research

Research Services: Creative Industries

Creative Industries: Business & Employment in the Arts reports offer a new, research-based approach to understanding the scope and importance of the arts to the nation's economy. While most economic impact studies of the arts have focused on the nonprofit sector (such as our own Arts and Economic Prosperity study), Creative Industries is the first national study that encompasses both the nonprofit and for-profit arts industry.

Putting the Data to Work
As of January 2008, the Creative Industries are a formidable industry in the United States—2.98 million people working for 612,095 arts-centric businesses (2.2 percent and 4.3 percent, respectively, of U.S. employment and businesses). By documenting Dun & Bradstreet business and employment data for both the nonprofit and for-profit arts sectors, you can paint a picture of a powerful engine in your community's information economy. What makes this data especially potent is that it can be localized to any city, county, state, region, or political jurisdiction in the country, and it can be updated annually so that you can track trend data. View a list of key points on how this data provides a valuable visibility and advocacy tool for advancing the arts.

• Want to know how many creative industries are located in your community?
• Select your state to view the 2008 Creative Industries reports for your U.S. Congressional District.
• Select your state to view the 2006 Creative Industries reports for your State Legislative District.
• Visit our Creative Industries FAQ page to place an order for 2008 Creative Industries reports. 
• Want to know how your community compares to other regions in the country? View the 2008 Creative Industries comparative data (in PDF format) for the following geopolitical areas:
• State (contains comparative data for the 50 states)
• Congressional (contains comparative data for 435 U.S. Congressional Districts)
• City (contains comparative data for the 50 largest cities in the United States) 

Defining the Creative Industries
We have taken a conservative approach to defining the Creative Industries by focusing solely on businesses involved in the production or distribution of the arts. For the purposes of this study, the Creative Industries comprise arts-centric businesses that range from nonprofit museums, symphonies, and theaters to for-profit film, architecture, and advertising companies. We have guarded against overstatement of the sector by excluding industries such as computer programming and scientific research—both creative, but not focused on the arts. View a summary of the Creative Industries Classifications.

Our Data
The source of our data is Dun & Bradstreet—widely acknowledged as the most comprehensive and trusted source for business information in the United States—which provides very specific and reliable data about employment and the number of arts-centric businesses in both the nonprofit and for-profit arts. Our analyses demonstrate an under-representation of nonprofit arts organizations in the Dun & Bradstreet database, and consequently, in our data. Additionally, many individual artists are not included, as not all are employed by a business.  Learn how to participate in our Creative Industries Study— Sign Up and Be Counted!

Still have questions? Contact or call us at 202.371.2830.