Birmingham Sector Profile - Digital and Creative

7/28/2019 Birmingham Sector Profile - Digital and Creative

1/11file of Birminghams Digital and Creative Sector

Profile of BirminghamsDigital and Creative Sector



5,800+firms in the digital

and creative

ndustries

34,000+employed in the

sector

13%employment growth

between 2005 and

2010

The Digital and Creative Sector

Sector overview

Digital and creative has become one of the key sectors of the modern economy. Its

products saturate contemporary life: watching television, going to the cinema,

reading newspapers, listening to music, playing computer games or socialising

online occupy many of our waking hours. In the first decade of this century these

industries have had their power and

reach hugely amplified by digital

technology.

Britain is recognised as a world leader in

many aspects of the digital and creative

sector, and Birmingham is itself home to

a wide variety of digital and creative

businesses a distant echo of the city of

a thousand trades of Victorian times.

This is a highly varied sector, including

design, advertising, video games, film,

and publishing yet the industries have

certain things in common. They earn their profits from the creative skills of theirworkforce and the generation of intellectual property. Definitions of the sector vary,

but this profile uses one based on that used by the government, with the addition

Major sub-sectors

Publishing and printing: books,

newspapers and online

Radio, television and film:

production and broadcast

Software development, including

video games

Advertising

Introduction

This profile is one of a suite of seven covering key High Growth Sectors in

Birmingham. The profiles were compiled in 2011 and go beyond analysis of the

available datasets, to enable us to understand how the sectors support the local

economy now, and how we can develop their potential for the future. This has

been achieved by integrating data analysis with intelligence from sector experts

drawn from businesses, research institutions and networks.

Each of the profiles presents statistical information, along with case studies, an

analysis of the sector today, and future challenges and opportunities.

The seven sectors are:

Business and Professional Services

Financial Services

Creative, Media and Digital

Medical Technology

Transport Technologies

Low Carbon

Advanced Manufacturing



Prospects for future growth

Profits and jobs in the sector have undoubtedly been squeezed in recent years by

technological upheaval and greater foreign competition. The recession has

exacerbated these trends. However, considerable opportunities remain. PWC

estimate that after a decline of 3.8 per cent in 2009, the UKs entertainment and

media market will have grown modestly in 2010 before accelerating from 2012

onwards. Over the years from 2010 to 2014 growth is expected to average 3.7 per

cent a year. The UK will remain the worlds fifth-largest national market, behind the

"Birmingham is a much

misunderstood city. It's

a great place to live,

work, relax and enjoy.

It has great culture

and entertainment.

Phil Riley,Orion Media

Made in Birmingham - Orion Media

Orion Media owns five radio stations across the Midlands. Its flagship station is

brmb in Birmingham, which broadcasts a mix of chart and classic hits, talk shows,

live football commentary and news bulletins.

The company employs around 130 staff as well as many freelancers, and has a

turnover of 15-20m. Orion Media and BRMB are both based in Brindleyplace, in

the heart of Birmingham.

Orions boss since 2009, Phil Riley, was the

original founder of the company. He began

his career in radio as a trainee at brmb in

1980, before rising through the industry to

become chief executive of Chrysalis Radio in

London. Riley feels the chain can compete

against national players, even in a radio

market as competitive as Birminghams, by

connecting with the citys and the stations

heritage. brmb is now the last big local

station in the city.

Riley has sought to make brmb a distinctive local station, one which draws on the

citys rich past as well as its vibrant present. The stations strapline, Made in

Birmingham, was taken from the title of a 2009 exhibition about Matthew Boulton,

a pioneering Birmingham industrialist, to embody this pride in the citys heritage.

Brindleyplace, home of Orion Media

of the jewellery trade, a historic creative strength of the citys economy.

Birmingham also has a strong position in radio and TV, newspapers, music

publishing, arts facilities and advertising.

