive Feature Film initiative (ITFC) in response to a proposal from the National Film Development Corporation Malaysia (Finas) to help film producers and encourage them to continue producing local films.

16 April  A recovery programme introduced to support Malaysian artists, collectives and arts organisations

• A new programme, called Create Now Funding, operating under the auspices of  CENDANA (Cultural Economy Development Agency) will provide immediate response grants of up to RM 1,500 per individual artist/cultural worker and, RM 3,500 per collective/arts organisation.

• Additional new grant programmes introduced by CENDANA include;

• Visual Arts INSPIRE, to support exploration process and research excursion

• Visual Arts SHOWCASE, to support  the contemporary expression of visual art through independent, alternative and experimental art venues

• Independent Music Funding Programme, which supports development and creation of new original or adapted works, live showcases and creation of digital content. 

These programmes will be rolled out on April 14. For further information click here

Mali

Recovery Approaches

We are not aware of any announcements as at 11 June 2020.

Emergency Support

Fonds Maaya has established a Support Fund for Cultural Organisations to maintain organisations during the pandemic, with a maximum of FCFA 5 million per cultural organisation.

Malta

Recovery Approaches

We are not aware of any announcements as at 11 June 2020.

Digital Actions

17 May The Times Malta discusses the increase in online alternative used by artists, designers, curators and other visual arts practitioners including a proliferation of virtual exhibitions and projects launched on social media although they note that not all experiences translate to the screen and for some projects there have been some expensive delays

Emergency Support

The Arts Council Malta has announced that the government has supported a Self-Employed In Creative Arts COVID-19 Wage Supplement. 

People working in the creative arts –whether full-time employees or self-employed/freelance – are entitled to a monthly supplement of EUR 800. Part-time employees within the creative artssector are entitled to a monthly supplement of EUR 500. An updated Wage Supplement scheme will remain in place until September 2020. The benefit rate from July 2020 will be EUR 800 for full-timers and EUR 500 for part-timers to support areas involved with tourist accommodation, travel agencies, language schools, event organisation and air transport. For more info click here 

Creative practitioners working in the sectors which are originally considered to have been adversely, but not drastically, affected were to beentitled to a monthly supplement of EUR 160 in the case of full-time employees, EUR 100 in the case of part-time employees, and EUR 320 in the case of self-employed/freelancers. These sectors include publishing; motion picture, video and television programming; cultural education; photography and radiobroadcasting. 

Furthermore, Arts Council Malta issued a special call for the Malta Arts Fund, the most established funding programme for the arts in Malta. This call provides a fund of EUR 75,000 for artists and practitioners to develop projects which address the cultural and creative sector as impacted by the situation. This call encourages artists to consider various pertinent themes – including borders, confinement and isolation – within their projects.

7 May, Arts funding scheme

EUR 75,000 has been awarded to 11 applicants as part of a special COVID-19 Arts Council Malta funding scheme, launched to address the financial impact of the pandemic on creative and cultural practitioners, groups and organisations.

Visit Arts Council Malta for updates (25 March).

Mexico

Recovery Approaches

We are not aware of any announcements as at 11 June 2020.

Emergency Support

The Ministry of Culture has:

• instructed its cultural entities to allocate up to MXN $1 million for artists and local creators, totalling to up to MXN $32 million nationwide

• announced a ‘function bank’ so that artists etc who were hired from March 20 to April 20 can receive payments on time and replace their presentations with remote presentations or postponements

• offered up to MXN $200,000 for cultural programming and $1 million for cultural infrastructure renovations or equipment of buildings

• offered up to MXN $5 million for financing cultural construction projects and equipping buildings

The Ministry has also opened a call entitled “With you in the distance: Art movement at home.”

• Creators over 22 years of age, with a three year or more track record, can participate

• Selected creators will receive MXN $20,000 in exchange for the dissemination of their work

Click here for more info.

Netherlands

Recovery Approaches

15 June. The Netherlands is taking a step by step approach to easing restrictions. The following outline measures relevant to the cultural sector:

• Libraries are open, observing 1.5 metres social distancing measures.

• Cinemas, theatres and concert halls can admit up to 30 people per auditorium (not counting staff) and must observe social distancing.

• Museums and heritage sites may reopen with restrictions as to the numbers of visitors. Visitors must make reservations.

• Music schools and arts centres can admit up to 30 people to their buildings incorporating social distancing measures.

• Professional dancers, actors, musicians and other performers (except singers and wind instrument players) may practice or rehearse in groups of up to 30, observing social distancing measures.

• Choirs and wind instrument ensembles are advised to await the additional advice from medical experts and not to start rehearsing together yet.

For further details please see the Government of Netherlands website

Digital Actions

On 12 May the Performing Arts Fund announced a broadening of the 2P scheme to include digital initiatives aimed at special public outreach. Click here for further information (in Dutch)

Emergency Support

12 May Additional Funding

The Performing Arts Fund is the cultural fund for music, music theatre, dance, theatre, and festivals in the Netherlands. The Fund provides support to all forms of professional performing arts on behalf of the national government.

The fund has announced additional measures to the EUR 300 million made available to the cultural sector in April. These include:

• A doubling of the budget for music authors to EUR 532,000 and an increase in the budget to theatre authors by EUR 75,000

• The temporary Balcony Scenes scheme which has a budget of EUR 500,000 and is aimed at individual performing artists such as directors, actors, choreographers, dancers, musicians, but also music and theatre authors. Applications can be submitted continuously from May 18, 2020. 

• Broadening the 2P scheme for digital initiatives (see above)

For more info click here.

On 15 April the Netherlands government announced an extra EUR 300 million for the cultural sector. The EUR 300 million has four elements:

• increase subsidies for institutions and festivals

• increase existing loan facilities at the National Restoration Fund for national monuments

• funding for the six government culture funds to support crucial institutions in the value chain, especially in regions and cities, such as important municipal and regional museums, venues and cinemas

• Increase the loan facilities at Cultuur + Ondernemen (crucial for-profit parties in the value chain such as producers, commercial festivals / galleries can go here)

Previous support measures are the general package the government passed in March, including:

• shorter working hours

• extra support for self-employed people

• tax measures

• leniency package for cultural sector - suspension of rent for government-subsidised museums, advance payment of subsidies

For more info, click here.

New Zealand

Recovery Approaches

11 June New Zealand are operating on alert Level 1, the final stage in their phased recovery. There are currently no restrictions on gatherings. This includes public and private events and gatherings as well as sports and cultural activities. There are no limits on numbers of participants nor are there any physical distancing requirements.

Attendees should have access to appropriate hand washing facilities with soap and water, and the ability to dry their hands thoroughly as well as an alcohol-based hand sanitiser.

For further details click here

On 28 and 29 May, NZ announced NZD $275 million rescue package for the arts, including:

• Careers Support for Creative Jobseekers program: $7.9 million

• Creative Arts Recovery and Employment Fund: $70m over three years for supporting the rebuild of the creative industries by commissioning and supporting creative projects at a national and local level.

• Cultural Innovation Fund: $60m over three years for a contestable fund to support new ways of operating, cross-sector partnerships, and create new ways to add value to the economy, particularly through digital exports. This will include supporting innovative approaches to Māori artforms and traditional knowledge.

• Cultural Capability Fund: $20m for a focus on immediate needs in response to Covid-19, such as legal services, online delivery and audience development.

• New Zealand Music Recovery Fund: $16.5 million specifically directed towards the contemporary popular music industry (including $7.1m to boost NZ on Air's New Music programmes, $5m for a Live Music Touring Fund, $3m immediate support for safe music venues which will be administered by the NZ Music Commission, and $1.4m to help musicians recoup lost income via Outward Sounds and NZ Music Month.)

• $25 million for Creative NZ

• $1.4 million for Antarctic Heritage Trust

• $11.364 million to Heritage NZ Pouhere Taonga

• $18 million for the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa

• $2 million for the Museum Hardship Fund to be administered by Te Papa National

• $31.8 million for Ngā Taonga Sound & Vision (including funding to prevent the loss of the audio and visual collection which is rapidly deteriorating)

• $2.03 million for Royal New Zealand Ballet

• $4 million for Waitangi National Trust Board

12 June

The New Zealand Government is spending an extra $4 million on boosting the creative learning programme for kids in schools, providing jobs for 300 artists.

The programme pairs experienced artists and creatives with school children, to teach them how to express themselves creatively through art, dance, drama and music.

For further info click here

Emergency Support

On 17 April, Creative NZ launched a ‘Thankful for Art’ campaign encouraging the public to express the love they have for the arts. #TFA.

Creative NZ has announced a $16 million Emergency Response Package in emergency funding for 80 arts organisations and ‘resilience grants’ for artists. The agency has also suspended all currently open funding programs. The funding will be opened from 14 April, distributed to the sector through to 30 June. It includes $4.5 million in new money plus $11.5 million repurposed from other funding. Phase 2 will for post-June 2020 will be explored at the April Arts Council meeting.

The Emergency Response Package includes two initial components:

1. Resilience Grants for eligible artists, arts practitioners, arts groups and arts organisations (non-investment clients):

   • Arts Continuity Grant (up to $50k), supporting the creation of new work or the reframing of an existing project in light of COVID-19, including creative and professional development, promotion and distribution (eg, supporting new ways of working).  

   • Emergency Relief Grant (up to $10k per individual), for eligible artists and arts practitioners, collectives and groups who we know may be experiencing devastating loss of income and opportunity and an uncertain future, and who have applied for the announced government support. More details to come – applications will need to include details of the impact of COVID-19 on their arts practice. 

   Creative New Zealand is planning quick application turnarounds and rolling weekly decisions for both the Arts Continuity Grant and Emergency Relief Grant, but will monitor this commitment and the rapidly changing environment.

2. Short term Relief for Investment Clients – open to existing investment clients and on top of existing funding, with priority given to those materially negatively impacted by COVID-19, to help them stabilise their businesses and remain viable. Investment clients are the 83 multi-year funded arts organisations in the Toi Tōtara Haemata and Toi Uru Kahikatea investment programmes.

The NZ government is also offering anyone working in events, entertainment, tourism, hospitality a 12 week wage subsidy.

Danish Finance Ministry’s helpful diagram about all the possible economic supports available.

Thanks to Diane Busittil for sending me this picture. It’s a great example of a simple info card.

Click here for more info.

Northern Ireland

Recovery Approaches

Easing of restrictions

11 June,  The Northern Ireland government website posted the following details relevant to cultural activities;

• Libraries are open with restricted services

• Open air museums may re-open

• Museum and galleries are open

• Concert and theatre rehearsals may resume

• Outdoor concerts are operating  on a restricted basis

• Spectators may attend live events on a restricted basis

• Nightclubs, concerts open on a limited basis

Emergency Support

On 30 March, the Communities Minister announced 1 million pounds for an emergency Creative Support Fund which will enable artists and institutions to present work in new and innovative ways.

Arts Council Northern Ireland have announced that they will:

• Honour all grants already made in 2019/20

• Issue any remaining balance of payments for 2019/20 urgently

• Roll over organisations' 2019-20 grants to 2020/21 thereby enabling advancement of payments

• Work flexibly on contracts for next year, possibly including advanced payments to assist with cashflow

• Ask funded organisations to honour contracts with artists and freelancers

• Discuss with its parent department (Department of Communities) what else could be offered

The Arts Council of Northern Ireland’s is accepting submissions for its Organisations Emergency Scheme until 12 June. The primary objective of the programme is to support the continuance of creative work and assist operational costs where necessary. The programme seeks to assist small to medium scale organisations to explore ways of working that will help them adapt and respond to the current changing circumstances.

It will prioritise applications that:

• Can demonstrate a loss of income as a direct result of COVID-19 

• Can demonstrate urgent operational costs not met by existing income, grant aid or other forms of assistance; these could include overheads and the cost of being operational until 31 March 2021.

Click here for more info.

Norway

Recovery Approaches

As from 7 May, events of up to 50 people will be allowed in public places. Participants must maintain a minimum distance of one metre. 

Private events may be held with a maximum of 20. Participants must maintain a distance of at least one metre.

The ban on events of over 500 participants has been extended until August 31st, 2020.

See the Norwegian government website for further details.

Emergency Support

On 29 May, Norway’s Ministry of Culture announced that the compensation scheme for cultural organizers will be increased, adjusted and extended until 31 August. In addition, individual artists will receive NOK 70 million in a temporary scholarship scheme to be managed by the National Artist's Scholarship. For further updates click here (In Norwegian)

The Arts Council Norway is managing the compensation scheme for the cultural sector which will amount to approx. NOK 300 million, and will be introduced at the same time as a similar scheme for the sports and voluntary sector. The scheme includes measures targeting freelancers, self-employed people and cultural organisations. 

The scheme does not include institutions with operating grants from the state, but the Cultural Council is monitoring the situation closely and knows that the institutions are also heavily affected by COVID-19.

On 25 March, Arts Council Norway also announced that NOK 30 million of the Norwegian Cultural Fund will be set aside in a separate grant scheme for art and cultural projects to must adapt to the crisis. The scheme is funded from unused funds from previous years and redeployment of funds from other schemes. The scheme is intended to:

• stimulate new ways of producing and disseminating art and culture in the ongoing crisis

• contribute to production and dissemination across arts and heritage and will target artists, groups, and distributors

• digital forms of production and dissemination are central, but applicants can also receive subsidies for new physical means of dissemination as long as they abide by the rules for infection control

• support can be received for completely new works and projects that contribute to the reuse of works that have been produced but can now be disseminated on new platforms

• the scheme as retroactive effect, so projects that were developed or implemented after events were restricted by government on 12 March can also apply

• the scheme is expected to have its first deadline in early May, with faster processing times

The fixed grant schemes will continue as normal. The new scheme can be expanded in need is greater than expected.

Visit Arts Council Norway for updates.

Click here for more info about the compensation scheme.

Peru

Recovery Approaches

We are not aware of any announcements as at 11 June 2020.

Emergency Support

The Peruvian government will include artists in the 380 soles voucher which is being granted to all those affected by the pandemic shutdown.

The Philippines

Recovery Approaches

On 7 June the Film Development Council of the Philippines introduced Health and Safety Protocols for the Conduct of Film and Audio-visual Production Shoots and Audio-visual Activities. The following are among the mandatory control measures:

• Reduce the number of workers (maximum of 50).  

• Scripts revisions and production executions to be done without sacrificing health and safety measures. 

• Maintain physical distancing. 

• Employ engineering controls to limit physical contact and personal hygiene. 

• Enforce effective implementation of JAO through Administrative controls.  

• Proper use of PPEs. 

For further details click here

Emergency Support

Thanks to Jodinand Aguillon for this information!

On 18 March, the Philippines Department of Labour and Employment announced that self-employed, under-employed and displaced marginalised workers who have lost their livelihood or earnings have been affected by the pandemic can receive payment for 10 days of ‘work’ involving the disinfection / sanitation of their houses / dwellings and the immediate vicinity.

The following package of services will be provided:

• Payment will comprise 100% of the highest minimum wage for the region

• Enrolment in group micro-insurance

Please see the Department website for details.

The Film Development Council of the Philippines (FDCP) Disaster Assistance and Relief (DEAR) Program has been triggered by the pandemic crisis. This means that:

• individuals who are registered under the National Registry for Audio-Visual Workers (NRAW) who worked, or was scheduled to work in the period, and who are not eligible for regular unemployment benefits, and are of low income status, can receive a one-off flat payment of 8,000 pesos tax-free.

