Is it Only San Francisco or is there a Creative Economy in Los Angeles?

Sourced from Otis Report on the Creative Economy of the Los Angeles Region, 2010.

The creative economy is the market impact of businesses and individuals involved in producing cultural, artistic and design goods and services. It consists of creative professionals and enterprises that take powerful, original ideas and transform them into practical and often beautiful goods, or inspire us with their artistry. For example, in product design, staying one step ahead of the competition depends upon capturing the public’s imagination and that requires innovative design.
The creative economy is undeniably important to the region’s economic growth. About 835,000 employees work directly or indirectly in the creative economy of Los Angeles and Orange Counties. Los Angeles County based firms in the creative economy earned an estimated $113 billion in revenues during 2009, while Orange County accounted for an estimated $14 billion. California and local governments received an estimated $4.6 billion in taxes tied to these activities.
In 2009, about 304,400 people in Los Angeles County worked directly in the creative industries. While many would expect the entertainment industry to dominate, it did not. It accounted for just 39.0% of the creative jobs. By sector in 2009, the largest employment counts were found in: entertainment (118,700 jobs); fashion (87,000 jobs); visual and performing arts providers, and furniture/home furnishings.

Direct and indirect employment in the creative industries based in Los Angeles County totaled over 758,000 jobs in 2009. This fact points to another aspect of the creative industries – they have a “high‐multiplier” effect. That is, each direct job supports roughly 1.5 indirect jobs.
The creative economy also includes presenting enterprises that bring creative products to the marketplace such as museums, art galleries and performing arts venues. A third component of the creative economy in Southern California revolves around activities one does not instinctively associate with “creativity” such as the apparel, toy and furniture manufacturing industries. The final piece of the creative economy consists of the support system that sustains creative activity: arts programs in the schools, post‐secondary arts institutions to develop talent, and community foundations along with other nonprofits to provide financial resources and incentives to the creative arts. It also includes those service industries, such as law firms and accounting firms, who specifically tailor their practice’s to creative clients. Excluding manufacturing, employment in Los Angeles County’s creative industries is projected to grow by 15,200 jobs, or 6.9%, by 2014. The digital media sector is expected to grow the fastest between 2009 and 2014, with employment rising by about 10%. Growth will be almost as rapid in the entertainment sector, with employment expected to increase by 9%. Employment in a smaller creative sector, industrial design, is expected to post growth in the 7% to 8% range between 2009 and 2014. Moderately good employment growth, in the 5% to 6% range, is projected for art galleries, the architecture and interior design sector and for visual and performing arts. Moderate employment growth is projected for the communication arts sector.