This is a fast-moving sector. Its business models change rapidly. Although the

spread of the internet and other digital technologies have revolutionised working

practices, creating new products, companies and markets, it has also overturnedestablished business practices. The ease with which digital goods can be produced

and distributed means that many people do not expect to pay much (if anything)

for creative content. As a result, firms have struggled to ensure that they are paid

for their intellectual property. Yet it is still a sector that is viewed as having real

potential for the future. The government has identified it as a possibly important

way of rebalancing the economy away from an over-dependence on financial

services.



890m+contribution to thecitys economy

61firms are

headquartered in the

city

US, Japan, China and Germany. The fastest growing sectors in Britain are predicted

to be internet advertising, internet access, video games and filmed entertainment,

all of which are thought likely to grow at 5 per cent a year or more over 2010-14.

These are areas in which digital infrastructure has opened up new possibilities, such

as the growth in mobile applications, or apps.

The wider value of the sector

The sectors influence stretches further than the economic value of its own

businesses. It sits at the centre of a web of connections with other industrial

sectors, and is a source of innovation for the wider economy, particularly through

design, branding and advertising. It also has an important role to play in urban

regeneration, place-making and community cohesion. Academics have argued that,

in the modern knowledge economy, place is an increasingly important factor in

attracting inward investment. Knowledge workers have a wide choice of places to

live, the argument goes, so they look for creative, tolerant, buzzy places in which

they feel comfortable and which provide them with stimulation. The creative

industries, through culture, entertainment, media and festivals are key elements in

such placemaking.

The business base

2010 data shows that the digital and creative industries comprise a sizeable sector

in Birmingham:

The sector employs 34,300 people, some seven per cent of the citys

workforce. Employment in the sector has grown by 13 per cent since 2005

There are 5,850 digital and creative businesses in the city, very slightly

higher than the 2005 figure (5,797). This represents 9 per cent of the citys

firm base

Gross Value Added in the sector amounts to just over 890m.

94 per cent of creative firms in the city are micro-businesses, employing

fewer than ten people

The credit crunch and recession have certainly posed challenges for the sector.

However, creative businesses in Birmingham are cautiously optimistic about the

future. There is a sense that the sector in the city is still growing, especially among

the more technology- and digitally-focused firms.



Digital Birmingham

Digital Birmingham is a partnership of 40 organisations,

including the BBC, Microsoft, BT, the Chamber of Commerce,

and the Birmingham universities. It aims to encourage

investment in digital projects and the uptake of broadband across the city to

generate economic and sustainable growth, promote greater social inclusion, and

improve the quality of life.

Digital Birmingham has an influencing and brokering role, helping SMEs in

particular to collaborate and develop innovative projects, and to find sources of

funding to carry out such work. It also helps shape key city council strategies,such as those for social media and open data, in ways that create opportunities

for digital businesses.

It is currently working on plans to establish ultra-fast broadband services, firstly

in Digbeth, the Jewellery Quarter and Eastside, and then across the core city. It is

also seeking to encourage 4G wireless services across the city. The current

funding climate is challenging, but Digital Birmingham is focusing on using digital

technology to encourage business growth; improve sustainability by, for example,

using technology to reduce the need for travel; protect the vulnerable through

digital delivery of services.

It also intends to share the experience it has gained with other local authorities in

the new Greater Birmingham Local Enterprise Partnership.

The ten largest firms in the sector, by employment

BBC 650

Birmingham Cable Ltd 600

Trinity Mirror PLC 559

Dealer Computer Services Inc 344

Delcam PLC 300

Gala Electric Casinos Ltd 295

ITV Central Ltd 269

Yell Group PLC 240

Specialist Computer Holdings Ltd 203

Cookson Precious Metals Ltd 192

The largest firms in Birminghams digital and creative sector reflect the variation in

the sector itself. They include representatives from telecommunications(Birmingham Cable), software (Delcam), business listings (Yell) and jewellery

suppliers (Cookson Precious Metals).

The BBC is the largest employer in the sector. It maintains a significant presence in

the city at its Mailbox headquarters. The long-running radio soap The Archers is

produced in Birmingham, as is the daytime BBC1 soap Doctors. BBC1s popular

evening drama series Hustle is also filmed in Birmingham.



