ABSTRACT

The term industry has been progressively applied to the arts and media over the past 25 years as both an argument and an established fact. Historically the argument has been about the relatively poor levels of public and private economic investment in the arts, set against other government spending, for example in health, education, energy and defence. Those working in the arts have been put in the defensive position of having to justify the contribution the arts make to public life and the economic argument has come to the fore. The arts represent a large employment sector that regularly turns out profitable products, theatre or the film industry for example. The arts are also central to the tourist industry, with record numbers of people visiting museums and galleries. Where the arts were not seen as an organised industry contributing to the national economy in the past they are now recognised as making a strong contribution to economic life and as such there has been a steady process of professionalisation within all aspects of the arts, which now contributes to the idea of the cultural industries. In contrast, media has been seen for a much longer time, if not from their inception as mediums, as part of many industries, the print industry for example, as well as forming a definable sector of economic and industrial production in newspapers, television and film. The Internet and computing has enlarged the field and scope of the media industries to include computer gaming, Internet advertising, software and sale services. The further convergence of digital media within networked operating environments is creating new positions, occupations and practices and this section looks at the current and future contexts of digital media practice. The convergence of arts and media industries is expressed in the terms, cultural industries or even more so in the creative industries.