Unit 1, Task 8- Other considerations for businesses

 Unit 1, Task 8- Other considerations for businesses 

Creative industries get their funding from a combination of private and public funding. For example, the BBC is mainly publicly funded through TV licenses. Creative industries also gain some government-funded bodies such as the arts council and the National Lottery. Public funding includes Arts Council England, Creative Scotland, Arts Council Northern Ireland and Arts Council Wales who support almost a thousand portfolios. An example of a creative sector that needs a lot of funding is the film industry. Most films are funded through a combination of investors, grants and tax credits. The funding needs to be secured before the development of the film to pay for production. 

Businesses can also apply for various grants and funding from charities. The Innovative UK Smart Grants offer grants of up to £25m in 2022. This funding is available for organizations offering commercially viable Research and Development research in any part of the economy such as net zero, health and wellbeing, technologies, the arts, design and media. Other funding opportunities for creative businesses include Creative Growth Finance from Creative England. These offer loans of £100,000-£500,000 with fixed interest of 7%-15%. However, a requirement for application is your recent annual overturn must have been at least £300,000. Businesses must also have at least one year of accounts filed at Companies House. 

There are many different types of insurance that are important to creative industries. Professional Indemnity Insurance protects businesses that provide customers with designs, advice and professional services. If any of the businesses actions or advice causes your client financial loss, Professional Indemnity Insurance covers this. Ian a creative business, examples of this can include sampling music for your own advertising without permission. 

Employers Liability Insurance is legally required if a business has employers or people working for them. This covers employees’ injuries, or any claims made against the business by employees. 

Public Liability Insurance is important for creative businesses due to it covering any damage or injury that a business causes to a third party. This can be a risk in creative businesses due to filming in public and using public areas. For example, freelance photographers or videographers may meet a client at their premises and the business would be responsible for any damage or injury that they cause. 

Other insurances that can be important are Business Equipment Insurance which can cover damage on expensive equipment that is often required in creative businesses. 

Creative industries working from home may be easier than expected due to the progression in technology and the amount of technology used in creative businesses. The hardest part of creating videos or films from home would be the filming, otherwise filming alone and in quiet/ private locations can be used. Pre-production is done online and editing soft wares can be used from home. Certain industries struggled the most during COVID pandemic and national lockdowns, theatre companies cannot usually work from home due to the importance of a live crowd and public performance. 

Business rates are taxes that businesses pay to the government to help fund services in local authority. These rates are applicable to business property such as warehouses, offices and shops. Creative businesses who own these properties for work will have to pay business rates and freelancers or people working from home may need to pay them to. If a business runs from a large area of a home or services/ products are sold from a home which customers visit, business rates will be paid. 

A lot of the time, location doesn’t matter for creative businesses due to its over lapping with technology and online services. Creative businesses are able to communicate with clients online, produce content and services for them and deliver them online. For example, video production companies usually advertise their services online through websites, clients can pitch their ideas through these websites. These businesses can then create the content and send it to the client remotely. However, there are more available resources for creative industries in certain areas of the country. According to thecreativeindustries.co.uk, 33% of jobs in the creative industry are in London. However, many companies are willing to travel for location/ resources if they have the funding. For example, the BBC has multiple bases around the UK and their content is produced from anywhere in the UK and abroad.