ABSTRACT
The cultural economy comprises all those sectors in modern capitalism that caters to consumer demands for amusement, ornamentation, self-affirmation, and social display. These sectors comprise various craft, fashion, media, entertainment and service industries with outputs like jewelry, perfume, clothing, films, recorded music or tourist services. Major portions of the modern cultural economy are concentrated in global cities like Los Angeles, New York, Paris, Milan or Tokyo. Place, community and the cultural economy are thus often closely interconnected. Inter-firm transacting and local labor market processes in the cultural economy thus encourage agglomeration, and this tendency is greatly boosted by the increasing returns effects that usually emerge. Creativity and innovation in the cultural economy are marked not only by strong spatial patterns, but also by a robust temporal logic. The studio is only one element, a sort of microcosm, of a much more extensive domain of activities in the cultural economy, and hence of the creative field.