Strong identity, strong sense of place

The sector has helped to improve Birminghams image. The big cultural buildings of

the city centre, such as Symphony Hall, the Birmingham Rep and the International

Convention Centre, have raised the profile of cultural activity in the city. The Barber

Institute of Fine Arts on the campus of the University of Birmingham is home to

important works by the likes of Botticelli, Bellini, Drer, Van Dyck, Rembrandt,

Manet and Degas. The Birmingham Art Gallery has the largest collection of Pre-Raphaelite works in the world, as well as Old Masters and Impressionists.

Digital and creative businesses, meanwhile, are found across the city, but tend to

concentrate in certain central neighbourhoods. Two of these are especially notable:

the Jewellery Quarter and Digbeth. The Jewellery Quarter is home not just to the

citys jewellery trade around 40 per cent of UK production is still made in the

Quarter but to many creative businesses as well. It is a designated conservation

area with over 200 listed buildings, and has been described by English Heritage as a

unique historic environment in England, which has few, if any, parallels in Europe.

When I set up

Rewired I couldnt

think of a better

place for an office

than the Jewellery

Quarter. I love the

combination of

beautiful buildings,

burgeoning creativityand a wealth of

ndependent bars

and restaurants.

Ruth Pipkin,

Rewired PR

Rewired in the Jewellery QuarterRewired PR is a small but fast-growing PR consultancy

founded in 2008 by Ruth Pipkin, a former Birmingham Young

Professional of the Year. In just three years the companys

turnover has grown to 250,000 and has six staff. It offers PR

services as well as event management, social media strategy and training,

copywriting, and media training.

From the start Pipkin chose to target the digital and creative industries as

potential clients. Rewireds clients come from both the private and public sector,

and include Punch Records, the Birmingham Book Festival, Screen West Midlands

and the Wolverhampton Art Gallery. They have also started to attract businesses

from other industries, such as Kraft (the new owners of Cadbury).

Pipkin originally came to the city to study at Birmingham University, and has

become a passionate advocate of the city. She considered setting up her business

in London, but felt she would have been a very small fish in a very big pond

there. For her, the opportunities were as good in Birmingham. She also feels that

there is a great sense of camaraderie among businesses in the city. Although

there is competition there is also shared pride in the achievements of Birmingham

firms. There are also many networks and groups to tap into, which provide both

commercial and social opportunities.

She feels that Birmingham has many assets, from its wide choice of business

premises types, to its cultural offer and its work-life balance. While the recession

and the public-sector cuts have and will continue to pose challenges for the

sector, she sees grounds for optimism. New businesses are being set up all the

time, and for small, agile firms such as hers the recession has been an

opportunity to demonstrate their quality to clients looking ever harder for value

for money.

Digbeth was the first industrial district in Birmingham. The factories and warehouses

left behind by manufacturing continue to dominate the architecture of the area. Anumber of these buildings have been converted into spaces for digital and creative

businesses. The concentration of similar businesses has helped to create a large,

well-qualified labour pool in a fashionable urban environment.



The entrepreneurs Bennie and

Lucan Gray have been central to

the development of Digbeth they

were the driving forces behind the

Custard Factory and Fazeley

Studios, which have become

important hubs for the creative

industries in Digbeth. This part of

Birmingham has now been

designated as a Digital District.

Digbeth offers a

entral urban setting,

which is highly

ccessible and in the

igital media hub of

Birmingham.

Mark Betteridge,

Rare Games, Fazeley

Studios

Digital media in DigbethSubstrakt

Substrakt is a digital media and design agency

established in 2006 by Andy Hartwell. Thebusiness has grown steadily: it now has eight staff and a turnover of around

350,000. Hartwell set up his business with the help of a grant from Birmingham

City Council and the EU, and chose to base himself in Digbeth, where he already

knew some of the creative companies. He felt it was an up-and coming area, and

still likes the gallery spaces and creative businesses of the district, although it very

much remains an area in transition. Substrakt has a number of high-profile clients,

including Selfridges, Microsoft X48 Gamecamp, the Birmingham School of

Architecture and CABE.