Please see the FDCP website for details.

Poland

Recovery Approaches

After the end of the epidemic, the Minister of Culture and National Heritage plans to announce a large grant program whose main goal will be to revive cultural activities and offset any losses that the cultural sector has suffered through the restrictions. This includes:

• a special compensation program to revive cultural activities and compensate for any losses that the cultural sector has suffered through the restrictions

• an increase in the pool of creative scholarships from 1.5 to at least PLN 6.5 million with the possibility of a second stage of the scholarship competition

• subsidies for cultural institutions 

The Ministry of Culture and National Heritage has posted detailed guidelines on their website regarding the reopening of various institutions. Further information can be accessed here (In Polish)

18 May saw the removal of cultural restrictions that included the resumption of:

•  outdoor cinemas (including car cinemas), while maintain social distance and catering services to be delivered to the car with staff wearing PPE

• work on film sets (including sanitary regulations), with masks to be worn where appropriate

• phonographic and audiovisual recordings in cultural institutions,

• individual classes at art colleges,

• resumption of trials and exercises.

On 30 May The fourth stage of lifting restrictions (in Polish) commenced. It is no longer necessary to cover the nose or mouth when keeping a distance of 2 meters from others. Masks will still be necessary in some confined spaces, including  shops, churches, buses and trams. In addition, cinemas, theatres, gyms and massage salons, will reopen in accordance with a strict sanitary regime. 

On 2 June, the Ministry of Culture and National Heritage released guidelines applicable to those organizing cultural and entertainment events during the epidemic.

These guidelines detail information under the following headings:

1. Internal rules of the event organizer.

2. Principles of artistic and executive work.

3. Information policy for event participants.

4. Audience organization rules.

5. Safety rules at the event site.

6. Conducting catering and commercial activities during the event.

7. Additional procedures for outdoor events.

8. Procedures to be followed in the event of confirmation of a participant's SARS-CoV-2 infection or event handling.

For further information click here (in Polish)

Digital Actions

On 28 April the Minister of Culture and National Heritage outlined the "Culture on the Web" grant and scholarship program for the dissemination of creative activities or the presentation of its effects in electronic communication channels, primarily on the Internet. The total project budget is PLN 80 million of which PLN 20 million is allocated directly to scholarships for creators, and PLN 60 million for the implementation of projects by institutions. 

9 June. The Ministry of Culture and National Heritage outlined an initiative to collect documentation from anyone who wishes to share their experiences during the pandemic. Documentation can be sent electronically or by traditional means to the selected State Archives or its branch with the view that all submissions will be made available online.

A competition will be run in conjunction with this campaign; 'For tempora, o mores! Notes from a family archivist from the AD 2020 pandemic caused by a coronavirus. "Its purpose is to document events, experiences, emotions, and everyday life in an individual and family dimension. The reports created within it will serve to consolidate, preserve and disseminate the evidence of this year's pandemic.

You can read more about these initiatives here (in Polish)

Emergency Support

The Polish government introduced the Anti-Crisis Shield which includes support to cover 40% of salaries of employees up to the amount of the national average wage, and for self-employed or contract workers, up to 80% of the minimum wage [I might have got this wrong via Google Translate]

Specific to the cultural sector, the total value of support for the cultural sector in various forms may have a value of up to PLN 4 billion (EUR 900 million).

• A new ‘Creativity on the Internet’ grant program: grants for the development of digital forms of artistic presentation (PLN 20 million)

• Additional program to compensate for losses to culture in connection with the pandemic after its conclusion

• Flexible approach to the implementation and settlements of tasks required under the Minister’s programs

• Allowing film premieres on VOD platforms and the Internet

• Extending deadlines and simplifying procedures for applications for financial support for AV productions

• Social assistance for artists: Social assistance from the Culture Promotion Fund can be obtained by artists who are in a difficult financial situation. The Minister of Culture and National Heritage has made efforts to increase the funds allocated to social assistance for artists and cultural professionals. 

• Change the regulations on film and audiovisual production, indicating that “film” is also a production that has not been shown in the cinema. This is to enable the the audiovisual sector to receive grants/subsidies from the Polish Film Institute also for audiovisual productions which will be presented on digital platforms (VOD).

• Financing of institutions to be maintained at an unchanged level.

• Directors of cultural institutions to pay additional remuneration to artists for "substitute" work carried out outside the institution's premises.

• Local self-government officials encouraged to reduce rents of municipal premises

Click here for more info.

Portugal

Recovery Approaches

We are not aware of any announcements as at 11 June 2020.

Emergency Support

Portugal has taken several steps to establish exceptional and temporary measures to provide a response to the COVID-19 pandemic in the cultural and artistic domains, especially concerning the cancellation of performances and similar events.  

• The Ministry of Culture has launched a call for all performing arts - independent artists and groups - to provide financial support through new projects; the available fund is EUR 1 million.

• The Arts Directorate General maintains payments to the supported entities.

• Radio-Television Portugal (RTP) is launching a support package for independent audiovisual production. There is also a Covid-19 line of credit for small and micro enterprises in most banks.

Please click here for more info.

Romania

Recovery Approaches

We are not aware of any announcements as at 11 June 2020.

Emergency Support

Artists and cultural workers are able to apply for compensation representing 75% of there average gross national wage.

Scotland

Recovery Approaches

29 May, Scotland moved to Phase 1 of the route map for moving out of lockdown. Current advice posted on the Scottish Government website includes:

Protect yourself and others:

• stay at home

• only go outside for essential food, health and work reasons

• stay 2 metres (6 feet) away from other people

• wash your hands regularly and as soon as you get home

For further information click here

Emergency Support

On Friday 27 March, Creative Scotland launched:

• The Creative Scotland Bridging Bursary Fund for freelance creative professionals who have lost earnings due to the cancellation of work as a result of COVID-19, particularly those who are least likely to benefit from the government’s Job Retention Scheme and the Self-Employment Income Support Scheme. The Fund will offer one-off payments of between £500 and £2,500 to help support immediate needs, opening Monday 30 March. The Fund is now closed, and was originally funded at £2 million but received an extra £1 million from the Scottish government (see below) and £1 million from the Freehills Foundation, ultimately making the total available £4 million.

• A parallel £1.5 million Screen Scotland Bridging Bursary Fund will provide one-off bursary support to self-employed screen sector workers

Creative Scotland also repurposed its Open Project Fund as The Open Fund: Sustaining Creative Development to provide support for individuals and organisations to sustain their creative development in the coming months. 

• The £7.5 million Fund is a revised approach to Creative Scotland’s Open Project Fund

• Applicants are encouraged to use funding to explore how best to sustain their practice, and reimagine their work, during the current climate and in the months to come. 

• Funds may also be used for the development and presentation of work. 

• The Fund will support up to 12 months of activity with a maximum award of £50,000. 

• Applications to the fund will open on Friday 3 April.

Creative Scotland is also:

• Asking regularly funded organisations and other grant recipients to honour their contracts with freelancers and artists

• Honouring all funding awards already committed, regardless of whether the project is cancelled, reduced or rescheduled

Culture Counts is hosting a survey open until May 2020 which is for Scotland’s artists and organisations to report the impact of COVID-19.

On 21 April the Scottish government also announced  £100 million to support the self-employed and SMEs as follows:

• £34 million Newly Self-Employed Hardship Fund, managed by Local Authorities, will be allocated to the newly self-employed facing hardship through £2,000 grants

• £20 million Creative, Tourism & Hospitality Enterprises Hardship Fund, managed by the Enterprise Agencies in partnership with Creative Scotland and VisitScotland for creative, tourism and hospitality companies not in receipt of business rates relief. Companies of up to 50 employees not receiving business rates relief will have rapid access to £3,000 hardship grants or larger grants up to £25,000 where it can be demonstrated support is needed.

• £45 million Pivotal Enterprise Resilience Fund, managed by the Enterprise Agencies for vulnerable SME firms who are vital to the local or national economic foundations of Scotland

This announcement also includes an additional  £1 million to top up the Creative Scotland Bridging Bursary Fund.

Click here for more info.

Singapore

Recovery Approaches

15 June. The Singapore government announced they would commence phase 2 of reopening from June 18. Click here for full details of resumptions and safe management principles.

Digital Actions

The Digital Presentation Grant (DPG) for the arts is a time-limited scheme for artists and art organisations to present their work in digital form or via digital mediums, during the COVID-19 period. Successful applicants may receive up to $20,000 per project. Projects should be completed by 31 December 2020. 

Emergency Support

On 26 March, the Singapore government announced an additional SGD $55 million for the arts and culture sector. The funds will be used as follows:

• the National Arts Council of Singapore (NAC) will provide funding for major companies and leading arts groups to retain jobs

•  NAC will further enhance the Capability Development Scheme for the Arts (CDSA) to support the upskilling and professional development of arts organisations and practitioners

• the Ministry of Culture, Community and Youth (MCCY), NAC, and the National Heritage Board will administer a new Fund for Digitisation of Arts and Culture Content to support arts and cultural institutions, organisations and practitioners to present works digitally, offer new experiences for audiences, and create new economic opportunities 

This announcement follows the earlier allocation by the National Arts Council of Singapore SGD $1.6 million for two new initiatives that will help arts groups a) improve their skills, and b) ease expenses incurred from shows being cancelled or postponed.

• A one-time Capability Development Scheme for the Arts to encourage upskilling

• Venue Hire Subsidy of 30% for venue rental and associated costs for activities occurring between 7 March and 30 June 2020.

These initiatives are part of the government’s Support and Stabilisation Package, which also includes:

• new Self-Employed Persons training support scheme (delivered by the Ministry of Manpower). Under this, all self-employed persons will be paid an hourly $7.50 SGD training allowance when attending eligible programs.

Click here for more info about the Ministry’s funding response.

Click here for more info from the National Arts Council of Singapore.

See the Singapore government’s Supplementary Budget Statement Annex B-8 for more information about the SGD $55 million package.

The Singapore government has released further details on their measures to sustain the arts during COVID-19:

• On April 6th with a subsequent update on 21 April, the government announced it would co-fund  a 25% wage support scheme for local employees for a period of nine months. This support will be increased to 75% for the month of April and May. Additional jobs support for arts and culture will be announced at a later date.

• Enhanced rental waivers – eligible tenants and arts organisations that are Registered Charities on MCCY-owned properties, will receive up to two months of rental waivers under the Arts and Culture Resilience Package. In addition, all non-residential tenants on government-owned properties who do not qualify for the two months of waiver will receive 1 month of rental waiver. 

• From 8 April 2020 onwards, the Capability Development Scheme for the Arts (CDSA) will be enhanced, benefitting a wider range of arts organisations and professionals. The enhancements include increasing the funding level for arts organisations and SEPs and extending training programmes until 31 December.

For further details on these recovery measures including digital actions click here

Slovenia

Recovery Approaches

30 April, the Slovenian government have published guidelines for the gradual opening of museums and galleriesand libraries (In Slovenian)

Emergency Support

The Slovenian government has announced:

• self-employed cultural workers will receive a three-month basic income. They will receive $350 for the month of March if they prove a decline in income of at least 25% compared to February 2020, and for April and May they will receive $700 each if they can prove a decline in income compared to February 2020 of at least 50%. The State will also cover their social security contributions for these three months.

• NGOS are entitled, like other employers, to government reimbursement of workers’ wages if they are unable to provide them with work as a result of the pandemic

Please see the Slovenian government website for details.

South Africa

Recovery Approaches

South Africa is on Alert level three with restrictions on many activities including workplaces and social interactions. For a detailed list of current measures posted on the South African government website click here

Emergency Support

On 25 March the Department of Sports, Arts and Culture has announced a relief fund of R150 million for artists, athletes and technical personnel and the core ecosystem that supports them. As at 30 May, the MECs of Sport, Arts and Culture in all provinces have since announced the provincial relief funds to assist athletes and artists at that level. These Funds amount to more than R50 million combined. For further details click here

• DSAC-funded projects that had to be cancelled will be compensated for the expenditure incurred (DSAC reserves the right to determine a flat rate fee for all such beneficiaries)

• DSAC-funded institutions whose productions have been cancelled. from March-June will pay the artists and practitioners already booked

• Cancelled non-DSAC-funded projects can apply for Relief Assistance if they have a national footprint, particularly involving creatives from various provinces.

• DSAC will continue to accept spontaneous project proposals for the use of online solutions “The 4th Industrial Revolution” until 4 April. These concepts should respond to the effect of COVID-19 on the sport, arts and culture sectors with digital platforms, VOD ideas (Video on Demand), streaming, podcasts, social media, webinars, short animations and documentaries, etc. Compensation will be in the form of a flat rate payment, to be included in the proposal

Visit the Department website for details.

South Korea

Recovery Approaches

On 8 May the government announced:

• Financial support for the planning and production of performances at small theaters for up to 200 theaters, with up to 60 million won for each theater

• Financial support for the performance production of artists and arts companies for up to 160 companies. The support will range between 20 million won and 200 million won

• Support for ticket prices paid by the audience. Each box office will be provided with 3 million discount coupons worth 8,000 won per person

For further details click here

Emergency Support

Thank you to Jebaek Oh from the Korea Arts Management Service for this update (13 April).

South Korea has announced an emergency financial aid package worth KRW 100 trillion aimed at small businesses, medium sized companies and the self-employed. Assistance includes:

• eligibility of small businesses for loans with low interest rates

• loan guarantee program

• extensions on loan payments

• job retraining

• childcare subsidies

• financial support for paid leave for those hospitalised or isolated due to COVID-19

• household relief funding, alleviation of social security contributions and electricity bills

• early payment of tax refunds

Special support for the arts includes: 

• Emergency Livelihood Stabilization Loan for Artists (closed on March 10) - loans at the rate of 1.2% / loan amount limited to 10 million won / term unredeemed of two years and repayment period of three years

• Creative Reserve Fund Support Project - Creative Steppingstone (closed on March 20). A total of 12,000 artists selected for the creative reserve fund support project / 3 million won for each person

• Support available from 3 April 2020:

  • COVID-19 Special Loan for Artists: emergency support for artists suffering from financial difficulties due to cancellation or delay of performances. Loan Limit: 10 million won; Loan Interest: Annual rate of 1.2% (additional 3% for overdue payment)

  • Support for business categories that are eligible for special employment support (e.g. tourism and performing arts) (Ministry of Employment and Labor)

    • Employment Maintenance Support Fund: Utilizing the employment maintenance support fund and other resources that are necessary for stabilizing employment and unemployed persons’ livelihood within the national budget, the government has eased criteria while providing more support (up to 90% of the business suspension allowance and leave allowance (up to 70,000 won a day))

    • Loan for On-the-Job Training and Living Expenses: Loan of 2 million won per month, up to 10 million won per person, up to 20 million won for business categories eligible for the government’s special support for employment; annual rate of 1% (credit guarantee fee not included) / maximum term unredeemed of three years / maximum repayment period of five years (monthly redemption by instalment)

    • Loans for Stabilization of Workers’ Livelihood: The government has eased criteria (e.g. income level) for loans intended to help workers stabilize their livelihood. Such loans could be used for their medical services and children’s education as well as for their living expenses that have become burdensome due to their decreasing income. It has also broadened the scope of those who are eligible while increasing the maximum amount of the loans.

As at 8 May, the government updated its planned support strategies for the Korean Art sector. Measures include the COVID-19 Emergency Employment Stabilization Support Fund for freelancers, small business owners, unpaid leave, etc. 500,000 won per month x 3 months + Employment Services.

