Here is this week’s news:
Pre Budget Report
The Pre-Budget report, which you can download HERE, had little good news for anyone in the arts or creative industries. Buried in the detail (page 194) was confirmation that the DCMS resource budget would remain pretty much the same over the next two years and its capital budget would be cut from £0.9bn to £0.6bn.
Alistair Darling has also decided to press ahead with the phone line levy which we think will actually kill off private sector investment in superfast broadband HERE.
The film tax credit will be adjusted slightly to correct a ‘quirk’ in the legislation which restricts the available tax credit in an unintended way if there is increased UK spend in the second or later accounting periods full details HERE.
Alistair Darling has rejected a tax break from video games developers, as suggested in Digital Britain HERE. Ed has already said that we are actively considering a tax break for the industry, though we are also looking at other alternatives.
Taking a leaf out of David Cameron’s book they also announced a streamlining of quangos. This will include “rationalising up to a third of DCMS ALBs (arms length bodies), including streamlining ten DCMS advisory bodies and bringing forward plans for merging the UK Film Council and the British Film Institute” more HERE.
Creative Industries
Video Games
Tom Watson MP has called on ELSPA and TIGA to begin ‘forming an idea’ of a UK Games Council that would ‘run along the lines of the UK Film Council’ more HERE. This is something we have long advocated. We think this could be done by widening the remit of the UK Film Council, which would both encourage co-operation between these two sectors, and avoid the creation of a new quango.
Google
An excellent analysis of the implications of the Google book deal vis all creative content on the internet, and Google’s wider position in the global media world HERE.
Fashion
Congratulations to the winners at last night’s British Fashion Awards last night, though we hear that everyone was falling for Karen Elson, more HERE. Elson presented British Grace Coddington, creative director of American Vogue with the ‘fashion creator’ award.
Ahead of the awards, the British Fashion Council released their power 25 list more HERE
Ofcom
Ofcom’s draft Annual Plan for 2010/11 is out, more HERE. It includes three key areas including consumer and citizen, competition, and infrastructure and spectrum. Their Consumer Experience Report, which has helped shape these priorities is also published HERE… need to find a link
Music
The number of people using personalised online radio services such as Spotify and Last FM is growing rapidly, according to RAJAR research: 4.5 million people used such services last month, up from 3.9 million in may and 2.9 million in October last year, more HERE.
TV
Greg Dyke gave the annual Royal Television Society Christmas lecture last night. He called for the ‘unduly slow and bureaucratic’ BBC Trust to be abolished and its powers passed to Ofcom or a new body. He also said that he thought salaries across the TV industry were now too high, and that ITV and C4 have the opportunity to address this as they appoint new chief executives. More HERE. Given that Greg is chairman of our creative industries task force his views are particularly interesting, obviously.
There is a good story in the Telegraph on the future of local television HERE.
BBC Worldwide
The government has included BBC Worldwide in the portfolio assets it is considering selling and is urging the corporation to ‘look more widely at the options for greater financial and operational separation, including a sale or partial sale’ more HERE.
On the blog this week
What Lord Putnam would have said, had he been able to be there for the second reading of the Digital Economy Bill, HERE.
Arts and Heritage
Archives
A new archives strategy has been developed, consulted and published jointly by the National Archives and the MLA. More HERE. Congratulations to both organizations on this, which we think it is both clear and comprehensive and note that these two organizations have done all of this in less time than it’s taken not to have a library review.
Libraries
Stirring stuff on the Government’s spectacular failure to organise a drinks party in the proverbial brewery on libraries from Rachel Cooke in the Guardian HERE, and her longer piece in the spring HERE. We did write to her at the time to point out that she’d over looked Ed’s brilliant speech on the matter HERE. She seems to have overlooked his barnstorming performance at last week’s Review launch too. What’s a Shadow Minister to do to get the attention of the Guardian’s library champion you might wonder?
Meanwhile, thanks to an agreement brokered by the MLA, libraries are to get high speed broadband access, more HERE.
Music
Gustavo Dudamel has taken over as music director of the L.A. Philharmonic. The Venezuelan musician has attracted a level of media attention over the past few years normally only reserved for pop-stars, the kind of thing can cause concern in classical music circles. However, the New Yorker points out that: “notions of the irreconcilability of commerce and art smack of college-dorm Marxism, and run counter to the spirit of Beethoven, Verdi, and Mahler, who addressed themselves passionately to the general public.” To read the article in full HERE
RBS Art Collection
RBS have given in to pressure and agreed to open its art collection to the public. Thought to be one of Scotland’s finest private art collections, some of its most outstanding works will be lent to galleries and community arts projects. More HERE. We welcome this news, although we would like to see more British companies, including banks, putting their arts philanthropy at the centre of what they do: It is part of their contribution to wider society. Credit Suisse is currently running a US ad campaign which highlights how proud they are of supporting the New York Philharmonic in the current economic climate, more HERE. We would like to see more UK companies doing similar things.
Management of the Crown Estate
The Treasury Sub-Committee has announced a new inquiry into the administration and expenditure of the Crown Estate. The inquiry will look at how effectively the Crown Estate Commissioners are rising to the challenges they face including, for example, the development of renewable energy, and the extent to which they are achieving their objectives to earn a surplus for the benefit of the UK taxpayer, and enhance the value of their estates in each of their four business areas: The Urban Estate (commercial and residential property in London and elsewhere): The Marine Estate (includes 55% of the UK’s foreshore, and almost all of the seabed out to the 12 mile nautical limit), The Rural Estate (agricultural land, forests, and residential and commercial property in England, Scotland and Wales), Windsor Estate (includes the Royal Park) more HERE.
Turner Prize
Congratulations to painter Richard Wright, winner of this year’s Turner Prize, more HERE
And Finally
The Telegraph have recognised Ed for distinguished services to the arts, more HERE.
In Parliament
Parliamentary Questions
Forthcoming information on PR spending at the DCMS HERE
£126,000 on entertainment at the DCMS HERE
Visits to Museums and Galleries in Yorkshire and the Humber HERE
Just half of DCMS Parliamentary Questions are answered on time HERE
Early Day Motions
EDM 323 – Save Our Sound Campaign HERE
EDM 374 – Museums, Galleries, Councils and Gardens HERE
EDM 403 – Free Broadband Access in Towns HERE
Where we’ve been and who we’ve seen
Goldman Sachs(!), Turner Prize, Dell, MLA, launch of all-party group for Ethical Fashion, London International Festival of Theatre, Local Government Association, Munira Mirza, Serpentine Gallery, Matthew Freud, Conservative Arts and Creative Industries Network generously hosted by Rory Coonan, Turner and the Masters at the Tate, Ingenious and Microsoft Radio Spectrum seminar, Creative and Cultural Skills, BFI, Deloitte, Avatar premiere, Jingle Bell Ball, British Library, Charlie Caminda from Ludorum, new chairman of BBC Worldwide, Carphone Warehouse, V&A, Independent Publishers Forum, Hutchison Whampoa, Selina Scott, Google, Bollywood Festival at the Reel Cinema in Loughborough.
Ed Vaizey
Shadow Arts Minister
Jeremy Hunt
Shadow Culture Secretary
