Creative industry in Brazil

Based on the Classificação Brasileira de Ocupações - CBO (read "Brazilian Classification of Occupations"),[4] the Ministry of Labour and Employment's list of all professions in the country,[note 2] the creative work market was mapped. The result of the study listed fourteen creative professions,[3] in which knowledge is a transforming input of production:

1. Architecture and Engineering;
2. Art;
3. Performing Arts;
4. Biotechnology;
5. Design;
6. Cultural expressions;
7. Film & Video;
8. Editorial Market;
9. Fashion;
10. Music;
11. Research and development;
12. Advertising;
13. Software, Computer & Telecom;
14. Television & Radio.

The first initiative to map the creative industries from any country was from the United Kingdom[note 3] at the end of 1990. The goal was to prove that these sectors have an important role to the culture and the potential to generate jobs and wealth to the country. Then, these creative industries were mapped, and all others who maintained relations with them as well. Thus, it was built a view of the weight of the creative chains in the production process.

Three years after this pioneering work, specifically in 2001, two others arose:

• One from researcher John Howkins, who built his study according to a corporate vision (based on marketing concepts of intellectual property);
• And another one from teacher Richard Florida, which showed off the so-called "creative class" (professionals who work with creative processes).

It did not take long for the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD, 2008) to launch another study on the subject, only this time with an international scope. According to the survey, the exports of the creative industries in the world exceeded 500 billion dollars.[5]

Given the importance of the issue to the world and specifically to Brazil, the study A Cadeia da Indústria Criativa no Brasil (read "The Chain of Creative Industry in Brazil"), was undertaken. It was updated in 2011 and published in 2012.[3] This tool to map the creative industry in the country is able to list information about each of these professions, such as the number of jobs and the amount of wages and the education level required. Thus, it unites information from both the Classificação Nacional de Atividades Econômicas (i.e. "National Classification of Economic Activities") and the "Brazilian Classification of Occupations".

In general, the creative industries encompass "economic activity directly related to the art world - especially the visual arts, performing arts, literature and publishing, photography, crafts, libraries, museums, galleries, archives, spots designated by the National Historic Landmark and festivals of arts (...) electronic media and other recent media (...) design-related activities.[6]

The theme is sometimes confused with the term "cultural industry". However, "the scope of the creative economy is determined by the extent of the creative industries."[7] In other words, cultural products and services would be part of a larger category of creative products and services.

For the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), the chain of creative industry comprises the "cycles of creation, production and distribution of goods and services that use creativity and intellectual capital as primary inputs."[5] Thus, it can be divided into three major areas: creative core (the creative economic activities) related activities (provide goods and services directly to the core) and support (provide goods and services indirectly to the core).

The United Kingdom's Department for Culture, Media and Sport considers as creative industries activities "that have their origin in creativity, skill and individual talent and which have a potential for creating wealth and jobs through the generation and exploitation of intellectual property." Based on this concept, it can be said that Brazil is very important when it comes to creative industry. After all, he is one of the largest producers in the world of creativity. Analyzing the remuneration of the Brazilian people, it was found that the wages of those working in the creative industry in Brazil are almost three times higher than the national average wage (comparison value: R$4,693 and R$1,733, respectively). And among creative professionals, those from Rio de Janeiro, São Paulo and the Federal District receive the best salaries. These are data from the "Creative Industries Mapping",[3] which was based on information from 2011. The study addresses issues such as jobs, wages, average wage per state, number of employees by segment and even from the GDP creative country.

The sector has gained so much importance that, in May 2012, the Brazilian president Dilma Rousseff decreed the creation of the Secretaria da Economia Criativa ("Creative Economy Secretariat").[8] The goal of SEC is to create, implement and monitor public policy that have the culture as a strategic axis, "prioritizing support and encouragement to professionals and to the micro and small Brazilian creative endeavors."[9]

According to a report from the United Nations, Brazil is not among the top twenty producers in the industry yet,[10] but the initiative of creating the SEC indicated the government's desire to reposition the "culture as development axis of the Brazilian state."[11] To the President of the National Bank for Economic and Social Development (BNDES), Luciano Coutinho, this is a recognition that creative activities are important for the country "in a long-term perspective, having as a goal a more inclusive and sustainable development.[12]

Globally, the countries that have excelled in the industry are China, in the first place, followed by the United States and Germany. But Brazil has contributed greatly in the fields of architecture, fashion and design, revealing its creative potential worldwide.[13]

The creative industry in Brazil gathers, generally, "young, educated and well-paid professionals" that earn 42% above the average wage in the country.[1] It is difficult to know how much an idea or innovation costs, once they are intangible assets. One way of finding that out would be to create metrics and to use qualitative and quantitative researches. What is possible to identify are general economic data related to the Creative Industry in Brazil, such as:[3]

• Share of GDP: R$110 billion
• Enterprises: 243 thousand
• Professionals: 810 thousand, of which the most numerous are:

1. Architects and engineers: 229 877 employees formal;
2. Programmers information systems: 50,440;
3. Business analysts: 45,324;
4. Research and market analyst: 25,141;
5. Marketing manager: 20,382;
6. Advertising agents: 14,032;
7. Graphic Designer: 17,806;
8. Biologist: 15,182;
9. Manager of research and development: 13,414;
10. Designer of bespoke shoes: 13,068.

• Wages: the best paid creative activities are:

1. Geologists and geophysicals: R$11,385;
2. Directors of TV shows: R$10,753;
3. Actors: R$10,348;
4. Biotechnologists: R$8,701;
5. News room directors: R$7,774;
6. Magazine editors: R$7,594;
7. Architects and engineers: R$7,524;
8. Electrical Engineers, electronics engineers and Computer engineers: R$7,431;
9. Screenwriters: R$7,347;
10. Researchers in general: R$7,102.

According to the Creative Economy Secretary of the Ministry of Culture, Cláudia Leitão, the country is learning to grow in this area, transforming the "Brazilian creativity into innovation and innovation into wealth."[11]

• Creative Industry
• Department for culture, media & Sport
• Annual Report of Social Information (RAIS)
• "Creative Industries Mapping Documents"
• CBO listing (PDF 1,2 KB)