WeCreate welcomes government study of creative sector

WeCreate, the alliance of New Zealand’s creative industries, has welcomed MBIE’s new report Copyright and the Creative Sector. The report is the result of positive engagement with content creators and creative businesses who were provided with the opportunity to share their experiences of how content is created, produced, distributed and consumed across the many industries that are now recognised as making up the creative sector.

 Chair of WeCreate, Paula Browning, said,” We applaud Minister Goldsmith and the team at MBIE for taking steps to build government’s understanding of how our sector utilises copyright and design. The report provides insights for those not familiar with how copyright and design work in practice and in context, and will be one useful reference point for any future review of regulatory settings.”

Participants in the study highlighted the multiple ways in which content can now be consumed, particularly online. For many of our creative industries the ability to digitally and globally distribute and promote their work provides new opportunities to grow export revenue for New Zealand, enhance our international reputation, and diversify the country’s reliance on traditional sectors.

“The report provides a qualitative assessment of the sector and WeCreate is currently looking at some quantitative analysis that will also help to inform our ongoing engagement with government. As the report says, it is the beginning of a conversation; we believe this should be about the value of our creative people and businesses in building innovation for the future prosperity of our country. Our members look forward to partnering with government in an economic development strategy that will deliver growth from our creative sector for the wellbeing of all New Zealanders.”