In addition, the Korea Arts Management Service:

• has set up a COVID-19 Information Desk for the Performing Arts

• offers supply of cleaning and disinfection products to small private theatres (with 300 seats or less) 

• is planning to offer support for the venue rental fee of performing arts companies hit by COVID-19

• is offering financial support for the planning and production of performances at small theatres - the government will support 200 theatres, providing up to 60 million won for each theatre. This is to help the theatres produce and promote their special performances

• is offering financial support for the performance production of artists and arts companies. The government will support 160 companies. The support will range between 20 million won and 200 million won, depending on the companies’ conditions including their size

• is offering support for ticket prices paid by the audience. Each box office will be provided with 3 million discount coupons worth 8,000 won per person

As of 8 April, the Seoul Foundation for Arts and Culture has allocated additional budget of 4.5 billion won in order to provide emergency support for artists (arts companies), art educators and planners (min. 500,000 won to max. 20 million won). This includes:

• “Emergency Support for the Arts Hit by COVID-19" for those in the arts and culture scene including artists (arts companies) and planners. 

• "Emergency Support for Art Education, Research and Online Content Production" supporting art educators and project groups. 

• "Emergency Support for Cultural Planning of Artists" supporting freelancers and planners.

• "Artists’ Secrets of Dealing with a Disaster" collecting and supporting artists’ ideas of how to cope with disasters including COVID-19. 

• "Production and Distribution of Barrier-Free Performance Videos" inviting the audience to enjoy this season’s performances at Namsan Arts Center without any barrier.

For more information please visit The APRO website.

Spain

Recovery Approaches

We are not aware of any announcements as at 11 June 2020.

Emergency Support

At the municipal and provincial levels the following steps have been taken for culture:

• The Generalitat Catalunya announced €10 million in aid on March 20, which it then reassessed at €31 million on April 14, as it considered that the first amount was insufficient to tackle the scale of the crisis

• The Basque Government will provide financial support of €2.5 million to the cultural sector

• The Community of Madrid also announced measures to support arts and culture

Click here for more info.

Sweden

Recovery Approaches

On 29 March, the Swedish government limited public gatherings and public events to a maximum number of 50 participants.

Click here for further information

Emergency Support

The Swedish government has announced SEK 500 million in urgent support for culture. Sport will also receive the same amount.

The emergency support will be distributed to organisers, associations and individual cultural creators directly affected by cancellations due to the pandemic.

Visit the Department of Culture for more info.

Switzerland

Recovery Approaches

On 6 June, the federal government announced that measures to combat the corona virus will be relaxed.Events can now be held with a maximum of 300 people or up to 30 people attending a spontaneous meeting. All leisure activities and tourist services may resume. Hygiene and distance rules must be observed. If the distance rules cannot be adhered to, the tracking of close personal contacts (contact tracing) must be ensured, for example with presence lists.

For further details click here (in German)

Digital Actions

The Swiss arts council Pro Helvetia  has launched a call for its  Close Distance initiative. The aim of the project is to encourage arts practitioners and cultural institutions to initiate new forms of collaboration and new forms of connection with audiences or to intensify existing ones – within Switzerland or in cooperation with international partners. Experimental formats of artistic collaboration and reflection, as well as international networking, partnerships and platforms are of special interest in this context. The aim is to support and stimulate the creation of new formats which can be maintained beyond the crisis and which demonstrate that physical mobility need no longer be a prerequisite for cultural production and reception. A selected project can be supported with a grant of up to CHF 50,000 ($US 51,355).  

Emergency Support

The Swiss government announced general measures which relate to the cultural sector, incliuding:

• Compensation for self-employed people who suffer loss of earnings due to official measures to combat COVID-19 (80% of income and a maximum of CHF 196 per day)

• Expansion of the ‘short-term work allowance’ for employees on fixed-term contracts or temporary workers in organisations, and employer-like employees (e.g. partners of a company who work as employees in the company for a fee), and people who work for their spouse/partner. They can claim a flat rate of CHF 3320 as short-time work compensation for a full-time position

• Guarantees for bank loans to SMEs. Affected companies can receive loans of up to 10% or sales or a maximum of CHF 20 million quickly and easily. Amounts of up to CHF 0.5 million are to be paid out immediately and 100% guaranteed by government. This should cover more than 90% of businesses.

The Swiss government also announced specific emergency support for the cultural sector of CHF 280 million in emergency aid and loss compensation:

• Interest-free loans to ensure liquidity for NFP cultural organisations up to 30% of the annual income (implemented at the canton-level)

• Cultural workers can receive emergency aid to cover the immediate cost of living to a maximum of CHF 196 per day (implemented by the Suisseculture Sociale association). This can occur for up to three months, and supplements the general economic measures on loss of earnings, because the ‘incomes of cultural workers are generally low and the compensation according to the (wider economy package) cannot always cover the cost of living for cultural workers. ‘Cultural workers’ are those who work full-time in the cultural sector and finance at least half their livelihood with their cultural activities or spend at least half of their normal working hours on cultural activities, and includes technical personnel.

• Cultural organisations and artists can receive grants to cover the financial damage associated with cancellation or postponement of events and projects or company closures, up to 80% of the financial loss (excluding lost profits) (implemented at the canton-level)

• Cultural associations in the ‘lay’ sector can receive financial aid for financial damage associated with cancellation or postponement of events, up to CHF 10,000 our cultural association (implemented by the Federal Office of Culture)

The loan facility for the NFP cultural sector is in addition to the wider economic package. NFP cultural companies do not consistently have a uniform company ID number, which technically excludes them from the liquidity facility for the overall economy.

On 13 May the Federal Council extended support for the cultural sector by four months until September 20. All major events with more than 1,000 people will remain banned at least until the end of August 2020 and numerous cultural institutions will be closed until at least June 8, 2020. The total amount remains at CHF 280 million for the time being (as per the announcement on 20 March). Funds previously used to finance interest-free loans for cultural companies are now being partially allocated to the default compensation.

Swiss Federal Office of Culture (In German)

Click here for more info. And feel free to correct me - I used Google Translate and my very basic German!

Taiwan

Recovery Approaches

We are not aware of any announcements as at 11 June 2020.

Emergency Support

On 2 April, the COVID-19 relief budget for the arts was expanded to NT$5.22 billion. The Ministry of Culture is providing “Arts and Culture Relief 1.0 and 2.0”. This includes:

• subsidising a portion of business wages for April-June along with a one-time working capital injection (Arts and Culture Relief 1.0)

• subsidies for individuals under the Ministry of Labor’s “Living Allowances for the Self-Employed and Those Without Fixed Employers,” offering a monthly payment of NT$10,000 per person April-June

• The Ministry of Culture will also review production or other sunk costs and increase aid accordingly to a maximum total of NT$60,000 per person (not eligible if receiving the above living allowances)

• Workers in the arts and culture who receive labor insurance coverage through trade unions, have insured pay of less than NT$24,000, and whose personal income did not meet the taxable standard in 2018, may additionally receive a living allowance of up to NT$30,000 from the Ministry of Labor

• Arts and cultural workers who have not applied for Ministry of Labor’s program can provide evidence to Ministry of Culture of impact and apply for the “Subsidy for Reducing Operational Difficulties” April-June

For struggling arts and culture businesses that employ a large number of staff and are seeing substantial jumps in operational costs or over 50% drops in revenue January-June, a second category of “Subsidies for Staff and operational Costs for Struggling Businesses” is available April-June:

• Up to NT$20,000 per employee plus one-time working capital injection

• Not subject to same NT$2.5 million cap as the “Business and Personal Subsidies” category

• The recipient business may not furlough or lay off staff

Please click here for more info.

Tunisia

Recovery Approaches

We are not aware of any announcements as at 11 June 2020.

Emergency Support

The Tunisian government has established “The Culture Recovery Fund” (FRC). The Fund combines public and private endowment:

• March-May 2020: financial aid for arts professionals placated by the crisis

• From June 2020: possibility of additional assistance and contribution to costs of structures impacted by restrictive measures

• Contribution to damage due to postponements or cancellations

Click here for more info about the Fonds Relance Culture (FRC).

UAE

Recovery Approaches

We are not aware of any announcements as at 11 June 2020.

Emergency Support

On 14 May the Ministry of Culture and Knowledge Development launched the “National Creative Relief Program” to support creatives working in the cultural and creative industries to face the COVID-19 challenges. The program will provide grants to independent artists, small businesses and creative entrepreneurs in the fields of cultural and creative industries.

USA

Recovery Approaches

The USA government has posted a three phase approach to opening up America. These guidelines will be utilised by state and local officials as they reopen their economies and get people back to work

Digital Actions

8 June, In response to COVID-19, Americans for the Arts has introduced  an online tool, the Arts Agency Action Kit, to assist  local arts agencies and organisations to strengthen their messaging strategies and case-making to preserve their agency! For further details click here.

Emergency Support

On 25 March the US government passed a third economic stimulus package which includes $307.5 million in support for the arts and cultural sector as follows:

• USD $75 million for the National Endowment for the Arts (40% to go to states and territories’ arts agencies and regional arts organisations)

• USD $75 million for the National Endowment for the Humanities

• USD $75 million for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting

• USD $50 million for the Institute of Library and Museum Sciences

• USD $25 million for the Kennedy Center

• USD $7.5 million for the Smithsonian

According to the Americans for the Arts, the government has agreed to waive the typical National Endowment for the Arts grants’ matching grant requirements and to waive the requirement for grants to be project-specific. All these new fast-track grants will be for general operating support with no match required.

 The US National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) is continuing to accept and review grant applications while monitoring the COVID-19 situation. 

The NEA is:

• evaluating and may adjust grant deadlines

• enabling those already awarded grants to request a Period of Performance extension, or a change in the scope of the grant project

• enabling grantees to draw down funds for costs and activities already completed, depending on the change

• allowing grantees to close out their awards early, even if they have only completed a portion of the approved project

• allowing grantees to change the scope of their projects

See the NEA’s response to COVID-19 for more information including FAQs for applicants.

The US government has also announced:

• The US Small Business Administration is offering Economic Injury Disaster Loans to small businesses in 36 states and Washington, DC at a ‘low’ interest rate of 3.75% (2.75% for private NFPs)

• Individuals and businesses will have an extra 90 days past 15 April to pay tax bills

• Expanded unemployment benefits

• Tax credits for individuals .

The City of Boston has announced an Artist Relief Fund which will award grants of $500 to $1,000 to individual artists who live in Boston whose creative practices and incomes are adversely impacted by the pandemic. The grants can cover:

• Recouping losses due to cancelled events, including performing arts, panels, speaking opportunities

• Reimbursement for travel expenses related to creative work that you paid for yourself, e.g. attending cancelled conferences, artist residencies, touring

• Offsetting lost income for teaching artists who cannot teach because of closures

• Support for artists working full or part-time in the service industry who have lost supplemental income used to support their creative practices.

Click here for info about emergency funding from foundations and unions in the US.

Click here for a US State-by-State guide to support for musicians and the music industry.

Click here for info about the City of Boston fund.

Uruguay

Recovery Approaches

We are not aware of any announcements as at 11 June 2020.

Emergency Support

On 3 April, the Uruguay Ministry of Education and Culture announced a UYP $37 million “Ruben Melogno Cultural Soildarity Fund” to:

• buy productions that will be later presented in educational institutions and community organisations

• support artistic institutions and schools

• contract teaching activities online

The Ministry is also:

• bringing forward the call for Competitive Funds of UYP 15 million and Regional Funds of UYP 7.2 million

• reassigning the Stimulus Funds for Artistic Training and Creation to arts-teaching activities and educational institutions (UYP 10 million)

The Department of Culture of the Municipality of Montevideo announced a UYP $10 million fund to support cultural activity. This includes:

• support for artists

• financing new projects

• providing more cultural content online

The intention is to generate financial support to compensate for part of the losses experienced.

Click here for more info.

Wales

Recovery Approaches

31 May The Chief Medical Officer for Wales advised that those who are shielding were, from 1 June, allowed unlimited exercise outdoors, and could meet with members of one other household outdoors as long as strict physical distancing and hygiene practices are adhered to.  Click here for further information.

Coronavirus regulations

8 June The Welsh government website lists four main restrictions;

• certain business are not allowed to be open

• people have to stay local and not be indoors with anyone who is not a member of their household unless they have a good reason

• physical distancing of 2 metres applies when going out

• people must not gather in public places other than with members of one other household

Digital Actions

Welsh libraries have continued to offer digital services during the pandemic aided by Government support which provided £250,000 towards additional digital resources.  This in turn has led to an increase in the number of individuals accessing these resources. Statistics provided by Bolinda, one of the main providers of e-resources, show a 110% increase in total loans compared to the same period in 2019

Further funding has been provided to libraries via the Welsh £1 million Cultural Resilience Fund to help adapt facilities to accommodate a click and collect service.

To read the press release from 2 June click here.

Emergency Support

In Wales, the government announced a package which matches the measures in England providing a boost to small businesses and self-employed people with and without ‘rateable properties’, affected by COVID-19 in the retail, leisure and hospitality industries. The package provides:

• a ‘business rates’ holiday for a year

• grants of 25,000 pounds for businesses in the same sectors with a rateable value of between 12,001-51,000 pounds

• 10,000 pound grants to all businesses eligible for Small Business Rates Relief with a rateable value of 12,000 pounds or less.

On 1 April Arts Council of Wales announced the launch of a Resilience Fund to help the arts in Wales to protect themselves against the impact of the Coronavirus crisis. Key points:

• A £7 million Resilience Fund jointly financed by the Welsh Government and Arts Council of Wales

• Funding for individuals and organisations

• Managed by the Arts Council of Wales

The Resilience Fund includes:

• £2 million to individuals: the Urgent Response Fund and Stabilisation Fund (this includes an additional £0.5 million donation from the Freehills Foundation on 23 April)

• £5.5 million for the Stabilisation Fund for Organisations

The Arts Council of Wales previously also announced:

• funding conditions for funded organisations will not apply for at least three months

• advance grant payments can be made to assist with cashflow

• in exchange, the Council asks funded organisations to honour contracts agreed with freelancers and artists

• all project grants will be honoured, regardless of whether the activity is cancelled / reduced / rescheduled

Click here for more info about the Wales business relief package.

Click here for more info about Arts Council of Wales response.

Zimbabwe

Recovery Approaches

We are not aware of any announcements as at 11 June 2020.

Emergency Support

On 23 April the National Arts Council of Zimbabwe announced a COVID-19 Culture and Creative Industries Portal which aims to offer information resources to the sector to support preparedness. The government also recently announced plans to disburse funds through a grant relief program for artists affected by the national lockdown.

Click here for more info about the portal.

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I will keep adding to this blog post, so please do let me know if you hear of interesting cases or practices to support the arts and cultural sector.

For more information, visit IFACCA, the international membership body for funding agencies and arts and cultural ministries. You can also view a PDF of international responses at the Australia Council for the Arts, which is now supporting me to keep updating this list.

Arts and Disability: The Data

Due to my data nerd status, I was invited to be part of a few talks this year about the arts and disability. People have since asked me for the data I mentioned at these talks so I have compiled my favourite data takeaways here.

At these talks, I always acknowledge that I do not have lived experience of disability (I do as a carer, but I know that is not the same thing at all). I am not an expert on the disabled experience of (under-) representation, and I come to these talks from a position of not-knowing, and learning more than I can give. What I can offer is my experience with data and research. Here it is.

