Creativity comes in many forms, whether it’s art, music, videos or gaming they all involves creating something unique and out of the ordinary. The creative industry is vast, generating $2.25 trillion and creating around 30 million jobs worldwide with the African continent contributing to 1.1% of this figure.
The creative economy impacts various industries, many African countries realize that there is a lot of untapped potential when it comes to creativity within the continent and the onus is on them to see how that potential can be used to benefit them economically.
As rewarding as it is to be involved in the industry, it is important to know the role that intellectual property plays in ensuring that your content is protected. Intellectual Property is a form of copyright that ensures an individuals property is protected from being reproduced without the permission of the owner. Intellectual property rights enable creatives to get full benefits of their work as they won’t have to worry about it being stolen due to the protection of IP rights.
With that in mind, creatives need to be careful and should be vigilant when showcasing their work to a wider audience. They need to be able to benefit the most from their work, thus they need to know about Intellectual Property rights and how they can use them to their benefit. Their style needs to be protected in writing and have a form of copyright that ensures their work is safe from being reproduced without their permission.
Prioritizing the immense potential of the creative industry in Africa should be at the forefront, especially with the amount of income it generates and the diversity of the resources that we have available to us. A good example of this can be the fashion industry, there are many cultures in Africa and this can be used to create creative styles.
In that aspect, the same can be applied towards the music industry, especially in countries like Nigeria and South Africa which shows the level of potential that Africans have available to them which can be used to generate income. Countries like Ghana have great potential when it comes to traditional style in their clothing. There is plenty for a lot of countries in African creatives to unlock the potential that they have.
There is vast potential for creatives in Africa. Once they can grasp the logistics of how they can get the most out of their work it will be a bustling movement for them and create plenty of new opportunities for people with a similar perspective and with the drive to get the most out of the talent they have there are endless possibilities available to them.
