The Cultural Industries

 1) What does the term 'Cultural Industries' actually refer to?

The term 'cultural industry' refers to the creation, production and distribution of products of a cultural or artistic nature.

2) What does Hesmondhalgh identify regarding the societies in which the cultural industries are highly profitable? 

Hesmondhalgh identifies that the societies in which the cultural industries are highly profitable tend to be societies that support the conditions where large companies, and their political allies, make money. These conditions being: constant demand for new products: minimal regulation outside of general competition law; relative political and economic stability; workforces that are willing to work hard.

3) Why do some media products offer ideologies that challenge capitalism or inequalities in society?

Some media texts tend to offer ideologies which challenge capitalism or the inequality of gender and racism in society. This happens because the cultural industry need to continuously compete with each other to secure audience members.

4) Look at page 2 of the factsheet. What are the problems that Hesmondhalgh identifies with regards to the cultural industries?

.Risky business

.Creativity VS Commerce

.High production costs and low reproduction costs

.Semi-public goods; the need to create scarcity

5) Why are so many cultural industries a 'risky business' for the companies involved?

This is because:

.Risk derives from the fact that audiences use cultural commodities in highly volatile and unpredictable ways - often in order to express the view that that they're different from other people.

.Risk stems from consumption and is made worse by 2 factors:firstly, limited autonomy granted to symbol creators in the hope that they'll create something original and distinctive; secondly, the cultural industry company is reliant on other cultural industry companies to make audiences aware of the existence of a new product or of the uses and pleasure that they might get from experiencing the product .This is because companies cannot completely control the publicity a product will receive, as judgements and reactions of audiences, critics and journalists cannot be predicted.

.Cultural industries can be highly profitable in spite of high levels of risk, but it may be difficult to reach high levels of profit for independent or individual companies.

6) What is your opinion on the creativity v commerce debate? Should the media be all about profit or are media products a form of artistic expression that play an important role in society?

I think that media industries should gain profit in order to maintain its status and quality of products. However, if a company's main goal is to generate a lot of money, then their products will lack creativity and will therefore result in audiences not being satisfied because the product didn't meet their expectations. Overall, I think that creativity is more significant than what you earn, however, money does play a huge role in providing creativity.

7) How do cultural industry companies minimise their risks and maximise their profits? (Clue: your work on Industries - Ownership and control will help here) 

This can be done through vertical and horizontal integration, where a company controls production, distribution and promotion. This can also be achieved through diversification because companies can spread risks by offering a variety of products.

8) Do you agree that the way the cultural industries operate reflects the inequalities and injustices of wider society? Should the content creators, the creative minds behind media products, be better rewarded for their work?

Yes. For example, content creators should be treated fairly because they use their own creativity. Also these cultural industries can mirror inequalities in society, such as lack of diversity in  some areas and pay differences.

9) Listen and read the transcript to the opening 9 minutes of the Freakonomics podcast - No Hollywood Ending for the Visual-Effects Industry. Why has the visual effects industry suffered despite the huge budgets for most Hollywood movies?

This is because of pay differences when profits are distributed and increasing costs.

10) What is commodification? 

The process of turning something that isn't usually a commodity into a product that can be distributed and sold (e.g art).

11) Do you agree with the argument that while there are a huge number of media texts created, they fail to reflect the diversity of people or opinion in wider society?

Yes, because although there are many media texts, dominant media companies tend to lack representation of diversity like race, culture and gender.

12) How does Hesmondhalgh suggest the cultural industries have changed? Identify the three most significant developments and explain why you think they are the most important.

.Cultural industries are no longer seen as second to the 'real' economy. Some are actually vast global businesses.

.Ownership and organisation of companies is now much broader - the largest cultural companies now operate across a range of cultural industries such as TV and films.

.Powerful IT and technology companies now work with cultural

industries to understand and produce cultural production &

consumption. These companies (e.g. Apple, Microsoft, Google,

Amazon) are now as powerful and influential in cultural industries

as traditional companies such as News Corporation, Time Warner

or Sony.