The days of brick and mortar businesses are slowly dwindling as creative industries are increasingly undergoing a ‘digital migration’. ‘Creative Industries’, defined as being “economic and social activities in the areas of the performing arts are actively being consumed on fixed internet and mobile platforms”, says Atiba Phillips, Principal Consultant of INFOCOMM Technologies (ICT) Ltd.

Over the next four years, digital technologies will become progressively widespread across all segments of Entertainment and Media (E&M). Presently, global digital consumption constitutes 27% and is projected to represent as much as 47% of E&M spending by 2017. The global E&M market as a whole is expected to grow at a rate of 5.6% annually, generating revenues in excess of US$2.0tn by 2017.

Similar to international creative industries, the Caribbean is a haven for creative output with an abundance of innovative cultural products. However, the production of online and mobile content with associated infrastructure and business models, is considered new territory in the Caribbean. “In order for the Region to succeed in taking advantage of new opportunities and ultimately, have the ability to compete in the global marketplace, it must to improve creation and distribution of rich Caribbean e-content and urgently address the barriers that inhibit progress” proffers Phillips.

For Caribbean economies to benefit meaningfully from the interaction with the Internet, the development of e-content driven by the creative industries will be a significant factor.

Read Full Article Here: CONTACT Article – Creative Industries go Digital – Do we understand the implications?