Welsh musicians, film directors and computer game makers will received a £7m funding boost through a new investment fund for creative industries in Wales. Regional representation and funding of the media is a keenly debated topic within the industry, with ITV cutting back its local programming commitments and the BBC set to move several units to Manchester.

The Welsh Assembly's creative intellectual property fund, launched on the 23rd November, will back projects such as films or television series that have already received "significant" investment from private companies. In return, any project that has benefited from the fund must spend the equivalent amount with creative businesses in Wales.

The fund will take a share in the intellectual property rights in a project that it has backed. The aim is to make the fund self-financing, with money generated by music publishing deals or TV format sales put back into the fund.

Andrew Davies, minister for economic development and transport at the Welsh Assembly, said Wales had an excellent track record in the creative industries, particularly music, but had rarely benefited from it.

"It is the sort of focused support we need for a very important sector of the Welsh economy. We produce some of the leading rock bands in the world, like the Manic Street Preachers and the Super Furry Animals, but the wealth and IP copyright from that does not come back to Wales. The creative industries are an area of strength and we need to give them focus and support."

The fund will become operational in April next year and is part of the Welsh Assembly government's creative industries strategy. The strategy will be overseen by a panel of media executives. Mr Davies said the government was determined to give Wales a voice in a UK media sector that is threatening to marginalise regional representation amid widespread consolidation.

"There is going to be great consolidation in the broadcasting industry and we cannot resist that. But we can make sure that we work with the grain. In the past TV companies in Wales have not been able to get a significant slice of the action in terms of the work of broadcasters. We see this as an opportunity to work with the commercial sector."

Roger Lewis, managing director of ITV Wales, welcomed the IP fund. The former head of Classic FM has pledged to maintain a Welsh voice within the ITV network, despite recognition from Ofcom that viewers think much non-news regional programming has "low production values" and "low audiences".

"We at ITV Wales support this [fund] and want to play an active part in ensuring that this project is a success. We feel it is a very imaginative initiative by the Welsh Assembly and I think it has the potential to have a significant impact."

Ofcom will update the TV industry on its plans for regional broadcasting when it delivers the final phase of its review of public service broadcasting next month.