Penang’s explosion in the arts scene couldn’t have come at a better time.
The importance of a creative economy is undeniable – it generates income, jobs and export earnings based on the practical ingenuity of individuals and groups. According to Unesco’s 2013 Creative Economy report, a total of US$624bil in world trade was generated by creative goods and services in 2011, which has more than doubled since 2002. Likewise, the export of creative goods and services saw a strong growth in developing countries, registering an average growth of 12.1% annually over the same period1.
Malaysia’s Creative Multimedia Cluster has significantly contributed towards economic growth in recent years. With the support of the Malaysian Multimedia Super Corridor (MSC), it produced RM7.1bil of revenue by 436 companies in 2014. While this cluster makes up only four per cent of MSC’s export sales, its increase was 18% in 2014. The news media sub-sector performed particularly well with a growth rate of 44.6%, bringing an average revenue growth of 28% in each company in 2014 compared to in 2013. Creative multimedia content (CMC) accounted for the largest revenue at 90%; it comprises TV, film and visual effects, and an example of the creative multimedia cluster’s success is Astro Shaw’s movie, The Journey – the highest grossing film in 20142.
