The European cultural and creative industries (CCI) represent a significant set of industries. Social, cultural and technological changes have helped fuel our thirst and demand for cultural products, new forms of entertainment, distraction, and inspiration. Driven by these changes entirely new industries have emerged (e.g. computer games, web design), older cultural industries have gone from being the preserve of the elite to mass market global industries (e.g. books, high fashion, designer goods), and traditional consumer industries have tried to redesign and repackage what they have always done to suit consumers’ insatiable desire for culture and creativity.

Europe’s creative and cultural industries are global leaders and competitive exporters in a wide range of fields. They are the heart of creating Europe’s culture and identity, and central to promoting Europe’s identity around the world. Moreover they are an aggregate group of industries that in 2006 employed a total of 6,576,558 persons or 2.71% of the European labour market.

http://www.clusterobservatory.eu/upload/CreativeAndCulturalIndustries-MainReport.pdf