The creative media industries and workforce in the East Midlands
Size and shape of the workforce
The East Midlands has a population of just over 4 million people. The cities of Nottingham, Leicester, Derby and Lincoln dominate the creative media industries in terms of number of companies and employees.
There are around 20,000 people working in the creative media industries in the East Midlands, representing 4% of the industries' UK workforce.
Women represent around 33% of the industries' workforce in the region, compared to 42% across the whole of the UK. Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) groups account for 10% of the workforce, compared to 6% across the UK. 9% of the workforce is reported as having a disability, compared to 8% in the industry UK-wide.
Sector by sector
Animation
100 people are employed in animation companies in the East Midlands, with more employed in animation roles in other creative media industries. Due to rounding, this is an extremely crude estimate and may understate the size of the sector.
Loughborough University houses the Animation Academy and Digital Animation Workshop, a flexible learning initiative that links into emerging animation companies, established multi-media businesses and animation studios. Hot Knife Digital, Silee Films, advance fxa, Aaron Bradbury and Max Crow are all based in the region.
Computer Games
400 people are employed in computer games. The region plays host to some significant computer games developers including Eurocom in Derby and Free Radical Design in Nottingham as well as Rare, Gusto Games, Strawdog Studios and Monumental Games. EM Media has recently invested in Strawdog Studios' Geon.
Facilities
Over 1,000 people work in the sub-sectors of post production, studio and equipment hire, special effects and outside broadcast. Finishing Post, Nottingham, is an editing and graphics post production facility house. Giltbrook Studios, owned by Finishing Post, is on the same site and offers a purpose-built drive-in sound stage.
Film
100 people operating in the key sub-sectors of film production live in the region. Figures are not available for employment in cinema exhibition at national/regional level.
The region has a strong reputation for low budget and digital filmmaking. With access to resources and support from EM Media the region has produced some successful writers, directors and companies: Shane Meadows (This is England); Chris Cooke (One for the Road); and Wellington Films (London to Brighton).
Threshold Studios, based in Northampton, have produced films for the First Light young filmmakers scheme and with Warp Films on the Skillset-funded Darklight women directors project. Nottingham's Spool Films/Confetti Institute also supports emerging film and digital content talent. The Media Archive for Central England (MACE) and the Bang Short Film Festival are also hosted in the region.
The region has a range of multiplex and commercial independent cinemas, as well as several prominent media centres showing varied programmes including: Broadway Media Centre (Nottingham); Phoenix Arts (Leicester); and The QUAD (Derby). Audiences in rural locations have access to film and media content through a touring cinema initiative. There is further change with the implementation of a network of digital cinema screens as part of UK Film Council's Digital Screen Network.
Interactive Media
In the East Midlands there are 2,100 people working for specialist companies in the key platforms of web and internet, interactive television and offline multimedia. Others are also employed in these roles in other industry sectors.
After Publishing and Photo imaging, Interactive Media is the largest creative media sector in the region. Most work is related to web design and the internet.
Nottingham has a number of successful and expanding interactive companies. Elektonika, Cuttlefish, Jupiter Design Ltd and Emnet are successful digital media communications companies in the region. Active Ingredient produces mobile phone gaming technologies for art and commercial projects and Ruby Digital Arts makes work for broadcast, the web and cinema.
IPTV (internet protocol TV) companies are starting to cluster in Lincolnshire as the University of Lincoln has satellite uplink facilities and a broadcast media graduate population to service the sector.
XS Broadcasting is producing content and a delivery infrastructure for "ambient broadcasting" on plasma screens in non-exhibition spaces, for example, health clubs and the Road Chef chain.
Photo Imaging
Nearly 2,700 people work in photo imaging in the region. Nottingham is home to Boots and PA Photos, the photo library of the Press Association. The Peak District Photography Centre is a Skillset Approved industry training provider. Many freelance photographers are based in the region, as are labs and image producers.
Publishing
There are nearly 10,500 people working in publishing in the East Midlands with the largest proportion - over 3,000 people - working in the newspaper sector. Major employers include the Nottingham Evening Post (Northcliffe Media) and the Leicester Mercury Group.
Radio
800 individuals work in publicly funded, commercial, community and voluntary radio.
Nottingham has the highest number of stations including Heart 106, Classic Gold, Saga and Trent FM owned by GCap/Global. The Lincoln-based Lincs FM Group owns a number of stations in the region and across the country.
Sabras Sound in Leicester caters for a predominantly Asian audience whilst Ofcom have granted community licenses to seven stations including Siren FM and Takeover Radio.
BBC Radio has stations in Lincoln, Nottingham, Leicester, Derby and Northampton and the BBC's Asian Network is also based in Leicester.
Television
Around 600 people work in broadcast TV, cable and satellite and independent production in the region.
The East Midlands hosts several independent production companies with regular television commissions and corporate production work: Kingfisher, Channel 2020, The Media Group, 360 Red, Whistling Gypsy and Main Street Media.
ITV Local is based in Nottingham as is BBC East Midlands which produces East Midlands Today and Inside Out. The BBC's regional radio stations in Lincoln, Derby and Leicester also offer television studio facilities allowing the regional news television bureau teams to shoot and edit material.
Midlands Asian Television (MATV), based in Leicester, has a restricted service licence (RSL) to broadcast news, current affairs and bought-in Asian films and TV programmes to the Leicester area. The channel also has a cable arm, Channel 6.
Data taken from the Skillset 2006 Employment Census, Skillset/UK Film Council Feature Film Production Workforce Survey 2008, Experian 2007, Skillset/Equity Performing Arts Industry Workforce Survey 2005 and LFS 2005. For more information, please visit our Research section.