Substrakt prides itself on the quality of its work. It is now attracting high-end web

and design commissions. It has to compete against London agencies, but Hartwelldoes not find being Birmingham-based any handicap. If anything, the recession

has prompted clients to search harder for high-quality work.

Hartwell studied at what is now Birmingham City University. He has maintained

links with the university, teaching there and becoming involved in their Creative

Metropoles and Innovation Vouchers programmes. Substrakt is also working on a

project around digital media in the European cultural sector with the University of

Birmingham. Substrakt has also helped set up Jobplot, a website to help

Birmingham creatives find work, in conjunction with Meshed Media and Creative

Alliance. Contributing to the wider success of Birmingham is important to the

company.

The Custard Factory, Digbeth

Many creative businesses have grown out of Birminghams lively arts scene. The City

of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra is based at arguably the best concert hall in the

country (Symphony Hall). The Birmingham Royal Ballet is based at one of the citys 3

major theatres, and one of the best museums outside London, as well as

contemporary art venues and large conference and exhibition arenas. It will shortly

be home to a spectacular new library the Library of Birmingham.

Birmingham is also blessed with a large number of festivals, such as Fierce!, the

Flatpack Film Festival and Rhubarb-Rhubarb (photography). Supersonic is a musicfestival based at the Custard Factory. Its promoters, Capsule, have turned Supersonic

into a nationally respected music event, bringing acts to Birmingham from far and

wide, as well as providing a showcase for local acts.



Close to London, and a sector hub in its own right

Londons position as one of the

worlds great cultural capitals means

that it and the wider South East of

England dominate many of the crea-

tive and digital industries. By someestimates this part of the country ac-

counts for almost 60 per cent of all

creative jobs in Britain. But Birming-

ham has many advantages on which it

can draw. It is significantly cheaper

both in terms of rents and labour, has

excellent transport links (90 minutes from central London by train), yet is big enough

to attract highly talented people. Many of its companies, especially in digital media (a

strength of both the city and the Midlands as a whole) have a high reputations in

their fields. Television Junction and Maverick have won BAFTA and Royal Television

Society awards for their work, while in the fields of web and digital media Clusta,

Made Media, Codemaster and Meshed Media have all received acclaim.

Pressing the point

In book publishing, it is difficult for firms outside the capital to make an impact,

but this is the challenge that Tindal Street Press has set itself. Established in1998, it is an independent publisher of regional literary fiction. As its website

states, it aims to find writers of national and international significance from

places other than London and the South East. In this, it has had much success.

It has a roster of writers who have won critical acclaim for their work. They in-

clude Clare Morrall, whoseAstonishing Splashes of Colourwas shortlisted for the

Booker Prize in 2003; Austin Clarke, author ofThe Polished Hoe, which claimed

the Commonwealth Writers Prize in the same year; and Catherine OFlynn, whose

debut novel, What Was Lost, won both the Costa First Novel Prize in 2007 and

the Galaxy British Book Best Newcomer in 2008.

The Tindal Street Press has its origins in a local writers group, Tindal Street Fic-tion Group. It now has a turnover of around 300,000 a year and employs six

people. The Press is based in the Custard Factory in Digbeth. Alan Mahar, TSPs

Publishing Director describes the Factory as a demonstration that there is such a

thing as an arts and media quarter in Birmingham.

The Press has plans to become fully independent of public subsidy. It has entered

a sales partnership with a high-profile London firm, Atlantic Books, and a distribu-

tion agreement with TBS. These moves should allow Tindal Street Press to ex-

pand the number of titles it publishes each year from 8 to 12, and to improve its

marketing and sales. Mahar feels that Tindal Street Press is now succeeding in

breaking through the dominance of London-based publishers.

Birminghams Jewellery Quarter



A collegiate and collaborative culture

Although it is Britains second-largest city, Birmingham is still small enough for

businesses to build relationships with one another. There is a strong collegiate,

collaborative style among creatives in Birmingham much different from the culture

of many other cities. A host of informal networks and web resources have been

established in the city to support this culture, including Creative Republic, Created inBirmingham, Creative Alliance and Game Central.

