Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy announced the clusters today. They will bring together universities, tech companies and artists to boost the UK’s world class creative industries and drive economic growth.
Minister of State Chris Bryant also referenced the clusters in a video address to the BEYOND Conference in Salford.
Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy said:
Talent is everywhere but opportunity is not. That’s why we are supporting firms, artists and freelancers that are innovating, using new technology and driving growth in creative clusters across the country.
Liverpool and Merseyside hold a special place in our nation’s music landscape, and this funding will support imagination and experimentation across the city and region, as creators explore how we can make gigs more environmentally friendly.
Birmingham and the West Midlands have a rich industrial history, and we are putting them at the forefront of a potential new industry developing the amazing technology that will revolutionise visual effects in film, theatre and gaming.
Two new clusters
The new clusters will build on regional strengths in the West Midlands and Liverpool to foster innovation in creative technologies and music, delivering new technologies, business models and jobs.
CreaTech Frontiers
CreaTech Frontiers in the West Midlands is led by Birmingham City University with Coventry University, the University of Birmingham, The University of Warwick and the Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC).
It will focus on developing the region’s micro and small and medium-sized businesses specialising in research and exploration of creative technologies like video games, virtual production and immersive reality.
It will also work with industry partners to help them to develop new products and multi-platform content, translate skills, technologies, and processes leading to innovation and growth.
MusicFutures
Liverpool City Region’s MusicFutures is led by the University of Liverpool with Liverpool John Moores University and partners including:
- the ACC Liverpool Group, operators of Liverpool’s M&S Bank Arena, convention centre and exhibition centre
- Adlib
- the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic
This cluster will provide funding and training for musicians, educators and small businesses.
It will harness new technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI) and extended reality (XR) and explore how to make the music sector more environmentally sustainable.
Part of a new round of creative industries clusters
The £13.5 million investment in the two new clusters is delivered by the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) on behalf of UK Research and Innovation (UKRI).
It is part of a commitment in principle of at least £50 million in a new round of creative industries clusters.
In 2025 UKRI will announce further commitments to grow the programme over subsequent years.
The new clusters build on previous rounds of the creative industries clusters portfolio, which so far has:
- created over 5,500 jobs in nine clusters covering 80% of the UK
- supported over 460 new spin-outs, start-ups and scale-ups
- led to the development of over 780 new products and services
- generated over £270 million of public and private co-investment
- trained more than 5,000 people
Vital support for technology and innovation
AHRC Executive Chair, Professor Christopher Smith, said:
AHRC is delighted to announce the launch of a new wave of Creative Industries Clusters.
The two new clusters announced today, MusicFutures and CreaTech Frontiers, will create vital support for technology and innovation in the UK’s world-leading creative industries and expand our regional investment.
These clusters will support artists and creators so they can benefit from new technologies across a wide range of platforms, and develop their innovation and business skills.
The remarkable projects made possible through our Creative Industries Clusters span sustainable fashion, game design and extended reality, and have attracted major co-investment.
They have helped solve real-world problems and they deliver commercial benefits to the UK economy in line with the Government’s Industrial Strategy.
Also announcing the next phase of CoSTAR
The Culture Secretary has also announced two new programmes which will be launched through the CoSTAR network and managed by the CoSTAR National Lab.
Convergent screen technologies and performance in realtime (CoSTAR) is funded through the UKRI Infrastructure Fund and delivered by AHRC.
It was launched in 2023 to develop new technology to maintain the UK’s world-leading position in gaming, TV, film, performance and digital entertainment sectors.
The CoSTAR enterprise and commercialisation programme will allocate £3 million to projects designed to catalyse and support the growth of creative technology businesses.
Targeted support
The funding is designed to lower barriers to entry and build capacity and the right capabilities in businesses through targeted support for enterprise development and commercialisation.
The CoSTAR piloting and prototyping programme will allocate £3.6 million to projects that test, demonstrate and develop the benefits of the CoSTAR infrastructure.
