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Post-Covid outlook for India’s creative economy
Mumbai: The pandemic has shaken the spine of economies across the world, and the Indian economy was no different. The impact is well analysed and measured by several studies, but ‘Taking the Temperature’ research is a first-of-its-kind, landmark longitudinal report on the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on India’s creative economy.
The British Council, FICCI, and Art X Company have jointly launched the third edition of the report at the Jaipur Literature Festival (JLF).
Released against the backdrop of Asia’s largest literature festival, JLF, the report transcends the literature sector, and for the first time, offers a quantitative mapping of India’s creative economy and culture sector – in the organised and unorganised sectors – across literature, crafts, festivals, performing arts and other art forms. The final edition is a series of three reports, and a culmination of 18 months of mapping the sector.
The research tracks the longitudinal impact of the pandemic on India’s creative and culture industry and identifies a way ahead in a systematic and sustainable roadmap for recovery. The pioneering research is a first-of-its-kind, the extensive report outlines the monetary size and scale of the creative economy and contribution of the culture industries to the national GDP and wealth creation in India.
On this, FICCI creative and cultural industries co-chair Sanjoy Roy said, “The TTT report on the creative sector underlies the vital nature and impact of this sector and its potential in creating jobs, contributing to local economies and creating a platform to realise one’s full potential.”
The British Council works with the Indian stakeholders to strengthen India’s creative economy and create sustained livelihoods for Indian creative professionals. The report, in collaboration with FICCI and The Art X Company, underlines the British Council’s aim to gather credible information and insights that can enable businesses and governments to make effective and well-informed decisions about public and private investment in the creative sector.
Key findings of the report:
India’s creative economy reduced to Rs 30,440 crore GDP in 2021 from Rs 50,000 crore GDP in 2020, pre-Covid.
There was a 39 per cent recession in creative industries to Rs 30,440 crore in 2021.
50 per cent of creative sectors reported 51 per cent or more loss in annual revenue in the financial year 2020-2021.
89 per cent of creative sectors in TTT2 and 82 per cent in TTT 3 have confirmed the pandemic impacted their income.
49 per cent of creative sectors have not been able to keep creative businesses and artistic programmes running in the financial year 2020-2021.
94 per cent of arts sectors are now operating in ‘digital only’ or ‘hybrid’ models.
27 per cent of the sector is generating income through digital platforms with only eight per cent running physical programmes.
In view of the findings and the feedback from the creative industry workforce and stakeholders, the report makes the following recommendations:
Establish a cross-government creative economy Task Force from the 14 ministries that have a mandate for arts and culture in India.
Government emergency grant-in-aid for MSMEs.
A comprehensive national skills campaign across urban and rural geographies for creative MSMEs in digital and technological skills, business development, marketing, and communication capacity.
Establish sector-specific management, self-help groups and management organisations, and city-wide enterprise zones and clusters.
Establish arms-length bodies (ALBs) to strengthen and invest in arts and culture through a partnership of public and private investors.
Embed tax coding of the creative industries in the formal economy through the Goods and Services Tax (GST) council.
British Council India director – arts Jonathan Kennedy said, “Since the onset of Covid-19, we’ve dedicated our research to understanding the impact of the pandemic on India’s creative and culture economy with FICCI, Art X Company, and Smart Cube.”
The final report makes practical recommendations for the short and long-term recovery of creative sectors and livelihoods. While our first two reports measured the impact of the pandemic on the incomes of the professionals and culture organisations, the third edition offers a definitive mapping of the scale and significance of the creative economy in India, added Kennedy.
“There could not have been a better platform than the Jaipur Literature Festival to announce the report and we hope the insights from the report trigger much-needed conversations amongst stakeholders. We hope recommendations for recovery of the creative economy will be implemented through governance, infrastructure development and India’s enduring self-reliance,” he said.
The Art X Company founder-director Rashmi Dhanwani said, “This final leg of the Taking the Temperature survey underscores the hard journey that the cultural sector in India has been on. Not only has the sector lost more than 50 per cent of its income, its performance has also affected India’s GDP growth. Besides the economic impact, the loss of lives and livelihoods that the pandemic has caused begs an urgent intervention – India’s culture sector needs a voice and demands urgent regulatory frameworks to safeguard this vital part of India’s identity.”
