The Cultural Industries

The Cultural Industries places transformation in the cultural industries in long-term political, economic and cultural context. In doing so, Hesmondhalgh offers a distinctive critical approach to cultural production, drawing on political economy perspectives, but also on cultural studies, sociology and social theory.

`This is both a smashing textbook and also an impressive contribution to thinking in a range of subjects. This book should influence the way we construct the undergraduate curriculum as well as rethink the polarizaton between political economy and cultural studies′- Frank Webster, City University `A wonderfully clear, insightful and original synthesis of work on the cultural industries, representing the perspectives of the new generation of researchers′ - James Curran, Goldsmiths College, University of London `The Cultural Industries is an indispensable guide to the main forces at work in the production of media today. This lucid, careful, and sophisticated book orders the entire field, for the US as well as Europe, and at one stroke becomes the state of the art, the standard′ - Todd Gitlin, New York University `David Hesmondhalgh offers us a valuable resource and a timely provocation... [A] very well organised and clearly written introduction to this increasingly important area of study. Students and teachers wanting a comprehensive and accessible guide to what we know and where we might be heading will welcome it with open arms... His book deserves to be required reading on every media and cultural studies course′ - Graham Murdock, University of Loughborough ′ The arguments within [this book] provide both a timely overview of current scholarship and offer a unique multidisciplinary approach to the topic in a clear and concise manner′ - TOPIA: Canadian Journal of Cultural Studies What are the ′cultural industries′? What role do they play in contemporary society? How are they changing? The Cultural Industries combines a political economy approach with the best aspects of cultural studies, sociology, communication studies and social theory to provide an overview of the key debates surrounding cultural production. The book: -Considers both the entertainment and the information sectors -Combines analysis of the contemporary scene with a long-range historical perspective -Draws on an range of examples from North America, the United Kingdom, Europe and elsewhere. Hesmondhalgh′s clearly written, thoroughly argued overview of political-economic, organizational, technological and cultural change represents an important intervention in research on cultural production, but at the same time provides students with an accessible, indispensable introduction to the area.

An undisputed classic, the Fourth Edition of this bestselling media studies text offers an unparalleled analysis of the cultural industries. Bringing together a huge range of research, theory and key concepts, David Hesmondhalgh provides an accessible yet critical exploration of cultural production and consumption in the global media landscape. This new edition: Analyses the influence of IT and tech companies like Google, Apple, Amazon and Facebook on the cultural industries. Discusses the impact of digital technologies on industries such as music, TV, newspapers, books and digital games. Explores the effects of digitalisation on culture, discussing critical issues like participation, power, commercialism, surveillance, and labour. Examines the changing conceptions of audiences, and the increasing influence of market research, audience tracking and advertising. As one of the most read, most studied and most cited books in the field, this Fourth Edition is an essential resource for students and researchers of media and communication studies, the cultural and creative industries, cultural studies and the sociology of the media.

Studies of race and media are dominated by textual approaches that explore the politics of representation. But there is little understanding of how and why representations of race in the media take the shape that they do. How, one might ask, is race created by cultural industries? In this important new book, Anamik Saha encourages readers to focus on the production of representations of racial and ethnic minorities in film, television, music and the arts. His interdisciplinary approach combines critical media studies and media industries research with postcolonial studies and critical race perspectives to reveal how political economic forces and legacies of empire shape industrial cultural production and, in turn, media discourses around race. Race and the Cultural Industries is required reading for students and scholars of media and cultural studies, as well as anyone interested in why historical representations of 'the Other' persist in the media and how they are to be challenged.

Cultural Work examines the conditions of the production of culture. It maps the changed character of work within the cultural and creative industries, examines the increasing diversity of cultural work and offers new methods for analysing and thinking about cultural workplaces. Studying television, popular music, performance art, radio, film production and live performance it offers occupational biographies, cultural histories, practitioners' evidence, considerations of the economic environment as well as new ways of observing and studying the cultural industries.

An undisputed classic, the Fourth Edition of this bestselling media studies text offers an unparalleled analysis of the cultural industries. Bringing together a huge range of research, theory and key concepts, David Hesmondhalgh provides an accessible yet critical exploration of cultural production and consumption in the global media landscape. This new edition: Analyses the influence of IT and tech companies like Google, Apple, Amazon and Facebook on the cultural industries. Discusses the impact of digital technologies on industries such as music, TV, newspapers, books and digital games. Explores the effects of digitalisation on culture, discussing critical issues like participation, power, commercialism, surveillance, and labour. Examines the changing conceptions of audiences, and the increasing influence of market research, audience tracking and advertising. As one of the most read, most studied and most cited books in the field, this Fourth Edition is an essential resource for students and researchers of media and communication studies, the cultural and creative industries, cultural studies and the sociology of the media.

Cutting-edge perspectives on the functioning of cultural industries are offered in this volume, which explores the media, entertainment and artistic sectors. Contributors place these industries in the new economy and suggest ways in which they can contribute to urban and regional economic and social development.

What is it like to work in the media? Are media jobs more ‘creative’ than those in other sectors? To answer these questions, this book explores the creative industries, using a combination of original research and a synthesis of existing studies. Through its close analysis of key issues – such as tensions between commerce and creativity, the conditions and experiences of workers, alienation, autonomy, self-realization, emotional and affective labour, self-exploitation, and how possible it might be to produce ‘good work’ Creative Labour makes a major contribution to our understanding of the media, of work, and of social and cultural change. In addition, the book undertakes an extensive exploration of the creative industries, spanning numerous sectors including television, music and journalism. This book provides a comprehensive and accessible account of life in the creative industries in the twenty-first century. It is a major piece of research and a valuable study aid for both undergraduate and postgraduate students of subjects including business and management studies, sociology of work, sociology of culture, and media and communications.