Impact Study: UNESCO-Aschberg Programme for Artists and Cultural Professionals

The Fund’s three components will focus on supporting enabling environments for the development of data and market intelligence, the development of newproducts/services and the implementation of new business models to improve employee and managerial capacity and access newmarkets. It will primarily support projects within five priority sub-sectors: fashion and contemporary design, visual arts, audiovisual design (including film, animation and gaming), festivals and carnivals and music. In terms of the latter, the CDB had already commissioned a study and implementation action plan for the music industry 48 . The project focused on digital and live music with the aim of enhancing the industry’s global footprint. The study encouraged the creation of a regional digital platform for the dissemination of creative content as a priority area of action. This was considered critical for investment and capacity building in order to enhance exports in both digital and live music. One of the specific outcomes of the study has been the proposed establishment of a regional trade association for the music industry, which will focus on digital aggregation, platformization 49 and capacity-building among industry stakeholders. A working group has been formed and the initiative has been facilitated by the Worldwide Independent Music Network (WIMN) based in London, which promotes the internationalization of independent music entrepreneurs and recording companies. WIMN has been able to facilitate access tomajor digital service providers likeYouTube, Spotify, Amazon and Apple Music, which is an example of how to improve market entry capabilities and income generation for rights holders, music producers and creative digital entrepreneurs.

48. Policy Networks International (2017) Consultancy Services for a Feasibility Study and Action Plan for the Digitalisation of Caribbean Music and Capacity Building Initiative. Study commissioned by the Caribbean Development Bank. 49. Platformization describes the process by which major tech companies—GAFAM (Google, Apple, Facebook, Amazon, and Microsoft) in the Global North, and the so-called “three kingdoms”of the Chinese internet (Baidu, Alibaba, and Tencent) in Asia—are reconfiguring the production, distribution, and monetization of cultural products and services. The logic of platformization is impacting traditional cultural industries (e.g., music, news, museums, games, and fashion), as well as emergent digital sectors and communities of practice, such as livestreaming, podcasting, and“instagramming.”

68 Culture in the CARIFORUM-EU EPA