This exploratory research project has been commissioned by Tasmanian Creative Industries Ltd. (TCI) with the support of Department of State Growth. It is part of two distinct programs focused on measuring the size, value and nature of the state’s Creative and Cultural sectors. Characteristics of the creative economy including how it inter-links with the broader state economy are explored in this report using data primarily from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS). Our brief here was to provide an Analysis of Extant Tasmanian Creative Industries Data.

In the following pages spatial and demographic insights critical for effective future planning are presented. Our analysis and commentary primarily focuses on the TCI definition provided below in Table 2, to provide continuity of data and in line with our brief. However, as academics in the field we feel we have an obligation to stimulate discussion on defining the creative industries and so will supplement this analysis as appropriate based on our own Creative Industries Plus (CIP) definition. (Further details will be provided below and in Appendix A.)

Key results of the analysis, conducted at Local Government Area (LGA) level, include diversity of creativity as well as mass, which tend to be distributed in districts characterised by higher levels of business activity. In addition, the legacy of past colonial history as well as twenty-first century economies are hallmarks of Tasmania’s creative economy as indicated by Museum Operations as well as Computer System Design and Related Services being large ’creative’ employers.

Tentatively, using wages and salaries data available, we estimate the contribution of creative industries (in 2016) to the Tasmanian economy to be between AUD $177,926,440 and AUD $216,801,463. This compares with our estimates for 2011 of on average AUD $375,978,054.

The structure of this report is as follows. In the following section Creative Industries are defined. After that we will present the Tasmanian Context, and then provide a general description of the Method and Data we used. The Tasmanian Creative Industries section then presents an overview of existing data and work characterising the creative industries, while the penultimate section presents our Estimated of Size of the Tasmanian Creative Industries and their contribution to the Tasmanian economy. In this section the estimated size of the creative sector focusing on employment and economic activity, and based on available data, is discussed.