Accessible Arts ATAG Breakfast, Nov 12 2019, Roslyn Packer Theatre, Sydney. Jeremy Smith from the Australia Council for the Arts, me, Stuart Buchanan from the Sydney Opera House, and our Auslan interpreter.

What we know

Attendance: The Australian National Arts Participation Survey 2016 showed that proportionally, people with disability attend the arts as much as people without disability – sometimes more so (dance, visual arts, literature events and festivals)

Creative participation: The survey also found that people with disability are now more likely to create art (61%) than people without disability (44%). This is the case for visual arts and craft, dance, theatre and creative writing (Connecting Australians 2017)

 Volunteering: 24% of people with disability have done volunteer or unpaid work in the arts, or helped out artists or community groups with arts activities, compared to 14% of Australians without disability (CMC Report 2018). ‘Voluntary’ work is an issue for the arts in general and possibly especially for people with disability (DADAA).

 Philanthropy: Although 49% (almost half) of people with disability are in the lowest two income quintiles, as a cohort they are more likely to give money to the arts (21% compared to 9%) (CMC Report 2018) Probably because of higher proportion of arts-goers and donors amongst older Australians)

Professional arts practice: According to the latest Throsby report, Making Art Work, artists with disability are under-represented, earn less than their counterparts without disability, experience unemployment at higher rates, and are more likely to identify a lack of access to funding as a barrier to their professional development.

• Artists with disability earn on average 42% less than their counterparts

• One third of artists with disability experienced unemployment compared to one quarter of artists without disability (general population: unemployment rate 5%, compared to 10% for people with disability – CMC Report 2018). 

• 18% of Australians had disability in 2015 (4.3 million). By comparison, 9% of practising professional artists identify with disability, with variations across artforms e.g. 6% of actors and directors compared to 14% of CACD artists. This may reflect the lower rate of labour force participation of people with disability (53% of people with disability were in the labour force, compared to 83% of people with no disability. However, there was a lower rate of people who need core activity assistance amongst those working in creative industries or creative roles than in the wider labour force – this increased from 2011 to 2016 in line with other industries. This could indicate that some of the issues may be industry-specific and not just a reflection of wider systemic barriers.

• Artists with disability were far more likely to cite disability/injury/sickness as one of the most important factors inhibiting their professional development than other artists (about 18% compared to about 3%)

 Funding applications: Of the Smartygrant applications made to the Federal Department from 2015, 24% were disability-led or employed people with disability. 31% of applications were approved: the same success rate as other applications. But we don’t know if this is the case across all agencies.

Artists with disability apply for financial assistance at the same rates as artists without disability, but are more likely to identify a lack of access to funding as a barrier to professional development (we don’t know whether they have a lower success rate)

Screen: Just 4% of main or recurring TV characters were portrayed as having an identifiable disability in Australian TV drama productions from 2011-2015 (Seeing Ourselves 2016) – 71 characters in total, out of the 1,961 total main characters. 25 characters had physical/sensory disabilities, and 47 had neurological, cognitive and/or other intellectual disabilities

• Just 10% of programs included at least one character with disability among the main characters (20 programs in total)

• For the titles that had main characters with disability, those characters accounted for 4% of the program’s main characters

• Most of the characters with a disability appeared on Neighbours or Home and Away (77%). In these shows, the characters’ disabilities were not a “normal” part of the fictional world, but were introduced to drive storylines for dramatic effect e.g. memory loss, blindness, paralysis, psychosis

• Characters with disability were less likely to have legal and medical, leadership or criminal roles than characters without disability

Other relevant data:

• Professional artists with disability are more likely to live in rural areas (17%) than artists without disability (8%)

• 89% of professional artists with disability feel that disability affects their creative practice at least some of the time.

• Disability becomes more common with age: 10% of people aged 5-14 compared to 60% of people aged over 60. 

• People who require assistance with one or more core activities represent 59% of people with disability. There were 4,321 people with this need in creative/cultural occupations and 3,063 in creative and cultural industries. Proportionally this is lower than for all occupations and industries in Australia. However, this rate has increased since 2011 Census, in line with the trend across all industries and occupations. These numbers do not reflect the total number of people with disability in creative and cultural occupations and industries (CMC Report 2018).

Intersectionality can compound barriers. For example:

• First Nations people experience disability at a significantly higher rate than the rest of the population

• Migrants from NESB and refuges may face additional stigma and disadvantage

• People born overseas are less like to access support services (Creating Pathways)

Actors with disability face casting barriers. Actors without disability will often be cast to play characters with disability, but the reverse is rarely true.  However, casting more actors with disability is driving new audiences through commercial opportunities of “authentic casting” and diverse roles (Seeing Ourselves).

Research insights on support for artists with disability

• Creating Pathways found that it is crucial for artists with disability to have ownership and agency over their work. 

• Creating Pathways highlights the importance of visible success stories, role models and mentors, and this recurs throughout literature on arts and disability. Role models and mentors provide inspiration for their peers and demonstrate the capability for leadership for other artists with disability. 

• Negative attitudes and low expectations are barriers to professional practice (CMC Report 2018)

• Relationships and networks are also crucial for artists with disability to maintain sustainable work.

• The evaluation of the Australia Council’s Arts and Disability funding initiative noted that the elements most valued by artists with disability were: the ability to budget for access requirements; peer assessors who understand the experience of disability; and accessibility features including the ability to submit applications in multiple formats.

• Other research has highlighted the importance for arts governance to be accessible, particularly in making physical meeting spaces accessible and in arts workers undertaking disability awareness training. Governance processes can often be ineffective or even ‘hostile’ for artists with disability.

What we don’t know:

• Representation of artists with disability amongst screen / arts key creatives i.e. writers, directors, producers 

• What % of applications across funding bodies are disability-led and are successful?

• What % of people with disability would like to work professionally in the creative sector but have been unable to do so – what is the extent of the problem?

My key data sources are:

• The Australia Council for the Arts Arts and Disability Research Summary - this is great, and brings together a lot of different sources

• Creating Pathways - qualitative research by the Australia Council for the Arts

• Seeing Ourselves - Screen Australia research on representation

• The National Arts Participation Survey - an excellent resource on participation levels in the arts

Thanks to Accessible Arts and SAMAG for inviting me to be part of your events.

Critical Role strike out on a new adventure in the jungles of SVOD

Yesterday’s announcement of a deal struck between Amazon’s Prime Video and Internet nerd darlings, Critical Role provides a window into the strategies being adopted by Critical Role Productions LLC as well as that of Amazon which owns Prime Video, Twitch and the Amazon store.

For those who have been following my occasional posts on Critical Role, you will be aware they are a self-described ‘bunch of nerdy-ass voice actors who play D&D (Dungeons & Dragons)’ who are pioneers in the online video content space.  They are part of a select few independent creators who have succeeded in monetising their intellectual property having first provided it for free on aggregators such as YouTube and Twitch. This makes their next steps important to watch for other independent creators seeking to monetise their video content.

Similarly, the steps taken by Amazon, the other party in the deal, informs the rapidly changing media landscape on the larger scale, with many large entities making forays into Subscription Video on Demand (SVOD), such as Disney (Disney+) and Apple (Apple TV+).

Following Critical Role’s record-breaking Kickstarter campaign in April of this year, it was just a matter of time before a deal was announced for this series to be picked up by a large media player. Raising US$11.39 million (AU$16.55 million), the campaign set a record for most-funded film or TV project on Kickstarter.  With so much proven interest, the only questions remaining were ‘who’ would pick it up and ‘how much’?

Amazon’s Prime Video have purchased exclusive streaming rights to two seasons (24 episodes) of “Critical Role: The Legend of Vox Machina”.

Demonstrating Amazon’s faith in Critical Role’s creative team (or its die-hard fan-base, known as ‘Critters’), this is 14 more episodes than the 10 funded through the Kickstarter campaign.  Additionally, Amazon Studios have signed a ‘first-look’ deal with Critical Role to develop new content to premiere exclusively on Prime Video worldwide.  Obvious candidates for future content can be seen on Critical Role’s Twitch and YouTube channels in the form of its second D&D campaign, The Might Nein, and a new four-part series, Undeadwood, a fantasy/Western role-playing spin on the HBO series, Deadwood.

Critical Role Productions LLC’s Strategy

This decision by the Critical Role team, led by Travis Willingham and Sam Riegel (actors in the Critical Role series as well as founding members of Critical Role Productions LLC; Willingham recently took over as CEO from Dungeon Master, Matt Mercer) provides a peek into their strategy, as well as providing a data point on product/market fit in the fast-changing screen business environment.

Firstly, by agreeing to sign with Amazon’s Prime Video, Critical Role have stuck with one of the ‘new’ screen media entities. Perhaps it is no surprise that it is a new screen entity that recognises CR’s value above conventional broadcast media, or even ‘traditional’ cable networks, but we will discuss Amazon’s strategic perspective below.  Traditional broadcast television has generally found it difficult to value internet content.  But with Critical Role’s Kickstarter campaign surpassing previous records set by broadcast television hits ‘Veronica Mars’ and ‘Mystery Theatre 3000’, there was at least a strong numerical proxy that Critical Role’s content might succeed on broadcast television.

In the absence of deal amounts, one might speculate that Amazon offered more money than other interested parties.  Even if this is the case – and it might be - I would be sceptical that this is the only factor determining the CR team’s decision.

The reason is that the Critical Role team are actors and many have aspirations beyond a successful YouTube channel. In fact, Ashley Johnson, founding cast member (in fact, Johnson was the person who pitched it to Geek & Sundry’s Felicia Day) from the outset of Critical Role (as a program on the Geek & Sundry YouTube channel) has frequently been absent due to her prioritisation of her broadcast television career, featuring as a regular in NBC’s drama, ‘Blindspot’. ***SPOILER ALERT – (Skip to the next paragraph if you aren’t caught up yet). This regular absence is the reason Dungeon Master (DM) Matt Mercer has this year instituted a plot that has absented Ashley Johnson’s character, Yasha Nydoorin. 

Consequently, the Amazon deal with its ‘first look’ component, offers the potential for greater creative expression for the team.

From a monetary perspective, I have long argued that the near-zero cost of duplication and distribution of digital content means the content itself will be difficult to monetise (a function of supply and demand, with supply being nearly infinite).  However, non-digital aspects e.g. merchandise, live shows etc, can be valuable to a dedicated niche following, leveraging Internet strengths of distribution and discovery.  Consequently, whoever Critical Role Productions LLC partnered would ideally have a means of enhancing these monetisation channels.  Amazon, with its online store makes an excellent partner for Critical Role in this regard.

Amazon’s Strategy

In analysing Amazon’s video strategy, we should start by recognising it is different to many other screen content providers, in that it is not strictly seeking a viewing audience or even a subscription viewing audience per se.  Amazon’s main strategy with Prime Video is to make their Amazon Prime subscription offering more attractive. With its origins in its online store, Amazon Prime offers, in the first instance, a 2-day domestic delivery service, free standard international delivery on eligible orders over $49. It now also includes subscriptions to Amazon Prime Video, Prime Reading and Twitch Prime: https://www.amazon.com.au/prime. In other words, Amazon’s video strategy is ‘orthogonal’ to that of most other screen content providers. It is one reason why I predict Amazon Prime Video will be one of the survivors in the emerging SVOD wars described above, with the key metric to watch the impact of Prime Video upon overall Amazon Prime subscriptions.

Amazon’s Prime Video also arguably has an intelligence advantage on Critical Role over other screen content providers e.g.:-

-          Critical Role livestreams from Twitch. Amazon owns Twitch

-          A large amount of Critical Role merchandise is sold through the Amazon store: e.g. https://www.amazon.com/critical-role/s?k=critical+role

Today’s deal is a reflection of the new screen market working efficiently, and shrewd strategic choices by both sides of the deal. Independent content creators Critical Role have found a partner that doesn’t necessarily provide them with the biggest audience, but does provides them with a promising avenue for creative expression and can also value (and potentially accelerate) their merchandising revenue streams.

The only remaining aspect left untouched by this deal are the experiential facets, such as CR’s live shows which have sold out in places like New York’s 4000-seat United Palace at around US$100 per ticket.  Watch this space.

Diversity in Australian arts and cultural sector - the data

Diversity Arts Australia, BYP Group and Western Sydney University launched our report today, Shifting the Balance: Cultural Diversity in Leadership in the Arts, Screen and Creative Sectors.

Highlights:

• 51% of Australia’s top 200 cultural organisations have all white leadership

• Just 9% of the 1,980 leaders of Australia’s top cultural organisations and award panels came from CALD backgrounds, compared to 39% of the Australian population

The full report is available on the Diversity Arts website, where you can also find information about other diversity projects.

My article on Artshub is available here.

Creative Placemaking - Useful Links

“Home” by Arts Centre Melbourne, image courtesy of ONset Arts

“Creative placemaking” is the fancy term for this phenomenon I’m talking about, but often I wonder if it’s just another way to say “home.” – Kiran Singh Sirah

 The Cultural Research Network recently had an interesting email conversation about land use and local council policies which help to support artists and the creative vitality of a community. In this blog post I have gathered some of the key links mentioned so I could have them all in one place, and thought others might find it useful too.

Please feel free to send through more and I will add them!

How different localities are using community land trust policies to preserve affordable live/work space for low income constituencies (including artists).

https://thenextsystem.org/learn/stories/community-land-trust

https://www.lincolninst.edu/publications/articles/community-land-trusts

https://groundedsolutions.org/

https://community-wealth.org/strategies/panel/clts/models.html

Interim use category to San Francisco’s building policy to enable the PROXY project (which subsequently empowered local artists, makers, and performers):

http://www.envelopead.com/proj_octaviakl.html

Creative Perth Amboy

 http://ci.perthamboy.nj.us/agendas/nc/arts_plan_2016.pdf

City of Seattle cultural space resources

http://www.seattle.gov/arts/programs/cultural-space/cultural-space-resources-and-reports.

The CAP Report: 30 Ideas for the Creation, Activation, and Preservation of Cultural Space.

Structure for Stability: Following up on one of the ideas from the CAP Report, this new study explores the creation of an independent real estate entity to hold cultural space in partnership with the cultural community. 

Seattle also offers technical assistance to arts workers with finding space, negotiating for space, permitting space, renovating space, and maintaining space via a Cultural Space Liaison.

Pitfalls of some policies

Under the community redevelopment agency there was a mission aimed to replenish areas of Los Angeles by injecting cultural activities by giving cheap/rent controlled rents for a 30 year contract. However there appear to be limited protections for rent control, leading to rental increases for the Santa Fe Art Colony and other artists.

These links and comments were provided by the following CRN members:

Kiley Arroyo, Leonardo Vazquez, Duke Choi, Mytoan Nguyen-Akbar

How Do You Want to Monetize This? (Pt 3) The steps in between theory and business

In business, at times it can be hard to understand the application of the ‘big theory’ to the practical, everyday nuts and bolts of day-to-day business. And so, it can be difficult to apply Ben Thompson’s Aggregation Theory to business decisions in the context of running a small, digital content creator.  Even where a clear end-goal is stated – Aggregation Theory suggests niche suppliers maximise subscription revenue via assets they control (e.g. one’s own website) - the intervening steps between having successful content and subscription Nirvana are less clear. This post is my best guess* at the application of Aggregation Theory to a situation that has arisen at another ‘actual play’ digital content producer, called The Glass Cannon Network.

