1997 Survey of Toronto's Multimedia Industry
Preliminary Findings
Executive Summary
by Shauna Brail, May 1997
© Copyright 1997 Shauna Brail
Contents | Executive
Summary | Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4
1997 Survey of Toronto Area Multimedia Firms
The survey results presented here comprise the first
in-depth study of the multimedia industry in the Toronto
area and form part of Shauna Brail's doctoral work at the
University of Toronto, Department of Geography.
A survey of all multimedia firms in the Greater
Toronto Area (GTA) was undertaken for the purpose of
classifying and assessing the organization and location
patterns of the multimedia industry in the Toronto area.
The results are being used to help develop a detailed
picture of Toronto's multimedia industry, and to help
inform understanding of emerging high technology
industries in metropolitan areas.
Focus of Ontario's Multimedia Industry: The Toronto
Area
The Toronto area represents the largest centre of
multimedia activity in Canada. For this study, a total of
418 multimedia firms were identified in the Province of
Ontario, with 319 (76%) of these firms being located in
the GTA. Furthermore, 62% of all firms located in the
province, or 81% of all firms located in the GTA, are
situated in Metropolitan Toronto.
Survey: Highlights of Toronto's Multimedia Industry
Approximately 21% of firms listed on the database
responded to the survey. In addition, responses were
received from 18 firms located in the Toronto area that
were not included in the initial research database.
Age of Firms - On average, firms in the Toronto
area began to work in multimedia in 1993. Nearly 53% of
firms were established between 1994 and 1997.
Multimedia Focus - Sixty four percent of firms
reported that they combine multimedia work with other
types of work. The most common types of work combined
with multimedia include: software development, graphic
design, printing and publishing, broadcasting and video,
music, advertising and marketing and computer based
training.
Client Focus - The majority of multimedia firms
develop custom products for individual clients as opposed
to mass market products. Three quarters of all firms
indicated that half their work or more is developed
exclusively for custom clients. Conversely, most firms
produce little to no mass market products.
Interactivity Focus - Most multimedia firms in
the Toronto area focus on the development of interactive
products. Eighty percent of firms report that more than
half of their products by sales are interactive, while
19% report that more than half of their products by sales
are non-interactive.
Functional Focus - Product development is the
most common functional focus of Toronto area firms,
followed by publishing and distributing. Fully 95% of
firms reported involvement in product development, with
63% involved in publishing activities, and 41% in
distribution.
Platform Focus - Most respondents indicated
that their work is divided between two or more platforms.
The following list identifies the most to least common
platforms used: Internet/Intranet, CD-ROM, Hard Disk,
Floppy Disk, Kiosks and Game Consoles.
Product Focus - Firms divide their work between
corporate, information, education, entertainment,
edutainment and health product markets, respectively. The
one sector which commands the most attention is the
corporate market, with 60% of firms gearing more than
half of their work towards corporate products.
Features & Practices of Employment in
Multimedia - While the majority of employment in the
multimedia industry is full time (63%), more than
one-quarter of all employees are contract employees, with
short time contract employees comprising the bulk of
contract activity. Average full time employment in firms
is 9 people while median employment is 3 persons per
firm.
Creative workers are the most common full time
employees (37%), followed by management/sales employment
(31%) and then by employment in technical positions
(24%). Overall, creative employees form the core of
multimedia employment with 41% of all jobs falling into
this category. This is followed by employment in
technical and management/sales positions contributing
approximately 25% each of total employment.
Subcontracting Practices in Multimedia - Survey
respondents indicated that an average of 23.8% of their
work, by revenues, was subcontracted out to other firms.
An almost equal percentage of work (22.9%) was reportedly
taken in, in the form of subcontracting activity to other
firms. The most frequent types of work subcontracted out
are: cinematography, musical composition, packaging and
voice over.
The Geography of Multimedia Production - Nearly
three-quarters of suppliers to survey respondents are
located in the Toronto area, with almost one-fifth of
suppliers being located in the same neighbourhood as
respondents. A greater proportion of suppliers come from
the United States than from elsewhere in the country,
outside of the GTA. Sixty one percent of customers to
local multimedia firms are located in the Toronto area,
while 17% of customers are located outside of Canada.
Reasons for Firm Moves - More than half of all
survey respondents indicated that they had had at least
one previous location in the Toronto area. The vast
majority of firms (71%) indicated that their reason for
moving was that their space was too small. A further 29%
of respondents indicated moving away from home offices.
Profits and Revenues in Toronto's Multimedia
Industry - The majority of survey respondents (68%)
indicated that their firms were profitable in the
previous year. Just over one-third of firms surveyed
earned more than $50,000 in revenues, while 32% of firms
earned greater than $100,000 in revenues. A final third
of firms reported revenues of greater than $500,000.
Of the 28 firms that responded to questions on profit
levels, 71% reported profits of more than $50,000, 18%
reported profits of greater than $100,000 and 11%
reported profits of $500,000 or more.
If you have any questions or comments about this
survey, please contact Shauna Brail at: brail@geog.utoronto.ca
or Department of Geography, University of Toronto, 100
St. George Street, Toronto, Ontario, M5S 3G3.
