Defining 'Creative Industries'
My own definition would be: Companies, businesses, services etc. that take the creative mind and turn it into way to make money.
The creative industries definition from the UK Government's Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) is: 'Those industries which have their origin in individual creativity, skill and talent and which have a potential for wealth and job creation through the generation and exploitation of intellectual property.'
Training of practice in the 15th century
Young boys would often become an apprentice to a master. This was a way to develop skills in a particular craft. The longer you were there the better your skills would become and the more you were likely to be paid. This one on one spread of knowledge was almost the only way of learning something new with any sort of depth.
Master and Apprentice
Wasn’t just a master of his craft, but all aspects of the business side and the welfare of any apprentices he would have. Bills would have to be payed, the shop etc. would have to be maintained and a duty of care would be held over the apprentice often becoming a member of the master’s family in effect. Being a master is much more than just having a high skill set in a particular field.
Patrons
In many senses, the very rich patrons who commissioned the work of many artist where in creative control as they were the one who was paying the bills at the end of the day. The artist would often even live in the patron’s house at the time of the commission. The patron would spend vast amounts of money on an artist as a way of showing off in front of their peers.
Reproduction of spoken word as text
Spoken word -> Pictographs -> Phonetic Writing -> Printed Words
Creativity allowed for the mass production of the written word. This was helped in many ways by the development of parchment and paper.
The development of the Gutenberg press allowed for the mechanical reproduction of texts without the use of a scribe.
This really pushed the wave of knowledge no being available to the many and not just the few.
Continuous innovation has led to us being able to access an almost unlimited pool of information.
The internet age has made this incredibly efficient.