Academic credibility

A key ingredient in the success of creative industries is access to a large talent pool.

Birmingham has one of the youngest populations of any big city in Europe, and three

large universities Birmingham (a member of the Russell Group of universities),

Aston and Birmingham City University, as well as a number of specialist institutions

and city colleges.

Some of these institutions have a strong creative industries focus. Birmingham City

University (BCU) is perhaps the most notable of these. It has 25,000 students on

eight campuses and was among the first universities in the country to offer mediadegrees. The long-established Birmingham Institute of Art and Design, which is now

a faculty of BCU, is one of the countrys top ten institutions for research in its field,

according to the most recent Research Assessment Exercise.

BCU has a Centre for Design and the Creative Industries, a research centre which

focuses on design innovation and jewellery, and is home to the Jewellery Industry

Innovation Centre, which helps the citys jewellery trade stay on the cutting-edge of

technology. It offers training and consultancy in such fields as CAD/CAM, rapid

prototyping, laser welding and marking, and 3D scanning.

BCU has an Institute for Digital Experience and Applications and was recently host to

a region-wide Interactive Digital Media Programme which encouraged the

development of the serious games segment of the digital media industry.



Business location

As the map shows, digital and creative businesses can be found right across

Birmingham, but there is a particularly large concentration in the city centre. This

reflects the importance of the Jewellery Quarter and Digbeth areas as creative

places. With its business districts such as Brindleyplace and Colmore Row, the city

centre also provides a concentration of potential clients.

Beyond the city centre, smaller clusters of sector businesses can be seen in Sutton

Coldfield to the north, and along the Birmingham-Solihull corridor to the east.

Leading computer and software firms in Birmingham

Cisco and Microsoft both have a presence in Birmingham. Cisco has a

communications technology demonstrator based at Birmingham Science Park Aston.

Ciscos Ideas and Communications Suite at the Science Park uses the latest

teleconferencing and other technology to enable communication and collaboration

across the world, making available to start-ups and SMEs the kind of facilities thatwould normally be beyond their affordability.

Rare is a British video game developer, acquired by Microsoft in 2002. The company

has a new facility in Fazeley Studios, Digbeth which will be home to 90 staff working

on new games development.


11/11

Future opportunities

Taken as a whole, the digital and creative industries represent a dynamic sector in

Birmingham, accounting for a significant and growing proportion of the citys

economy. Birmingham is not a major rival to London in this area - the capital is a

global centre for the sector, and will always exert a strong pull for talent and

business. The sector would benefit from attracting some larger, more productivefirms that would act as more significant drivers of the local economy. However, the

digital and creative sector has a diverse and innovative base from which to grow, as

well as the following strengths:

A geographical focus for digital and creative activity in the city centres

Jewellery Quarter and Digbeth Digital District

A number of firms that are intent on making a splash, not just in the city, but

much further afield

A collegiate sector, reflected in the formal and informal networks that

abound within its boundaries

Significant research resources in the citys universities

A lower cost of living compared to London, but with good transport

connections to the capital

Further Information

Reporting and analysis by Consulting Inplace and BOP Consulting. Unless otherwise

specified, the statistical data in this profile relates to 2010 figures, based on a

bespoke sector definition determined by Birmingham City Council for the purposes

of this research. Data comes from TBRand may therefore differ from ONS and

other business datasets.

Copies of all seven High Growth Sector profiles can be downloaded from:

www.birmingham.gov.uk/birminghameconomy

Further information about this profile can be obtained from:

Economic StrategyBirmingham City CouncilPO Box 14439Birmingham B2 2JE

T +44 (0) 121 464 2114E [email protected]

Get in touch with Business Birmingham's specialist inward investment team to findout more about the opportunities Birmingham offers:

T +44 (0) 121 202 5022

E [email protected] www.businessbirmingham.com

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Birmingham Sector Profile - Digital and Creative