Background: The Glass Cannon Podcast has been running for over four years, and grown in audience to a point where, in January of this year, it was announced that cast member, Joe O’Brien, would become the second member to quit their day job in order to help grow the podcast into a business called the Glass Cannon Network (GCN). O’Brien joins fellow cast member and CEO of GCN, Troy Lavallee, in focusing full-time on growing the podcast into a sustainable business.  As they freely admit (see the quote from Troy Lavallee below, or listen to the introduction of podcast #192 – The Eyes Have It by Joe O’Brien at 2:27 onwards), this puts more pressure on GCN to succeed with monetising their content.  Naturally, growing audience for their content, including a newer podcast, entitled ‘Androids & Aliens’ (A&A) is always on their mind.  In April of this year, Lavallee, announced, via their blog, that they would be trialling advertisements in A&A, as well as a partnership with Starburns Audio.  Starburns Audio are a studio that produce, amongst other content, the animated series, Rick & Morty.  Under the agreement A&A would join Starburns’ lineup of comedy podcasts, with the content sharing (imho) a distinctive, raucous but intelligent ‘male’ humour.

Lavallee is open about his motivations for the move and also details some of the logistical constraints that inform his decision:

“If we want to compete with the shows that are getting 1 million downloads per month, partnerships like this have the potential to increase the speed at which that can happen.

“I’m sure a lot of you are curious as to whether an ad-free version will be made available either on Patreon or via a subscription service. At the moment, I don’t have any plans for that because, frankly, that’s not what this experiment is about. I also don’t want the story we’re telling with A&A tied up in that one RSS feed we have for the Patreon where their platform does not offer the functionality yet to have separate shows with their own feed. That’s not to say we won’t offer it in the future, but for right now, we need to see if this is going to work as is (sic) stands. There is a lot more at stake now than there was a year ago when people’s livelihoods didn’t depend on the success or failure of the Network. The Patreon itself is going to be undergoing changes soon as we add another show to our lineup with our upcoming Emerald Spire playthrough GM’d by Joe. We’re bringing new personalities onto the Network as well. All of these changes cost more time and money. For the cost of a cup of coffee, I want people to feel like they’re getting more than their money’s worth with Raiders and soon Emerald Spire, not bummed out about what they’re not getting.” – Troy Lavallee, CEO, GCN. Accessed 10:04am 21/6/19.

Thompson’s own thinking on the application of Aggregation Theory for content creators (‘suppliers’) is worth repeating:

“For suppliers, the antidote for Aggregation is to go direct to consumers; the key is to embrace the same forces that drive Aggregation. First, the addressable market should be the entire world, not just a limited geographic area. Second, the same sort of automated payment tools available to advertisers on Aggregators can be leveraged for consumers; indeed, the tools for consumers, particularly given the lower dollar amounts and decreased need for paperwork, can be as simple as Apple Pay, and they can scale indefinitely. Third, a freemium approach to content means that social networks can be used for user-generated marketing.” Ben Thompson, The Cost of Apple News, Stratechery.com, February 13, 2019, accessed 11/4/19, 4:57pm.

Thompson goes on to say that niche content providers (such as his own Stratechery subscription newsletter) are better served by a subscription model, seeking to extract more revenue from fewer audience members, rather than the other accepted business model, which is to seek to extract small amounts of revenue from millions of audience members via something like an advertising model. The latter assumes of course, one does have an audience of millions.

So from the above, it appears GCN is going against a tenet of Aggregation Theory, by placing its content on another platform, that they do not control, and what is more, by seeking to raise revenue by ad placements. It is unclear from the post whether the ad placements are direct advertisers, with ads embedded in the content (e.g. by having the podcast talent read the advertisement as one sees on Critical Role read out by Sam Riegel at the beginning of each show, or through Gimlet podcasts, or like the direct-to-home mattress ads one frequently hears in podcasts) or whether it is mass advertising, including algorithmic advertising that is controlled by the platform or aggregator, such as one sees on YouTube. [Edit: The Patreon page comments confirm the ads are being managed and served through Starburns – See ‘Posts’ tab on GCN’s Patreon page, especially the post dated Apr 7 4:04am – ‘Controversial Ads’].  In my understanding of Aggregation Theory, the former, direct advertising is probably okay (if the advertising directly goes to GCN), but the latter form of mass advertising is not recommended, unless the primary strategy is to leverage the platform’s network effect for building audience (i.e. the third ‘freemium approach’ quoted from Thompson above), with ad revenue a welcome by-product.

This is not to say Lavallee and co. are foolish to try what they are doing.  So much of any theory, requires empirical evidence to test its accuracy and furthermore identify the thresholds for where the theory can apply or not, and to this end, Lavallee has clearly stated the exercise is an ‘experiment’ (see quote above).  In terms of metrics, Aggregation Theory suggests a key performance indicator (KPI) to monitor is audience growth, especially paying subscriber growth, through GCN’s own website - that can be directly attributed to posting content on Starburns Audio.  Lacking a clear metric on this, one might infer the KPI by using past data to infer attrition ratios to provide an estimate of likely subscriber take-up from audience gained on the GCN website.

Another difficulty of applying any theory in business is putting the cart before the horse.  Aggregation Theory suggests a number of actions, but new content required to make a subscription offering attractive needs to be cash-flowed. Lavallee is upfront about this issue:

“The Patreon (i.e. GCN’s subscription service running on the Patreon platform) itself is going to be undergoing changes soon as we add another show to our lineup with our upcoming Emerald Spire playthrough GM’d by Joe. We’re bringing new personalities onto the Network as well. All of these changes cost more time and money. For the cost of a cup of coffee, I want people to feel like they’re getting more than their money’s worth with Raiders and soon Emerald Spire, not bummed out about what they’re not getting.” – Troy Lavallee, CEO, GCN accessed 11:10am 21/6/19. Parentheses added.

Clearly, Lavallee and co. have the right idea: They wish to make a subscription offering that is outstanding value for GCN’s subscribers.  The difficult question is how much GCN can dance with potential rival niche content aggregators like Starburns Audio and Geek & Sundry?

[Edit 23/6/19:  A few hours after I posted my musings, I was alerted on Twitter of GCN reaching 6000 subscribers on their Patreon account.  The following italicised text is written in response to that update:

Is there another way for GCN to increase their financial viability without partnering with Starburns?  Once again, this is an empirical question that should be carefully tested.

However, prima facie, GCN appears to have recently reached a position of strong cashflow.  At the time of writing, GCN’s Patreon following was 6,019 patrons, paying $40,816 per month with a stated aim of reaching $50,000 per month.  Despite the fact that Patreon subscribers may unsubscribe at the end of each month, this campaign is a clear indication that GCN are on the right path by developing a subscription following for their content. It also points to GCN being in a strong cashflow position for the short-term (say, 6-12 months of ‘runway’).

However, it begs the question, why doesn’t GCN use this revenue to fund targeted ad campaigns over social networks, such as YouTube and Patreon?

The obvious (and fair) answer is that they have only recently reached these levels on their Patreon campaign and have not had time to reflect upon things yet.

So what should GCN do assuming Aggregation Theory is correct? From personal (nerdy) experience, I have found new ‘actual play’ role-playing game content on YouTube via YouTube advertising suggestions placed in the leading ‘actual play’ role-playing YouTube channel, Critical Role (Mentioned in many of my previous blogposts). This to me appears to be the right approach for niche digital content providers who have the cash flow (whether available via ‘bootstrapping’ and/or debt): i.e. Leverage social networks and, as Thompson said above: “(E)mbrace the same forces that drive Aggregation”.

Teaming up with Starburns brings GCN’s niche content to a niche ‘aggregator’ (here I’m using the term in the non-Aggregation Theory sense of a site that simply adds lots of similar niche content, such as Geek & Sundry).  Ultimately, the success of the Starburns partnership for GCN will be determined by what deal is struck and the goals GCN have set for themselves for this partnership.  What is clear though is that, according to my own interpretation of Aggregation Theory, it definitely benefits Starburns, who will be in a better position to leverage the model suggested by Thompson: Driving people to subscribe to their niche content site that they, Starburns, control.

In contrast, if cash flow is not an issue, a targeted YouTube ad campaign (and perhaps in the near future, a Spotify ad campaign?) provides a clearly measurable Return on Investment (RoI) to GCN that can be tweaked and tested over time.

Note too, in my interpretation, this article by Ben Thompson flags a poor outcome for niche aggregators, such as Starburns, who might come to depend upon revenue raised through advertising in the style of Google AdSense or YouTube (i.e. algorithmically inserted pre-, mid- and post- roll ads etc.)

End of 23/6 edit.]

I look forward to seeing future steps by GCN and similar businesses. To my mind, these types of digital content businesses are at the forefront of a living experiment in business model innovation in this brave new paradigm. I welcome thoughts and suggestions on this topic and wish the GCN the best of luck on their quest for the monetization Holy Grail.

[Edits were made on 24/6 to acknowledge the short period between the Starburns deal and the recency of reaching US$40K on their Patreon campaign.]

How Do You Want to Monetize This? (Pt 2) Lessons from Internet stars Critical Role

When last we left off, our YouTube heroes - Critical Role (CR) - had successfully completed a record-breaking Kickstarter campaign.

We pause in our adventure to see if Australian screen businesses can learn anything from these online moguls.

The Power of Niche

The new paradigm of media inverts the old 80/20 model of broadcast television.  Instead of aiming for a large audience (the ‘80%’) and drawing little or no money directly from that audience to convert into mass advertising eyeballs, CR focused on a niche audience (the ‘20%’), drawing more from each of their Critters.  Proof can be seen with 88,887 backers pledging on average $183.72 each. In a world that now has a surfeit of video content (as opposed to, say, 5 broadcast TV networks), the only way for all but the best resourced content creators to ‘cut through the noise’ is to focus on a niche.

Leverage the internet to build your online community

In a content-abundant world, digital content has proven extremely difficult to monetise for even well-resourced media companies that have existed for decades. The positive flipside to this is that the internet is an excellent means of distribution for digital content, including for global audiences.  The tiny 1% audience one might achieve in Australia, may translate to an audience of millions overseas.

CR spent 4 years building their online fanbase, leveraging the niche audience of their original YouTube hosts, Geek & Sundry (G&S – who we wrote about here) before breaking out on their own (YouTube channel, website and studio). When it came time to make a call-to-action their small online following (in percentage terms) was not surprisingly already familiar with online monetisation systems, such as Kickstarter and Patreon.

Maintaining their own Intellectual Property (IP)

Interviews with Matt Mercer (CEO of Critical Role) reveal negotiations with former hosts G&S stipulated CR maintain the rights to its intellectual property. Generally, the presumption in IP law is that content is owned by a) the organisation that made the content ‘in producible form’ (this was G&S until June 2018 whereupon CR commissioned its own studio) or b) the client (once again G&S) that commissions the content.

In this context, although the video content was co-owned by CR and G&S, it meant the world created by ‘Dungeon Master’ Mercer, the stories and the characters created by its cast always resided with Mercer and the CR team.  This meant CR’s step towards independence less than a year ago, was far less fraught. Without the far-sighted decision to retain their IP, proceeds of their Kickstarter campaign would likely have gone to G&S, or at least been shared.

Niche market of one?

The success of CR on YouTube brought legions of copycat ‘actual play’ tabletop YouTube shows, yet none have succeeded like CR.  This suggests that these niches may only have room for one or two financially successful examples (apologies to our local actual-play equivalent Dragon Friends: www.thedragonfriends.com).

Unique voice

This points to the importance of content creators finding and expressing their ‘unique voice’.  In business terms, this ‘voice’ acts as a unique selling point (USP) in a crowded marketplace.  CR’s unique voice is made up of its Dungeon Master’s world view and style, as well as the professional characterisations of alter egos by a trained cast that have a unique chemistry. This is something CR Creative Director and cast member, Marisha Ray has identified (@3:45).

The importance of the ‘experiential’

Mercer admits in early interviews after their independence, they had little idea of what to do in business terms except to keep things ‘experiential’. The Internet has meant digital content can be infinitely reproduced at near-zero cost, meaning most digital content will gravitate towards zero value over time. That which is not digitally reproducible, such as live performances, tactile, beautiful (e.g. merchandise) or unique goods (e.g. signed t-shirts) may defy this to the right (niche) audience. 

This ‘experiential’ edict applies also to the chemistry of cast members who were already familiar with each other’s play style having played for two years at Mercer’s house for fun before being invited to play on G&S by its founder Felicia Day.

It is also worth noting that all of the most popular ‘actual play’ role-playing games on the Internet (e.g. Penny Arcade’s Acquisitions Incorporated – a pioneer of ‘actual play’ videos and events, the Glass Cannon Podcast et al) have their cast and game master in the same room at the same time, rather than streaming geographically disparate players virtually onto a shared screen.

What is ‘Good’ is defined by the audience’s interests, not by production values

Interviews with Mercer about early discussions of the form CR was to take on G&S reveal the lack of importance of production values to this type of niche content, and likely many others. (At about 1 minute in). Pewdiepie, the most successful YouTuber in the world, started as one man sitting in front of his webcam in his bedroom. 

Likewise, no other G&S show has succeeded like CR, despite most having considerably more production and post-production values.  In the end, CR started at G&S on a borrowed set (ostensibly a child’s bedroom) with three locked-off cameras, basic make-up and no wardrobe.

Conclusion

Whether or not these lessons might are applicable to Australian creatives (and I would suggest they are due to the global nature of the internet), creative businesses such as Critical Role are a living experiment worth observing in the new media landscape.

A version of this article was published on Screenhub here.

NSW Creative Industries - An Economic Snapshot - Minor Correction

An excellent colleague picked up a copy and paste mistake in one of the tables of the report. Here is the updated version and here is what we corrected:

ERROR in the original report page 4:

Correction in the updated report, page 4:

How Do You Want to Monetize This? Applying Aggregation Theory to YouTube sensations Critical Role

Many media businesses, both small and large, are struggling to make their way in the ‘new paradigm’ of media.   We have seen many traditional media businesses diminished or disappear (‘disrupted’) as a result of this paradigm shift. Even ‘new media’ darling, Buzzfeed, recently underwent a painful round of layoffs, demonstrating the complexity and speed of change still occurring in the media landscape.

This article examines a ‘recent’ new paradigm success story in Critical Role (critrole.com), applying technology analyst, Ben Thompson’s ‘Aggregation Theory’ as a lens for discussion.

Who are Critical Role and why should we care?

Critical Role (hereafter CR) are achieving the rare feat of converting their online popularity into significant amounts of money.  Recently, they closed a Kickstarter campaign to animate their first series as a television show, entitled ‘The Legend of Vox Machina’ . This Kickstarter campaign broke numerous records.  At the time of writing, it had become the ‘Most Funded’ Film and Video Kickstarter campaign in history, surpassed AU$15 million in funds pledged, and is presently the 5th most funded Kickstarter campaign of all time.

What may seem most remarkable to people outside the Critical Role community (dubbed ‘Critters’ for short) is how a bunch of self-described ‘nerdy-ass voice actors’ came to this position: playing Dungeons & Dragons™, the iconic tabletop game, synonymous with nerds since its inception in the early 70’s. (For an interesting read on the inception of the game, I recommend David M. Ewalt’s Of Dice and Men: The Story of Dungeons & Dragons and The People Who Play It.)

Clearly, there are things that can be learned from Critical Role. 

How they got here

A brief history of Critical Role may help inform our understanding of what makes them so special, and what, if anything, others might do to replicate their success.

