A brief review of regulation for creative and cultural industries

This report examines key elements of the European regulatory environment for the cultural and creative sectors (CCS) and is part of Work Package 3 (Policy, regulatory and governance matrix of the CCS in Europe) of the CICERONE-project (acronym for ‘Creative Industries Cultural Economy Production Network’). The focus of the report is on regulation within the EU that effect the CCS and their production networks and does not specifically address the myriad ways in which trade regulations and regulators effect CCS. The perspective is based on the concept of Global Production Networks, which suggests that the regulatory environment along the entire value chain of cultural production, and the places involved, needs to be considered together. The regulatory environment covering the CCS encompasses both policy and legislation, and also includes frameworks that exist at local, regional, national, EU, and supranational levels. In this report, we discuss six key areas: (1) policy hierarchies and scalar and sectorial complexity; (2) regulation of work and contracts, with a focus on small actors and protected designations; (3) content and production regulation, including notions of quotas, arm-length’s distance and the new political landscape in Europe; (4) intellectual property rights regulation; (5) competition regulation, monopolies, and platform economies; (6) and regulation for the digital single market. Throughout the report we highlight possibilities that may be considered in policy to further support the CCS.