The German government launched its Cultural and Creative Industries Initiative in the autumn of 2007. The initiative’s main goal is to help pave the sector’s way to a successful future. This means both enhancing the competitiveness of these industries as well as tapping their potential for job creation. Furthermore, the initiative seeks to enhance the income opportunities of small creative businesses and self-employed artists. The initiative’s website provides detailed information on the main features of the initiative as well as on the economic significance of the cultural and creative sector and its 11 market segments. The website serves as an information guide on the services, advice and support programmes available to creative professionals. In particular, it aims to provide practical assistance to start-ups and young talent.
For the first time ever, there is now a federal-level platform dedicated to providing information, advisory and networking services for the cultural and creative industries. In addition to these services, the Centre also aims to improve access to existing government support programmes, to promote advanced education and training, and in this way to optimise market opportunities for creative professionals and facilitate their access to international markets. Local contact persons
At the more local level of the German Lander, the initiative focuses on providing concrete assistance to businesses, self-employed professionals and freelancers in the cultural and creative sector.
Important topics in the German Cultural and Creative Industries include the Law on Social Insurance for independent artists and writers (Artists Social Welfare Act, KSVG). These are involved full-time freelance artists and publicists as a duty to protect the insured in statutory health, care and pensions. Self-employed artists and writers usually find themselves in financial and social circumstances similar to those of employees. They are reliant on cooperation with marketing and sales people and with users to ensure that their works and services are accessible to the consumer. Thus, since 1 January 1983, self-employed artists and writers have been included as mandatory members of the statutory health insurance and pension schemes under the Artists" Social Security Act (Kunstlersozialversicherungsgesetz of 27 July 1981). Insurance coverage was extended on 1 January 1995 to include long-term care insurance.
Funding of the social security contributions is similar to that for employees. Under the Artists" Social Security Act, self-employed artists and writers pay only half of the contribution themselves The "employer" share is provided by the artists" social security levy paid by users and by a federal subsidy. The Kunstlersozialkasse (Artists" Social Security Fund) is the point of contact for all issuesconcerning artists" social security insurance. It provides advice to artists and writers and also users. The fund determines who is entitled to artists" social security insurance and manages the funding. Among other things, it decides who must pay and who is exempt from paying insurance contributions, determines levy liability, receives insurees" contributions, artists" social security levy and the federal subsidy, and forwards contributions to the insurance providers. The Artists" Social Security Fund makes a range of detailed informational material available to the public.