Humble beginnings – Nerds of a Feather …

Critical Role started on the YouTube channel, ‘Geek & Sundry’ in June, 2015. Geek & Sundry (G&S) is itself a phenomenon we have studied, having been founded by YouTube content pioneer, Felicia Day. G&S was one of the online channels funded through the YouTube Original Channel Initiative.

Geek & Sundry already had a substantial presence with Critical Role’s target audience – geeks – having launched on April 2, 2012, over three years earlier.  From these fertile grounds, Critical Role’s popularity quickly accelerated, with subscription numbers surpassing 5 figures in the first few episodes.  Comparing the sets and props from their first episode to the final episode of their first ‘campaign’ (or series), one can also see their growth in sophistication, although, at heart, they remained a very simple, cheap format: Three locked off cameras, 7 or 8 ‘talent’ with minimal make-up and wardrobe, sitting behind tables, and later, the occasional camera adjustment for close-ups of figurines, maps and other props.

A Taste of Independence

Recently, Critical Role broke away from their original host YouTube channel, Geek & Sundry, (c. July 2018 dated 18/6/18 to announce the move) presumably to improve their creative control and help better monetise their work.  This website has already examined some of their monetisation efforts prior to their leaving G&S, such as product placements, sponsorship and advertising.

In less than a year, their YouTube subscriber numbers have climbed from zero to 445,000 (at time of writing).  These subscription numbers are still growing strongly, with their YouTube subscriber numbers at 372,000 only a month earlier.  For those not familiar with YouTube statistics, this likely signifies a following in the millions - subscriber numbers underestimate fan numbers as many fans will not subscribe or engage via social media platforms in a phenomenon known as ‘lurking’, with a shallow ‘funnel’ conversion ratio from ‘views’ to ‘likes’ and ‘likes’ to ‘subscriber’.  However, this is still a decline from Geek & Sundry’s subscription base which now stands at 2 million at the time of writing and was probably well over 1.5M at the time of Critical Role’s separation.  Many Critters claimed that Critical Role was the ‘tail that wagged the dog’ in terms of audience on Geek & Sundry, and the coming two years will test that assumption to see if Critical Role approaches the subscriber base of Geek & Sundry. 

Kickstarter Campaigns

In the time since they left Geek & Sundry, Critical Role have been involved in two Kickstarter campaigns. The animation Kickstarter campaign described above was actually their second foray, having earlier teamed up with miniature figurine makers Steamforged in 2018 to create figurines of CR’s on-screen alter-ego’s from their first series, Vox Machina.  Foreshadowing the present campaign’s success, the figurine crowdfunding campaign was also well supported, raising over AU$1.66 million in 10 days.

In addition to this, CR have sold-out live shows, including filling the 3444 or 3661-seat United Palace in New York City (at US107.50/$87/$71.50) for non-VIP tickets and US$214 for VIP tickets.

Since leaving G&S, they have also set up their own website (www.critrole.com), studio, and online shop, upon which they sell merchandise and tickets to their live shows.  In this studio, they shoot a number of recurring shows (thirteen at the time of writing) in addition to their main drawcard, the Critical Role D&D campaign, currently in its second ‘series’ or ‘campaign’ .  At present, none of their new programs are (yet) as successful as their ongoing D&D campaign, with the main thrust of the content appearing to be ‘fan service’, for example, interviews with the CR cast and their friends and more in-depth analysis of the show.

Critical Question: How might Critical Role monetize their success?

With all the above achievements, one might be forgiven for thinking Critical Role’s financial security is assured.  However, if there’s one lesson from Disruption Theory, it’s that ‘great’ businesses’ can fail. This, after all, is the sub-title of Clayton Christensen’s ground-breaking book that coined the modern usage of the term ‘disruption’. The full title to Christensen’s book is: ‘Disruption: When new technologies cause great firms to fail’.

We should also bear in mind the proceeds of the most recent crowd-funding campaign are going entirely to produce an expensive animated series and, as mentioned above, Critical Role have only relatively recently started their own YouTube channel.  YouTube channels are notoriously difficult to monetise, and even assuming a generous monetisation ration of $10 to 1 subscriber (most channels appear to monetise at less than $1 to every 3 subscribers, but clearly Critical Role’s fan-base have proven merchandise-hungry (see their first Kickstarter campaign), their income is being split at least 8 ways (cast members and possibly Brian W. Foster, boyfriend of cast member Ashley Johnson, and the host of Talks Machina and the Between the Sheets interviewer).

In addition to working in a technology environment that is still very much in flux, CR are also in ‘show business’, which has spawned a celebrity gossip industry with billions in revenue watching celebrities personal lives implode.  CR are likely already well aware that their popularity may take a sudden turn due to some unforeseen disaster.  This was seen recently with the rapid fall from grace of nerd-entrepreneur colleague and guest on Critical Role, Chris Hardwick, following abuse allegations from his ex-girlfriend Chloe Dykstra.  Within days, many videos with Chris Hardwick were stripped from the Internet, mostly notably the episodes containing Hardwick in the Matthew Mercer (Dungeon Master for Critical Role’s main campaigns) ‘dungeon mastered’ D&D series, Force Grey: Giant Hunters (See comments in this thread suggesting the reason these were removed were due to the scandal surrounding Hardwick.)

In fact, Critical Role appear to have already had one close call with former original cast member, Orion Acaba. Still a sensitive topic, the Critical Role Reddit page expressly forbids discussion of Acaba.

Aggregation Theory

American technology commentator, Ben Thompson, of www.stratechery.com, has developed a theory that he suggests is descriptive and potentially predictive of many aspects of the fast-moving technology sector. Called ‘Aggregation Theory’, it describes the flywheel effect that has seen small companies, frequently founded in dorm rooms and garages by one or two nerds, rapidly grow into what are now the biggest companies in the World.  Thompson feels the best examples of ‘Aggregators’ include Facebook, Google (and YouTube, its sister asset at Alphabet Inc.), through to Uber and AirBnB (although he does make note that the latter two involve physical assets and people, increasing the amount of ‘friction’ in the flywheel effect).  A key takeaway from Aggregation Theory is that this flywheel effect leads to a ‘winner takes all’ (or almost all) dynamic. Take for example Google’s dominance in search in Western countries.  Similarly, Facebook and WeChat each dominate their own geographical territories, with any rival social media organisations trivial in comparison to these two respective giants. 

A corollary of this is that organisations in the middle tend to be hollowed out.  In Australia, we have recently seen revenues rapidly decline in television broadcast corporation, Network Ten and the Fairfax non-subscription mastheads, The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age.  Thompson suggests Buzzfeed’s recent layoffs are a result of being in this middle-ground: See his articles ‘The BuzzFeed Lesson’ and ‘BuzzFeed Followup, The Future is Niche, Atlassian and Bing’ (Member article: Tuesday, January 29, 2019).

There is a positive flipside to Aggregation: The creation of niches which may not have existed under the ‘old paradigm’. Thompson’s own analogy is the rainforest: In the rainforest, which do you choose to be? An enormous tree, or a highly specific, niche organism?

Interestingly, Thompson’s own business – a subscription email service run from his Stratechery website – is a demonstrably successful example of a niche strategy.  He is essentially a media content creator, who covers a niche topic, ‘bleeding edge’ discussion on technology and business.  By his own admission, he is unlikely to succeed in a business model that skims small amounts of money (or uses an advertising revenue model) from millions of viewers. Instead he chooses to earn US$100 annual subscription fees from readers who place a high value upon his content i.e. a niche audience.  Due to the power of the Internet, the small percentage of the population likely to pay for his content are scaled internationally to anywhere with access to the Internet.

So what should Critical Role do?

Clearly, Critical Role falls into the category of a niche content creator.  Here’s a test: Prior to their record-breaking Kickstarter campaign (which was written up in mainstream publications like Variety (admittedly a niche showbusiness publication, but one that addresses mainstream showbusiness), Forbes and Fortune (again both niche business publications but ones that address mainstream businesses) , who outside of Nerdom has heard of Critical Role? 

Ben Thompson’s own advice is to look to what he himself has done. 

“What is clear, though, is that the only way to build a thriving business in a space dominated by an Aggregator is to go around them, not to work with them. In the case of publishers, that means subscriptions, or finding ways to monetize, like the Ringer, beyond text.

For web properties it means building destination sites that are not completely reliant on Google. For manufacturers it means building relationships with retailers other than Amazon and building brands that compel customers to go elsewhere. And for digital content providers…well, this is why I view Apple’s policies as the most egregious of all.” Ben Thompson, The BuzzFeed Lesson, Stratechery.com Monday, January 28, 2019, accessed 11/4/19 at 4:50pm

Note too what the unspoken contract for a subscription model is, according to Thompson:

“It is very important to clearly define what a subscriptions (sic) means. First, it’s not a donation: it is asking a customer to pay money for a product. What, then, is the product? It is not, in fact, any one article (a point that is missed by the misguided focus on micro-transactions). Rather, a subscriber is paying for the regular delivery of well-defined value.”

And:

“For suppliers, the antidote for Aggregation is to go direct to consumers; the key is to embrace the same forces that drive Aggregation. First, the addressable market should be the entire world, not just a limited geographic area. Second, the same sort of automated payment tools available to advertisers on Aggregators can be leveraged for consumers; indeed, the tools for consumers, particularly given the lower dollar amounts and decreased need for paperwork, can be as simple as Apple Pay, and they can scale indefinitely. Third, a freemium approach to content means that social networks can be used for user-generated marketing.” Ben Thompson, The Cost of Apple News, Stratechery.com, February 13, 2019, accessed 11/4/19, 4:57pm.

Applying Thompson’s advice to Critical Role suggests to me the following:

The end goal is to have subscribers pay Critical Role to continue to deliver content that the subscriber wants into the future (as long as the subscription lasts).  This payment is ideally done through an asset that Critical Role controls i.e. not on an Aggregator site such as YouTube or Twitch, but through their own critrole.com website.

The type of content should be … more of the same. In this case, fans would most want another Matt Mercer ‘dungeon mastered’ campaign, with all the Critical Role team.  Clearly, the team now have incredibly busy schedules, so they may find means of introducing new characters and actors.

But what about the steps in-between?

The above points to the ‘end goal’ of any monetisation activity for a niche content provider such as Critical Role.  However, as in many scenarios regarding technology, what is more difficult to navigate are the steps in between where we are now and that end destination.  Autonomous vehicles are a good example of this. Most experts agree we’ll eventually all be riding around in self-driving cars, provided via ‘transport-as-a-service’ (TaaS), rather than owning our own vehicles, since drivers are the most costly part of a TaaS transport service, having a means to remove them means hiring transport will be much more cost-effective than buying a large vehicle that is almost always carrying far under its optimal capacity and is not used, on average, for 96% of the day.  But what happens in between now and that end state of driverless nirvana is far more difficult to see.

In the next article, we explore options for the steps in between.

NSW Creative Industries - An Economic Snapshot

I am pleased to share with you “NSW Creative Industries - An Economic Snapshot.”

This is a report on the NSW Creative Industries: the sector’s size, composition, turnover and growth rate.

Report highlights:

• NSW has the largest, most dynamic and most diverse creative economy in Australia. NSW has 39% of the nation’s creative businesses, 42% of creative industry jobs and 70% of creative industry exports.[2]

• The creative industries are a growing share of the NSW economy. Over the past five years, employment growth in the creative industries has been 2.9% per annum, compared to the general rate of 1.6% per annum.

• Creative industries services exports are growing faster than other NSW service exports. They represent about 10% of NSW’s total services exports, an increase from 7% in 2010-11.

• NSW’s creative industries service exports are also growing faster than at the national level. On average, creative services exports grew by 16% per annum in NSW from 2010-11 to 2015-16, compared to 11% per annum across Australia. The largest share of creative services exports, and the source of much of its growth over the past five years, is computer and information services, followed by advertising services.[3]

• The number of creative industries professionals living in regional NSW has increased. For example, the Illawarra has doubled its number of creative industries employees and now has the second-largest number of creative industries employees of the NSW regional areas.[5]

We have used the excellent QUT Centre for Creative Industries & Innovation ‘intensities approach’ and their calculations of employment data to determine what to include in the creative industries. The report has a handy technical appendix to show you what we have and have not included, compared to earlier definitions used in Victoria and in NSW.

Enjoy the full report!

Endnotes:

[1]BYP Group estimates based on: ABS Counts of Australian Businesses, including Entries and Exits, June 2012 to June 2016; ABS Census 2011, ABS Labour Force, Detailed, Quarterly, May 2017; ABS International Trade: Supplementary information, Financial Year, 2015-16; ABS International Trade in Goods and Services, Australia, June 2017; and IBISWorld Reports.

[2]Ibid.

[3]ABS International Trade: Supplementary Information, Financial Year, 2015-16; ABS International Trade in Goods and Services, Australia, June 2017; BYP estimates.

[4]ABS Census 2011; ABS Labour Force, Detailed, Quarterly, May 2017; BYP estimates.

[5]Ibid.

[6]These figures are based on IBISWorld reports which do not drill down to State level. ABS does not report on revenue by industry by State to a level of detail to identify Creative Industries.

[7]BYP Group estimates based on ABS Labour Force, Detailed, Quarterly, May 2017 and Higgs, P., Lennon, S. (2014) Australian Creative Employment in 2011 – applying the NESTA Dynamic Mapping definition methodology Mimeo.

The David versus Goliath battle faced by Australian creative industries and what they might do to win (Part 4: The Needs of the Australian Creative Industries Sector)

In this next section, we examine the needs of the Australian creative industries, with a particular emphasis on the arts and cultural sector.  We do this with a view to seeing how the business models explored in Part 3 might fit with the needs of our sector in Part 5 of this series. This is the fourth section in a series of blogposts that examines ramifications of the small size of most Australia creative businesses and explores strategies for resolving issues raised here.

In the previous blogs, we explored:

Part 1: We’re Tiny. The tiny size of Australian creative industries

Part 2: New vs Old Paradigms

Part 3: Business Models for the New Paradigm

In future blogs, we will look at:

Part 5: How a new media model solution might look in the arts and cultural sector

Part 4: The Needs of the Australian Creative Industries Sector

Needs of the Australian creative industries with a particular focus upon the arts and cultural sector.

At BYP Group, we research and consult extensively with the Australian creative industries including the arts and cultural sector. We hear perspectives from the funders as well as from the artists and arts organisations that create the art.

Below we outline some of the major issues most frequently raised to us by members of this community over recent years.

1. Sustainable careers for artists at all stages of practice including related issues e.g.:

   1. Business skills especially

   2. Marketing and communications skills to grow and access audience

   3. Awareness of technology and its impacts on their practice

   4. IP monetization

2. Affordability of space especially

   1. Space for developmental and experimental work

3. Professional and creative networks that endure beyond a funding grant or period

   1. Difficulty in career progression from early to mid, mid to established.

   2. Cross-over into the private sector for

      1. ‘Embedded’ work

      2. Service contract work e.g. design, innovation, branding, production skills

4. Diversity of access to the arts especially target groups such as

   1. Gender

   2. ATSI

   3. CALD

   4. Disability

5. Funding for multi-disciplinary arts that may fall between traditional funding criteria

6. Increased Strategic impact of funding through e.g.

   1. Increased co-ordination and collaboration between government entities

7. Lack of economies of scale and the problems associated with this e.g.

   1. Lack of creative clusters and hubs to help increase scale

   2. Activation of the night-time economy

   3. Too much time spent on non-creative activities e.g.

   4. Office management and space maintenance

   5. Marketing and promotion

8. An environment that generates collaboration, peer learning and cross-pollination

9. Creative spaces which creates a sense of community and has its own identity

10. International engagement frequently due to

    1. Lack of scale to overcome e.g.

    2. Tyranny of distance

    3. Insurance and coverage costs (lack of scale)

    4. Lack of familiarity with foreign cultures

    5. Lack of Australian arts industry ‘brand awareness’ in the international marketplace

11. Public visibility of the arts, especially at the independent and small organisation level especially

12. Showcasing opportunities, preferably before an international audience

The above is by no means a conclusive list of the sector’s needs.  There is also some double-up in needs, which illustrates the pervasiveness of the issue of scale described in earlier sections of this blog.

