Skip to main content

Individual Creators

About this project
Edinburgh-small.jpg
Smita Kheria

Andrew Black

Lead investigator(s):
Dr Smita Kheria
Contributor(s):
Mr Andrew Black

Start Date: 1st January 2013
End Date: 30th September 2016

Summary

This project investigates the role of copyright in the day to day creative practice of creators and performers, the socio-economic and technological context of such practice, and the creative practitioners’ experiences and perceptions of copyright as it intersects with their practice. It is focuused on a number of creative sectors including writing, illustration and the arts (new media art and contemporary art).

Copyright, as a key issue that concerns both the creative industries and individual creative practitioners alike, has increasingly been subjected to public debate. The transition from analogue to digital media has been both promising and problematic. On the one hand, there are new opportunities for the production, dissemination, and consumption of creative output which creators may be unable to utilize, because of the barriers posed by copyright restrictions. On the other, successful exploitation of copyright faces challenges and has led to concerns about the ability of creators to earn a living and sustain their creative activities. In light of the rapid change in technologies and the marketplace, this is a particularly relevant time to focus our attention on the individual creative practitioners themselves, their practice, and the way in which they relate to copyright (or other IP rights).

The project has actively engaged with a broad range of creators and performers in a number of ways and the research, so far, includes over 100 semi-structured in-depth interviews with a range of creative practitioners (writers, illustrators, and visual artists), fieldwork at literary and art festivals and events, and secondary data from social media sources such as Facebook and Twitter.

Project website