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Lessons from global media markets on building enduring content franchises
Rose Audio Visuals COO and CFO Mitesh Patel.
MUMBAI: The global media landscape has undergone a fundamental shift. Success today is no longer defined by a single hit show. It is defined by the ability to build intellectual property (IP) that travels, evolves, and compounds over time.
At Rose Audio Visuals, this shift is central to how we think about content pitching and creation. We are no longer in the business of just making shows. We are in the business of building IP ecosystems.
From Hits to Franchises
Globally, the most successful content is designed to extend beyond its first outing. It travels across: Seasons, Platforms (TV → OTT → Digital), Formats (series → spin-offs) Shows like Stranger Things and Money Heist are not just successful series they are multi-layered franchises with global recall, fan engagement, and long-term monetisation. The key learning is simple: If content cannot scale beyond one season or one platform, it remains a project not a franchise.
Local Stories, Global Impact
One of the most powerful global trends is the rise of culturally rooted storytelling. Platforms today reward local authenticity combined with universal emotion. Stories that are deeply regional are no longer limited by geography they are amplified by it. Consider the global impact of Squid Game or India’s own Sacred Games. The takeaway is clear: The more authentic the story, the greater its potential to travel if the emotion resonates universally.
Monetisation Begins After the First Window
A critical global learning is that the true value of content is not realised at launch, it is realised over time.
Strong franchises unlock multiple revenue streams: Licensing, International remakes, Brand integrations, Digital extensions , Events and immersive experiences
Global players like The Walt Disney Company have mastered this approach, turning content into long-term ecosystems that extend far beyond the screen.
The first window is just the beginning. The real value lies in what follows.
At Rose Audio Visuals, we increasingly evaluate projects not just on commissioning value, but on their long-term franchise potential.
The Rise of Creator-Led Franchises
An important global shift is the emergence of creator-led IP ecosystems.
Creators today are not just content producers they are building full-scale franchises across platforms, formats, and businesses.
A powerful example is MrBeast. What started as YouTube videos has evolved into: Multiple content formats, Global audience scale , Brand extensions and businesses, High-impact experiential content This is a fundamentally different model digital-first, audience-owned, and infinitely scalable.
This model is still in its early stages in Indian but it represents a massive opportunity.
The next wave of Indian content franchises may not come from traditional studios alone but from creators who think like media companies.
Balancing Data with Creative Instinct
Streaming platforms today are deeply data-driven. Data helps Identify emerging genres, Predict audience behaviour , Inform commissioning decisions However, global experience shows that data alone does not create hits. Data informs scale, but storytelling creates impact.
Talent is the Foundation of Franchises
Enduring franchises are rarely accidental they are built through long-term creative partnerships. Globally, there is a clear focus on nurturing Actors, Writter, Show runner and director. Franchises are not built on scripts alone they are built on creators. This is an area where we continue to invest deeply building long-term relationships with talent rather than project-based collaborations.
Multi-Platform Thinking from Day One
Content consumption today is inherently multi-platform. A successful show must be designed not just for its primary platform, but for: Short-form extensions, Social media amplification, Digital-first engagement. Every show today needs a second life beyond its original format.
India: A Market at an Inflection Point
India today stands at a unique moment in its content journey.
We are seeing significant opportunity in Regional markets (Telugu, Tamil, Marathi and others) Emerging formats such as micro-dramas, Scalable, franchise-driven fiction IP
India does not lack stories. What we have historically lacked is structured franchise thinking something that is now beginning to evolve.
The Way Forward
The biggest lesson from global markets is this: The future belongs to companies that do not chase hits, but systematically build franchises. Because while hits may deliver immediate success, franchises create long-term value, recall, and compounding growth.
At Rose Audio Visuals, this belief shapes how we develop, greenlight, and scale content across platforms.
For content companies today, the question is no longer “Will this show work?” It is: “Can this become a franchise?”
A Personal Note
Having worked across content, business, and strategy, one thing has become increasingly clear to me, the most valuable companies in our industry will not be those that create the most content, but those that create content that endures.
Building a franchise requires patience, conviction, and a long-term lens something that the industry is only now beginning to fully embrace.As we continue this journey at Rose Audio Visuals, our focus remains simple: to move from volume-driven creation to value-driven storytelling. Because in the end, stories may start conversations but franchises build legacies.