Comparison of independent screen media content creator to independent artist

In the independent screen sector we see many overlapping issues.  Some interesting exceptions include:

• Awareness of technology and its impacts on their practice

• Diversity of access to the arts especially target groups such as

  1. Gender

  2. ATSI

  3. CALD

  4. Disability

• An environment that generates collaboration, peer learning and cross-pollination

• International engagement frequently due to

  1. Lack of scale to overcome e.g.

     1. Tyranny of distance

     2. Insurance and coverage costs

• Awareness of technology and its impacts on their practice

As discussed earlier, media was like the ‘canary in the coalmine’ of Disruption.  Consequently, it tends to lead those arts and cultural sectors that are not easily digitized in nature.

This is a generalization and it is common for incumbents and independents alike not to understand the new paradigm.  Bob Iger, the CEO of Disney mentioned in Part 2, appears to have made a sudden and drastic strategic turn-around in recent times. He has decided to pivot his multi-billion dollar organisation into become an online aggregator and distributor to rival Netflix.

The bottom end of the screen sector has benefitted the independent screen practitioner to get their work produced and seen, frequently before an international audience e.g. on Facebook, YouTube

• Diversity of access to the arts especially target groups such as

  1. Gender

  2. ATSI

  3. CALD

  4. Disability

We have observed in our research the success of YouTubers from CALD backgrounds such as Rackaracka, Superwog, Natalie Tran, John Luc (MyChonny), et al.  We have also seen the success of Aboriginal Australian dance group, Djuki Mala (formerly the Chooky Dancers) which rode off the back of their viral dance clip.  The Katering Show is an example of an all-female cast YouTube hit that has ‘crossed-over’ onto broadcast television.

The above suggests to us that the new media paradigm has been beneficial to diversity and access for these target groups.  This is probably due to the way the Internet has allowed smaller, independent creatives to bypass traditional chokepoints of production and distribution.

• An environment that generates collaboration, peer learning and cross-pollination

The Internet allows rapid transfer of ideas and collaboration especially in digital-only content.  We note the example in games of Australian sound designers, KPow! Audio who collaborated with content creators around the world to help make the award winning Banner Saga game series.

Still, there may be even more benefits to be had from physical spaces for collaboration, especially across disciplines.

• International engagement frequently due to

  1. Lack of scale to overcome e.g.

     1. Tyranny of distance

There are clearly still issues of scale that we have identified for independent screen practitioners above. However, the international nature of the Internet has enabled independent Australian screen practitioners (such as those mentioned above) to reach international audiences.  Whereas in the past they may have served only a small, unsustainable audience within Australia, now a small percentage of a global audience can prove sustainable.

Comparison Thought Experiment

At this point, we invite readers to consider the online profile of an Australian artist you know to that of the example OOCC’s above.

Even the unscaled OOCC example we show above has over 60,000 YouTube subscribers.  Are there many Australian non-screen artists you know of with that kind of online reach?

Regardless of obvious reasons for this disparity – it is a full-time creative pursuit and enterprise in itself to produce any type of art at the highest levels, (this is also true of the amount and quality of video content to become a successful YouTuber) - wouldn’t it be good if Australian artists couldhave this kind of online reach?

In the next part of our series, we seek to apply the new paradigm screen business model in a manner that might assist Australian independent artists.

The David versus Goliath battle faced by Australian creative industries and what they might do to win (Part 5: How a ‘new paradigm’ business model might help Australian artists)

This is the fifth and final part of our blog series in which we explored the David vs Goliath battle faced by the Australian creative industries, and what they might do to achieve success in the face of international competition.

In this section we attempt to apply the ‘new paradigm’ screen business models explored in Part 3 above, within the context of the Australian arts sector.  We do this with a view to seeing how the business models explored above might fit with the needs of our sector, explored above in Part 4 of this series.

As a reminder, in above sections, we explored:

Part 1: We’re Tiny. The tiny size of Australian creative industries

Part 2: New vs Old Paradigms

Part 3: Business Models for the New Paradigm

Part 4: Needs of the Australian creative industries with a focus upon the independent arts and cultural sector.

Part 5: How a ‘new paradigm’ business model might help Australian artists

Taking the business model of the Online Original Content Channel (OOCC) from Part 3, we look now to see how this might look in the context of the Australian arts and cultural sector.

A proposed Arts OOCC similar to other OOCC's

Diagram: Where an Online Original Content Channel for the arts would fit into the new paradigm ecosystem.

Above, we see the OOCC occupying the layer above the independent artists who now occupy the bottom layer in place of the YouTubers, or technically, alongside them.

The Australian Arts OOCC (purple lettering on the left) operates in a similar fashion to the OOCC entities we examined earlier – DanceOn and Geek & Sundry.  On the one hand, in the diagram below, it operates as a ‘digital layer’ above the artists that aggregates content from independent artists who occupy ‘sub-channels/programs’ as we saw on DanceOn and Geek & Sundry in Part 3 of this series.

Diagram-15-oocc-differentiated

On the other hand, in the diagram below, it may additionally have a digital production capability including studio space, permanent crew/staffing etc.  This would make it similar to the two OOCC’s we saw earlier.

Diagram-15-oocc-differentiated

Diagram: 1. Differentiated content model, like an OOCC. Artists and partners benefit from scale of digital production, output and distribution, so long as they collaborate to produce content within the NAOOCC's niche. Examples of niches that might be addressed include e.g. Indigenous Australian content, experimental and developmental content, multi-disciplinary, 

Digital output does not equate to artistic output

Note, the digital output onto the NAAOOCC does not have to be the artistic outcome for any underlying creative hub facility, per se.  Rather, the digital output is used in a way that suits the new paradigm – distribution and marketing of digital content (e.g. interviews with artists, retrospectives, podcasts, short ‘sizzle’ reels of music and/or dance). This raises awareness and interest, driving prospective audience/consumers to non-digitally replicable artwork e.g. live performances, digital media installations, exhibitions etc, that the artist can monetize on their own terms. It is envisioned that the artists collaborate with an on-site digital producer to determine the best type of digital content that will support the artist achieve sustainable practice in a manner suited to that artist.

Partnership Models

Partner organisations to the NAAOOCC could collaborate in one of three optimised ways:

1. Differentiated Content – This is the model in the earlier diagram ("Diagram: Differentiated content model, like an OOCC"). Where the content fits into the NAAOOCC’s niche, the content can be placed on the NAAOOCC’s own digital content aggregator channel e.g. ‘The Multi-disciplinary Art Channel’, ‘The Indigenous Australian Art Channel’, etc. If the niche content falls outside the NAAOOCC’s niche, this is an opportunity for a new, separate niche OOCC e.g. A disability arts channel.

2. Undifferentiated Content – Where the content produced is undifferentiated the optimization strategy tends towards the Multi-Channel Network (MCN) model described in Part 3 (e.g. similar to the Channel Frederator Network MCN). See diagram below.

3. Hybrid model - There is also potential for a third model, where the NAAOOCC has a service arm for partners and clients to create digital content more suited to the client e.g. a festival, a corporation, a funding body’s broader remit, etc. The revenues generated from this service facility help sustain an entity like the Niche Australian Arts OOCC, as well as providing alternative income streams for artists and creatives in the space.

Undifferentiated 'Multi-Channel Network' model

Diagram above: 2. Undifferentiated Content model, similar to a the 'Multi-Channel Network' (MCN) example described in Part 3 of this series.

This model uses aspects of both the differentiated model and the undifferentiated model

Diagram above: 3. Hybrid Content Model. The OOCC remains niche, but provides services to partners who may wish to create undifferentiated content e.g. advertising for their own organisation, policy need, etc.

Discussion for deciding between new paradigm business models – Niche OOCC vs Undifferentiated MCN

Strengths and weaknesses of the different models

1. Differentiated Content Model

Pro: Achieves ‘cut through’ in the crowded content ecosystem (See ‘Example: Importance of the niche strategy’ below)

Pro: Offers more aggregation benefits for content that falls within its niche

Pro: Suits funders addressing a niche area such as a policy gap area, e.g. diversity, experimental work

VERSUS

Con: Requires content made and aggregated to be in the same content niche, reducing the potential for partner collaboration

Con: Reduced size of aggregation benefits across some aggregation categories

2. Undifferentiated Content Model

Pro: Increased size of aggregation benefits across some aggregation categories

Pro: Allows more diverse collaboration partners

Pro: Suits funders with broad (undifferentiated) funding priorities

VERSUS

Con: Offers less ‘cut through’ in the crowded content ecosystem

Con: Offers fewer aggregation benefits for (undifferentiated) content on it

The above strengths and weaknesses are roughly indicative.  For example, one may find that the overall benefits of ‘cut-through’ of an MCN exceed those of an OOCC even for differentiated content if the size of the MCN is large enough and efficient enough in passing on scale benefits.

Example: Importance of the niche strategy

As a quick (and by no means conclusive) demonstration of the importance of a niche strategy let’s look at the two OOCC’s we saw earlier in Part 3: DanceOn and Geek & Sundry.   Both of these OOCC’s started around the same time and received the same funding from YouTube’s Original Content Initiative.  To recap, ‘DanceOn’ is a channel that provides popular dance music and purports to find new ‘up-and-coming’ talent. Supported by the likes of Madonna and other high-profile music stars, it came with clear mass market appeal.

Left: DanceOn has content of broad appeal. Right: Geek & Sundry has content of niche appeal

Diagram: OOCC’s with different levels of differentiation

The other OOCC is ‘Geek and Sundry’, which is very much about what it says it’s about – a collection of nerdy/geeky content. Suffice to say, Geek & Sundry is definitely occupying a narrower niche. How many people like popular dance music compared to … errr … Dungeons & Dragons?  Obviously, a lot more people like popular dance music – otherwise it wouldn’t be ‘popular’.  Here’s where it gets interesting ….

DanceOn subscribers vs Geek & Sundry subscribers

Diagram: DanceOn subscriber numbers (1.3M) vs Geek & Sundry subscribers (1.7M)

One might expect the OOCC with the more popular content to be way ahead:  Both organisations  were created as part of the now defunct YouTube Original Channel Initiative. This means both organisations are of similar age and had received the same resources - advanced payment of US$1 million by YouTube “against future advertising revenue to jumpstart production”.

Instead, the opposite is true (although again, not definitively so):  DanceOn has 1.3M subscribers at the time of writing, compared to 1.7M subscribers for Geek & Sundry.

Why?

I speculate that what is happening is that, in the new media paradigm, it is not simply about size of demand, but also about the size of supply. Unlike broadcast media, the Internet is good at finding content to match more niche tastes.  On the flipside, the Internet has an abundance of popular dance music content. Go to any online media splash page and you will find similar images to that of DanceOn. This may be what keeps subscriber levels below that of a true niche offering, like Geek & Sundry. Fans of things geeky have less choice for finding content providers of their niche tastes, consequently, the niche geek channel gets more subscribers than the pop dance video channel.

We speculate that areas of market failure in the cultural economy may represent opportunities for a niche OOCC should government choose to fund that gap.  Market failure, for example in providing affordable experimental and developmental space for artists, represents a barrier to entry. Already in screen, we have seen two products with strong female lead casts get picked up overseas, namely Wentworth, and Mrs Fisher’s Murder Mysteries.  With Screen Australia and other state agencies funding the gender gap, content can be made that fills an under-served market for strong female leads.

The David versus Goliath battle faced by Australian creative industries and what they might do to win (Part 3: New Media Business Models)

In this section, we will look at some examples of ‘New Media’ business models that are being employed to harness the Internet to allow scale for small creative businesses. This is the third of a series of blogposts that examines ramifications of the small size of most Australia creative businesses and explores strategies for resolving issues raised here.

In the previous blogs, we explored:

Part 1: We’re Tiny. The tiny size of Australian creative industries

Part 2: New vs Old Paradigms

In future blogs, we will look at:

Part 4: Australian creative economy needs, especially those in the arts and cultural sector

Part 5: How a new media model solution might look in the arts and cultural sector

Part 3: New Media Business Models

Business Models for the Small Creative Business in the New Media Paradigm

But what business models are the small content creators – similar to our independent artists and small arts organisations – employing to survive?

The sector saw a 'hollowing' out of the middle tier

Diagram above: Old vs New Paradigm. What is happening down in the bottom right, between the independent creators and ‘middle-tier’?

Before we answer this question, we need to take a closer look at what’s happening in that gap between the middle tier and the bottom.

Independent (micro) screen content creators now

Diagram above: Virtually anyone can post content to the Web now. A few may make a living from it. A small percentage of YouTubers generate an income from their YouTube channels.

At the bottom of the above diagram, we see very few people make a viable living from their content.  This is not new.   Very few people as a percentage of the population ever made a living from the traditional TV/Film industries.  What is more, these YouTube content creators experience much greater creative freedom in what they do and create than most of the traditional TV/Film industry workers who tended to be crew, or producers making content for a broader mainstream audience e.g. broadcast content, international film productions.  In fact, we argue that finding one’s ‘authentic voice’ (an artist’s unique selling point, or USP, if you like) is imperative to the small, online, content creator.

Still, it’s undoubtedly difficult for individual content makers to make a living from an aggregator like YouTube. Successful YouTubers generally require investing 50 to 60 hours a week on content production, and even then, it usually takes years to build a subscriber base (‘audience’) sufficient to make a living.

Their problem, as it is in the independent arts scene, is one of scale.  It takes them so long to make content that they have little time to spend on other monetization activities such as merchandizing, spin-off services (e.g. consulting) and experiential content (live, ticketed performances), or other audience development work e.g. marketing, conference attendance etc.  They frequently also need to focus upon just one aggregator or platform (in this case, YouTube) to create enough scale to draw an audience.  This makes financial sustainability ever harder for the independent as others flood in due to low barriers to entry, and also very vulnerable to the platform on which they choose to concentrate their activity (to achieve ‘cut-through’ amongst the noise).  We saw this recently with the ‘Ad-pocalypse’ decimating YouTube ad revenues and that of YouTubers who had chosen to monetize their content through YouTube.

What has the market done to find solutions to this problem of scale in the new paradigm?

The answer lies in two overlapping business models:

1) The Multi-Channel Network (or MCN) and

2) The Online Original Content Channel (OOCC).

Multi-Channel Networks and Original Content Channels

New business models have emerged to solve the problem of scale for independent screen content creators, especially YouTubers.

Diagram above: Where new screen business models fit in the new ecosystem. Notice how they occupy a new 'lower-middle' tier between the old paradigm 'middle' (e.g. broadcast networks, national newspapers) and the bottom.