This is designed to encourage research and development (R&D) activity, collaboration and investment, and ensure that firms can access equipment, technologies, facilities and expertise.
Funding opportunities through both programmes will be managed by the CoSTAR National Lab and launched in 2025.
Further information
The two new clusters are as follows.
MusicFutures
MusicFutures will promote growth and innovation in the Liverpool City Region’s thriving music sector, which is already home to over 1,400 music businesses.
By focusing on R&D, talent development, and emerging technologies such as AI, MusicFutures will aim to establish Liverpool as the UK’s leading hub for music innovation.
For example, it will build on Liverpool’s status as the world’s first UN Accelerator city to address environmental challenges and advance economic sustainability through innovative solutions for the live sector.
MusicFutures will also provide new opportunities for both small and medium-sized businesses, such as:
- a start-up incubator
- scale-up
- responsive R&D funding
- training through bespoke programmes for music makers and educators
These programmes include training and legal advice on intellectual property issues, and guidance on the effective and responsible use of generative AI.
MusicFutures will work with 21 strategic partners and is supported by organisations including:
- the ACC Liverpool Group
- Adlib
- LIVE
- UK Music
- the Intellectual Property Office
It will aim to reshape Liverpool’s creative economy, solidifying its position on the global stage and establishing new opportunities for the UK’s music industry.
All of this will:
- fuel artistic, technological and intellectual property breakthroughs
- support the creation of high-paying jobs
- open pathways for music professionals into sectors like gaming, film, and extended reality XR
CreaTech Frontiers
CreaTech Frontiers in the West Midlands is led by Birmingham City University in partnership with:
- Coventry University
- the University of Birmingham
- The University of Warwick
- RSC
The cluster will focus on developing the region’s micro and small and medium-sized businesses that specialise in creative technologies like video games, virtual production and immersive reality.
It will do this by fostering innovation via a cross-pollination of skills and services, which will deliver new tools, processes and platforms.
This will include responsible AI and immersive technology that will revolutionise creative productions while widening access and participation.
CreaTech Frontiers’ work will see it support R&D pilot production projects in collaboration with Birmingham Opera Company, the RSC and several other leading cultural organisations.
As part of its work with the cluster, the RSC will lead a programme of R&D demonstrators in collaboration with South by Southwest.
It will profile creative technology businesses identified through the cluster’s work, reaching diverse audiences and exploring new ways of creating.
The cluster will support businesses with research and exploration of creative technologies.
It will work with industry partners to help them to develop new products and multi-platform content, translating skills, technologies, and processes leading to innovation and growth in the emerging createch regional sector.
For example:
- incorporating VR and AR technologies for live events
- adapting game engines for non-gaming applications in music, theatre and film
- using game design principles to engage audiences
- employing 3D modelling and animation techniques to create high-quality immersive content
Creative industries clusters portfolio
The creative industries clusters were first launched in 2018 with an initial investment of £56 million to support and strengthen the creative industries in the UK.
According to UN Trade and Development, the UK is the third largest creative services exporter behind the US and Ireland, worth $87 billion in 2022.
The global entertainment and media sector will grow to $3.4 trillion by 2028, and the creative industries clusters will play a vital part in boosting the UK’s involvement in it.
Previously funded clusters
Nine clusters were established in the first round of funding spanning the gamut of the creative industries in the UK, from fashion to videogame design, and have supported hundreds of projects and businesses in all areas of the country.
Among previously funded clusters, Dundee’s InGAME cluster added a gross value of £140 million and 290 jobs across Scotland and the north-east.
XR Stories, another cluster located in York, focused on immersive and interactive storytelling. This has supported 543 jobs, leveraging £26 million of co-investment and adding £6.6 million in revenue to local small to medium-sized enterprises, while upskilling workers across the region.
Clwstwr, which involved the Cardiff City Region’s screen industries and related supply chains, directly contributed £1 in every £13 of annual turnover growth in the Welsh creative industries from 2019 to 2022.
Top image: Credit: Holosphere