The creative industries are characterised by a variety of growing markets and technological issues and opportunities. 

Scottish Enterprise’s digital media team works with the areas within Scotland’s creative industries, such as broadcast and TV, games and animation, marketing and design and publishing, which have the scale, quality and opportunities to achieve significant growth.

In Scotland, the creative industries are considered to include all or parts of: advertising; architecture; the art/antiques trade; crafts; design; designer fashion; video, film, music and photography; music and the visual and performing arts; publishing; computer games, software and electronic publishing; radio and television.

Scottish Enterprise works with a number of organisations actively involved in supporting Scotland’s creative industries.   These include Creative Scotland, Skills Development Scotland, the Scottish Government, industry bodies and many others. 

 Key Facts 

• The digital media and software sectors in Scotland employ over 42,000 people in over 5000 companies (2006)
• Companies in these sectors have a combined turnover of £3.16 billion per annum (2006)
• Between 2005 and 2007, Scottish-based digital media businesses secured thirty five investments with a total value of £21.8m
• One of the world’s most successful games, Grand Theft Auto, is produced by Rockstar North in Edinburgh. The most recent edition, Grand Theft Auto IV, in its first week sold approximately 6 million copies worldwide and grossed over $500 million
• The GVA Annual Average Growth Rate for the sector between 1998 and 2005 was 4.1%
• The sector has a GVA per employee of £65,291 (2005)

 Opportunities

• Global growth in digital/mobile-related revenues was 35% in 2007 and Scotland’s expertise should mean it can capture a a greater share of the global market. 
• Pacific Quay is a 60 acre site located on the Clyde which it is hoped will act as magnet for companies and talented individuals from the digital media sector and creative industries. It is the headquarter location for BBC Scotland and is adjacent to Film City Glasgow at Govan Town Hall, which is being developed as a production and post-production base for the film and television industry.
• The Seabraes Yards development in Dundee is located next to the city’s cultural quarter.  This purpose-built, 20 acre, city centre environment provides high-quality accommodation for start-ups, indigenous businesses and inward investors in the creative industries.  Seabraes Yards is one of Scotland’s most high-profile and important investment projects: one that will see more than £50 million injected into the area over the next 10 years and will give a further boost to Tayside's already successful and fast growing digital media and creative industries sectors. 

Latest Developments 

• Scottish Enterprise launched an economic development strategy for Scotland’s Broadcast sector in March 2009.  The next phase will see a number of Scotland-wide workshops being hosted to ensure broadcast and TV production companies are aware of the opportunity to almost double income from the sector to £420m by 2012.
• The Digital IP Fund was launched in November 2008, and is a £6 million project-based investment fund between Scottish Enterprise and Scottish Screen, initially with an ‘anchor investor’, Channel 4’s £50m 4iP fund, which has committed to at least match the £3m public sector investment. 
• In April 2008, Dundee-based games developer Real Time Worlds secured a major investment of $50m.