Two business models have emerged to offer scale to YouTubers: Multi-Channel Networks (MCN) and Online Original Content Channels (OOCC)

Image above: On the left, the Multi-Channel Network. On the right, the Online Original Content Channel

Note these definitions are not precise as the sector is undergoing disruption and transformation.  In fact, the Online Original Content Channel is my own name and definition for one of the new business models. For the time being, let’s outline the two different approaches:

1) Multi-Channel Networks (or MCN’s)

The first – MCN’s – aim to provide marketing and advocacy scale, whilst generally not becoming involved in content production. i.e. They have no ‘skin in the game’.

A good example of an MCN operating in this mould is The Channel Frederator Network: http://www.channelfrederatornetwork.com/

Note the splash page of the Channel Frederator Network’s (in the above diagram on the left).  It emphasises the big numbers it attracts – without even a reference to the type of content on its site.

Its business model is one of undifferentiated content aggregation.

2) Online Original Content Channels (OOCC’s)

OOCC’s on the other hand, do create their own content, or at the very least, seek to contribute to the production of the content and curateit, by offering economies of scale in things such as, production crew, social media campaign managers, booking agents, studio facilities etc.  Whilst an MCN as large as the Channel Frederator Network (above) might also offer these things, the OOCC seeks to aggregate and offer scale in a niche.

Note this latter model differs from the YouTube Spaces model in that the OOCC is not simply a ‘neutral’ or ‘objective’ provider of resources on plainly economically rational grounds.  Whilst an OOCC may, of course, measure its ‘sub-channel’ content according to rational measures, it bears substantially more risk than YouTube or an MCN does by investing in the content production.  YouTube Spaces is like a ‘macro’ model of an OOCC, with YouTube benefitting overall from the improvement in production values and capabilities of videos posted on its site. Because YouTube owns the aggregation site, it does not need to differentiate in content.  MCN’s are like ‘mini’ YouTube Spaces.

OOCC’s, on the other hand, almost always pursue a niche strategy. As we described in Part 1 of this blog series, niche strategies are important to survive if you are a small plant or animal in the big jungle.  It is the orthodox business strategy for small players within and outside the creative sector:  Where competition is fierce, and you are small, you must make sure what you do provides unique value in that ecosystem, or you will quickly find your margins eroded by another competitor e.g. a competitor from a country where costs are lower e.g. India, Nigeria, China etc.  We describe more on the niche strategy below as it applies to two different OOCC’s in Part 5, ‘Example: The importance of niche’.

What does an OOCC look like?

Starting from the outside looking in, generally, an OOCC will occupy multiple platforms and aggregators (e.g. website, iOS, Twitch, Facebook Live, YouTube, podcasts, etc) to maximise distribution of its content – one of its advantages over a small YouTube operation.  Within an aggregator, such as YouTube, the OOCC will have many ‘sub-channels’, visible on its ‘Playlist’ tab (right hand side of the screen shot below).

OOCC's tend to occupy multiple aggregators and platforms. They can have sub-channels or 'programs' under their banner.

Images above: What an OOCC looks like from the outside. Top: Home page on the web of an OOCC. Bottom left: Splash page for the OOCC on YouTube. Bottom right: The OOCC’s sub-channel menu with each of the images representing a sub-channel of content, like a television program on television.

What do they look like from the inside? Here we’re going to focus on the OOCC called Geek & Sundry. Some features to note:

The content is produced in the studio of the OOCC using (initially) the OOCC’s generic set, production crew (producer, camera, audio and social media manager). One might wonder how they can afford the staff and crew.  The answer is that these same crew and resources are scaled across the large number of sub-channels (see the above diagram in the bottom right image), likely using the same crews and resources across different sub-channel productions. ‘Sub-channels’ are defined here as channels of content that have been curated by the OOCC and exist under the banner of the main online channel – here, a YouTube channel. Similarly, the sub-channel might exist on the OOCC’s website under a separate tab or link.

So what are the consequences of this scaled approach at the micro-level? In the next few diagrams we’ll look at one of the sub-channels – Critical Role (which exists on the OOCC, Geek and Sundry) – and watch how it benefits from scale, starting from its humble start as a very bare-bones production.  Later, we’ll compare it to an unscaled YouTube sub-channel, and also compare it to an unscaled artist or arts organisation approach.

Each sub-channel or program can share resources from the OOCC

Example: Critical Role Sub-Channel. Critical Role is a sub-channel on the Geek & Sundry OOCC. Note, the Geek & Sundry logo appears on the bottom right of the screen, visible in the images at the top left, top right and bottom right.

The Benefits of Scale for an OOCC

The first thing to note below is the title sequence of the same sub-channel at different times in its journey: For Episode 1, there is no visual title sequence – just voice over. After approximately 40 episodes we can see elaborate make-up, wardrobe, CGI, location shoot etc.

Production values can increase as the program earns it

Diagram above: The first episode title sequence is nothing but a blurred screen with voice-over. By episode 40, the program/sub-channel has earned enough subscribers, monetisation or engagement (the OOCC sets the Key Performance Indicator) to afford a video production with CGI (provided by a sponsor), make-up/wardrobe and a location shoot.

As the sub-channel grows, it has attracted more sponsors. Note below the hand-drawn diagram/map in the left picture compared to the ornate models and figurines being used on the right. These products have been provided by sponsors, demonstrating one of the advantages of scale (and success).

Sponsors find ways of supporting the program

Diagram above: Product placement advantage for an OOCC sub-channel. On the left props and set are generic or cheaply drawn. On the right, as the sub-channel grows, it attracts sponsors, in this case, figurines and elaborate models.

Also note above, the use of the OOCC’s generic set in the early episodes has been replaced by a customised set build as the sub-channel has earned the resource allocation through subscriber growth and views. Note too, some of the talent are wearing t-shirts and other paraphernalia branded for the sub-channel.  They are able to produce, promote and sell merchandise and promote sponsors much more easily due to their scale, probably through a dedicated sponsorship manager and/or online community manager. In the first instance though, before the sub-channel has proven itself, the online community and campaign manager was probably the producer and their (the talent’s) own efforts, as with a normal unscaled Youtuber’s channel.

Comparison of a scaled OOCC sub-channel versus an unscaled OOCC sub-channel

Now we compare an unscaled OOCC sub-channel (below image, on the left) to the scaled sub-channel (below image, on the right, which is still the Critical Role example from before). Although the lone YouTuber on the left has strong graphic and video production skills (he came from the video production industry) – possibly even better than for the ‘Critical Role’ sub-channel - he cannot beat the better production values over time or the access to a wider talent pool.

Left: Typical unscaled (successful) YouTuber. Right: Scaled YouTube operation

Diagram: Comparison of unscaled sub-channel versus a scaled sub-channel

In fact, we are also seeing another benefit of the scaled operation.  In the above example, the OOCC was using the popularity of one sub-channel to cross-promote and publicize the launch of what would become a new sub-channel on the OOCC: D&Diesel.

Audience engagement and development

In the image below, on the left, the lone (‘unscaled’) YouTuber is able to gather his friends together for a livestream with his audience. In the image below, on the right, a professional ‘gig booker’ has taken the Critical Role talent around the United States before live audiences of hundreds, sometimes thousands.  These are opportunities to either further monetize e.g. paid tickets, or develop new audience and engage more deeply with existing audience.

Left: Unscaled operation uses home webcam and lounge room Right: A professional gig-booker provided by the OOCC has booked gigs before large audiences

Diagram above: The scaled program on the right is before an audience of hundreds. This audience can be monetised (selling tickets to the event - a live-before-an-audience performance of what the program streams) or used to build audience and deepen engagement.

Comparison of Spin-off IP monetization

Below, both the sub-channels being compared have ‘spin-off’ intellectual property (IP) they wish to monetize. The ‘Z-Land’ content from the unscaled OOCC is based on their original IP for a new game system.  But with viewer numbers only in the dozens, it is probably not selling anywhere near as well as the IP generated by the other ‘scaled’ sub-channel, Critical Role.

Below, one of the talents on the ‘Critical Role’ show, the Chronicles of Exandria, due to its audience of millions: https://geekandsundry.com/the-chronicles-of-exandria-the-tale-of-vox-machina-available-now/ (and also likely due to the fact that the critical role IP to serve an already well-known IP asset, Dungeons & Dragons).

Left: The unscaled channel's crowd-funding program raises c.$8K Right: The scaled program has a subscription base of 1.7 million from the OOCC from which to help monetise.

Diagram above: Comparison of spin-off IP monetization capabilities between unscaled sub-channel and scaled sub-channel

Monetization ratios

A key performance indicator (KPI) to examine is the comparison between monetization ratios of scaled OOCC operations and unscaled OOCC’s.

Much higher monetisation ratios are likely for a scaled OOCC than an unscaled YouTube channel

Image: Comparison of monetization ratios between unscaled sub-channel and scaled sub-channel. Very rough estimates for monetization per YouTube subscriber.

Unfortunately, this is a difficult exercise from where we stand.  It is difficult to specify precise monetization ratios for YouTube channels because:-

1) It is a confidential stipulation of YouTube that content creators using its services not disclose monetization rates

2) The KPI monetized by YouTube is the amount/duration of ads viewed by viewers (‘Clicks per 1000 views’ or CPM). This will vary even within a YouTuber’s own channel as content length and type may vary

3) Many OOCC’s are privately held and keep data to themselves

BYP Group estimates - very roughly - that the average successful YouTuber (say, >10,000 subscribers – it’s what YouTube itself uses as a gauge for access to resources at its YouTube Spaces) monetizes at a ratio of around $0.33c per subscriber from YouTube ad revenue alone (the YouTuber gets 45%, and YouTube keeps 55%).  If they actively undertake activities such as merchandising and spin-off services, they may reach $1 per subscriber and possibly higher.  For reasons of scale mentioned above, we suspect few lone YouTubers ever achieve this higher threshold.

A scaled OOCC is likely to generate a much better monetization ratio.  To put that in context, recall Geek & Sundry had 1.7 million (now nearly 1.8M) subscribers.  We roughly estimate G&S’s revenue is around $8-17 million p.a.

In the next section, we examine the needs of the Australian creative industries, with a particular emphasis on the arts and cultural sector. We do this with a view to seeing how the business models explored above might fit with the needs of our sector.

The David versus Goliath battle faced by Australian creative industries and what they might do to win (Part 2: Old vs New Paradigm)

In this section, we look at the impact of the digital disruption and implications it has for the creative sectors.

This is the second of a series of blogposts examining ramifications of the small size of most Australia creative businesses and exploring strategies for resolving issues raised here.

In the previous blog, we explored:

Part 1: We’re Tiny. The tiny size of Australian creative industries

In future blogs, we will look at:

Part 3: New media models for harnessing the Internet to create scale for creatives

Part 4: Australian creative economy needs, especially those in the arts and cultural sector

Part 5: How a new media model solution might look in the arts and cultural sector

Part 2: Old vs New Paradigm

The advent of the Internet saw a paradigm shift in media that the World economy is still working through.  Broadly known as ‘Disruption’, we went from a world of content scarcity (Anyone remember having only one TV channel in Wollongong?), and difficulty in distribution (e.g. newsagents and video rental stores), to almost the opposite.

Media: The Canary in the Coalmine of Disruption

To begin with, we will look to the world of media, because these are the industries that were first to feel the effects of disruption caused by the Internet.  Consequently, many of these industries have had more time to develop responses to the new paradigm – or even more interestingly – have started their business model with the Internet in mind – so-called ‘digital natives’.

We argue these ‘new media’ businesses are better designed to leverage the strengths and minimize the weaknesses of the digital disruption.  These developments in the media industry have ramifications for our later discussion considering many artists and creatives receive most of their income either employed by the media industries, or ‘embedded’ in other industries employing new media techniques.

The sector saw a 'hollowing' out of the middle tier

Diagram 1(above): Old vs New Paradigm. The sector saw a ‘hollowing’ out of the middle tier.

Many media forms saw a ‘hollowing out’ of the ecosystem, e.g. print publishing saw national newspapers (e.g. Fairfax Media) eroded by a handful of larger international papers (e.g. NYT, Guardian) and new paradigm media outlets (e.g. Buzzfeed) towards the top. Broadcast television saw plummeting profits in the commercial networks leading to the acquisition of Network Ten by a large, foreign media company, CBS. Computer games saw ‘mid-sized’ firms like local companies Blue Tongue and Team Bondi displaced by only the very large content aggregators such as Zynga, Steam or ‘AAA’ developers such as Rockstar Games (e.g. Grand Theft Auto), and replaced by smaller games companies who had success in the new paradigm such as local firms Hipster Whale (Crossy Road) and Half Brick (Fruit Ninja) with much lower production-value games.

Differences in the impact of disruption upon different creative sectors

It is important to acknowledge that each of the media industries has experienced disruption in slightly different ways.  The recording industry experienced years of eroding revenues before recently having renewed success with the subscription model e.g. Spotify and Apple iTunes.  Likewise, the book publishing industry were successful in litigating, with the result being that the aggregator, Amazon, maintains high prices for digital books.  Interestingly, Amazon still wins from this, as it is the main aggregator for books.  Where it loses is that it is more restricted in accelerating the popularity of books in digital form.

In both cases, the respective ‘old paradigm’ media powers were able to successfully leverage intellectual property (IP) laws.  This is not surprising as IP laws came about to protect powerful interests that were wealthy enough to own the production (or the means of putting things into 'producible form') e.g. Emperors of China – China had invented the printing press prior to the 8thcentury CE and quickly saw imperial decrees similar to modern copyright laws; and later in the West, industrialists who had sufficient capital to invest in printing machinery.

Changes to the Screen Sector

For the purposes of this series, we will focus upon the screen sector due to its interesting parallels to the arts and cultural sector in Australia.

In screen, we’ve seen the top filled by aggregators such as Netflix, YouTube and ‘orthogonal’ businesses such as Facebook and Amazon. At the bottom end of the content production spectrum we see individual YouTubers posting millions of hours of content a month – frequently people sitting in front of their ‘face-cam’ on their desktop computer at home or shooting from their mobile phone.

At the ‘bottom end’ of content, where production values are cheap and barriers to entry are low, the viewer is now inundated with so much content, the power has shifted. No longer is it with the distributor – e.g. the broadcast networks, newspaper publishers and their newsagents - the power now actually goes to the organisation that can sift through all the content and find relevant content to the viewer’s tastes – e.g. Google/YouTube search, the App Store (arguably a ‘platform’), Facebook. The new ‘large’ players are the aggregators – by aggregating content, they become desirable to the audience/consumer, in turn becoming more desirable to the content creator who then places more content on the aggregator, the audience turns to the aggregator ‘where all the content is’, and so on and so on, in a ‘flywheel’ effect dubbed ‘Aggregation’ (sometimes known as ‘the network effect’).

Content scarcity now only exists in the screen sector at the top end of production values and quality, like Game of Thrones, House of Cards, etc where the makers of the content can be ensured there are restrictions to distribution. In this context, large content providers like Disney and HBO are similar to large book publishers in the old paradigm and new paradigm ‘aggregators’ like Netflix analogous to Amazon's book store.

One should note too that the screen content has to be so compelling the audience is willing to pay a price for access to it, for example, by subscribing to a Subscription Video on-demand service (SVOD).

It is interesting to note that Disney – formerly a content maker and ‘old world’ distributor (to cinemas, TV etc) - has recently decided to ‘pivot’ from being a content creator to moving up the supply chain to becoming a content aggregator.  Disney’s CEO Bob Iger recently flagged they are to start a subscription video service in 2019.

In the next part (Part 3) of our series, we examine what is happening in the screen sector at the bottom end of content production with a view to drawing insights that may inform Australian creative industries who have similar economic properties of being small in scale.