2021-10-17 10:01

"Monetizing the flight of fancy". An economist on the rise of creative industries - INTERVIEW

In recent years, the expert community has been actively discussing the development and concept of creative industries. More and more often the opinion is voiced that it is this sector based on selling goods and services that are the result of intellectual activity that will become the engine of global economic development in the future. The 'Made in Russia' project talked to Sergey Trukhachev, Deputy Dean for Development of the Faculty of Economics and Head of the Institutional Modernization Research Laboratory, to find out why creativity attracts financial authorities and why this topic is still rather vague.

- First of all, we would like to understand the concept of creative industries.

- Creative industries is a special sector of economy, based on selling goods and services, which are the result of intellectual activity. But the problem is that everyone understands something different under this term. There is no established methodology and evaluation methodology. Now in Russia, at the request of the Federation for the Development of Creative Industries, a study is being conducted, and experts, having studied all kinds of statistics, say that there is no unified approach anywhere. There are sets of different international recommendations that are applied in different countries, applied in very different ways.

There were several studies on the share of GDP that creative industries occupy, they are also very different. New ones are being conducted now, and I think that by the end of the year data will be presented. But it is necessary to understand that there cannot be a correct international comparison. To put it rigidly, it is. So far everything is very relative.

- From your point of view, why is this sector so "fuzzy"?

- A new sphere. This is always the case when something new comes along that doesn't fit well with traditional institutions. It's one thing when you had agriculture tied to land, industry tied to buildings and technology and machines. But when a flight of fancy is monetized, it has no "parking lot"...

- In your opinion, what is connected with the emergence of a new sphere and the need to single out creative labor as a separate sector, given that most of the professions that fall under it have existed for a long time?

- I think there are several factors. Firstly, there is the story of intellectual property, which is becoming increasingly important for the economic success of an individual, of a country. Intellectual property is software code, design, scientific and educational methods, music, movies. The patent plays an increasingly important role in the modern economy.

On the other hand, there is the problem of geography and increased mobility. It is clear that the competition is not so much for territory as for people. If you want to be successful from the point of view of a corporation, a region, a country - any community - it's not a question of what territory you control, but which people work with you.

- How do you assess the development of the creative industries in Russia?

- It seems to me there's a very important aspect to this. There is a place of work, there is a place of residence, there is a place of sales. It's very important to understand what we mean by "developed" and "undeveloped". There are tax residents who make a living by creative labor. Do they always work for a company registered in the Russian jurisdiction? No, not always. Do these people always live in Russia? Again, no. This is why it is very important to distinguish between labour markets and places of residence.

- And yet, if we are talking about the Russian market, about people who live in Russia and work for Russian companies?

- Of course, people who work in Russian companies work not only for the Russian market. Let's take IT. It is clear that this is a global industry, not a Russian one. The Russians who work for Microsoft's Russian offices, whether they are part of the Russian creative industries, is a matter of methodology. They work in Russia, but it's a global company, so it's not really a Russian issue. This is why we need a methodology to calculate it; history is too multifaceted.

- Well, let's wait for the methodology to be formed. If we go back to the people who work in this field, from your point of view, has Russia formed a creative class, how can we characterize it?

- Here we need to define what is meant by the word "class"? If in the classical Marxist understanding this means a certain relationship to the means of production, then I wouldn't exaggerate this phenomenon, as the means of production are increasingly becoming brains.

I'm not sure that we can talk about class. Rather, we can speak of the demand for a certain kind of labour on the market. Whether or not this will become a class, we will see in the future. What we can say for sure is that we have people who live in this way, and the number of such people is growing.

- Looking ahead, how would you assess the role and importance of this sector for Russia?

- Of course it is important. But you can't just say: "We want the creative industries to develop in Russia". The story goes much deeper than that.

There is a search now for how to invest and how to make life comfortable for this creative labour, in terms of registering property rights, and how to live and work in that environment.

If a country wants to live in it, it has to invest in development. Russia has a convenient tax and banking system, it is eerily client-oriented compared to other countries. Russia, especially Moscow, is very technologically advanced, but there are some things you have to tighten.

Control over the monetization channels, over the information channels, is of great importance. What I see on the market is a clear confrontation between the people who invent something, let's call them crackpots (from the "creative class"), and the people who monetize this story, so to speak - the composer and the brand owner, the programmer and the company owner. This is a more complicated story, and we will see its development in the coming years.

Made in Russia / Made in Russia

Author: Maria Buzanakova