The creative industries experienced an estimated 90 percent revenue loss due to the pandemic, and had led to the income losses for freelancers, according to Trade Secretary Ramon Lopez, citing various studies.
Lopez expressed alarm over this, especially because 75 percent of the country’s online freelancers are in creatives.
In his presentation at the Creative Industry Summit yesterday, Lopez said employment in the sector declined by 55 percent during the early onset of the lockdown with 61 percent of firms in the arts and entertainment sector halting operations, and 21 percent of which have closed permanently.
Cultural and creative sectors were among the most affected by the pandemic crisis as venue and site-based activities like theaters, live music, festivals, cinemas and museums were closed and prohibited and production activities were halted.
“ The effects of the pandemic on the industry shows the fragility of the creative ecosystem,” Lopez said, who expressed alarm over the income loss of freelancers at P268 million “and maybe even more.”
But Lopez said the pandemic has also accelerated paradigm shifts and reinforced some trends, especially in the areas of e-commerce, digital marketing, digital content streaming and many more, which are opening new opportunities for the sector especially for our creative freelancers. Irma Isip
