Main objective of this course is to trace the development of the Cultural and Creative Industries as an idea and as concept and to identify the key points of changes within it in relations with contemporary digital connected world. Another important task of this course is to provide the deep understanding of the difference between cultural and symbolic meaning products (such as films, recorded music, book and periodicals, online media content etc) and other kind of goods. This course will help you to: - Identify main peculiarities of cultural and symbolic goods in their difference with other branches of economy in terms of production chain, risks, relationship between different stages of production. - Be able to analyze cultural products and symbolic goods from the organizational, economic, business model point of view. - Be able to invent new business models and analyze cultural products in terms of their productions risk. - Be able to analyze cultural policies and creative industries/clusters policies. Main prerequisite to this course is to be able to produce analytical texts in humanities. Normally the course addresses all students of master level interested in peculiarities of media and cultural economy and management. This course is strongly not recommended for those who: - Analyse any market or industry only in microeconomic terms (supply and demand, level of competitions etc). This course is not about market but about peculiarities of symbolic goods; - Try to interpret culture only in terms of marketing and management (i.e. culture is considered like a simple good to be sold to the consumer). This course considers it more broadly like a human agency to produce meanings of everyday life. That’s why cultural goods are different and can not be interpreted exclusively in terms of consuming and need more or less state support; - Try to interpret culture like pure “art” and consequently are absolutely not preoccupied by organizational aspect of its working. This course uses a large number of concepts coming from different fields of science: political economy of communications, cultural studies, sociology etc. Some aspects of the course are commented by known scholars in this field such as David Hesmondhalgh (University of Leeds), Phillipe Bouquillion (University Paris 13 Nord), Bernard Miege (Grenoble Alpes University).
Platforms independence
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From the course by National Research University Higher School of Economics
Cultural and creative industries
2 ratings
From the lesson
Evolution of cultural industries in digital age
During this week we'll learn transformations of cultural industries after digital revolution. We'll touch upon changes in business models, platforms and general logics shaping cultural industries in digital era.
Meet the Instructors
Iliya KiriaProfessor
Department of Media
Actually we'll move to the second part of our course.
And here, we'll speak about the evolution of the model,
the theory of models,
and changes in production chain in field of cultural and creative industries.
First, think.
First, we'll say,
novelty which kind of reserve it's what we call the platform independence ideology.
What is the platform with independence?
First of all we'll take a look on what is dependence,
what is the platform dependence.
Platform dependence comes from the idea that in pre-digital world,
particular content was produced to be consumed to
the particular technological devices and generally via particular communication channel.
Means that in field of broadcasting television,
the distribution is organizing by this particular spectrum of the broadcast and
the device to the consumption of
broadcasting television was the TV set, the classic TV set.
In field of recorded music,
the distribution was based on the particular medium such as for example, laser engraving.
And the device was the CD disc recorder and especially,
CD disc player to listen for the music.
It's what we call the platform dependence.
It means that the content is,
well say for sure,
attached to particular platform.
You can't consume this content outside this platform.
When the platform independence starts?
It starts with a particular term,
a term which is actually in use during the last 20 years, more or less.
But the generally this term appeared in biology,
in the economic sciences and in other fields,
is that term of media convergence.
The term of convergence.
Because what does it mean the convergence?
Yeah, we have deal with the six forms of convergence which is pointed out by some,
I think Swedish Scholars,
Faggaliot and Stonsole, first of all this is a network convergence.
Network convergence means that you can use
the same network to spread different kind of datas.
For example, we are in the digital world you can use one cable to spread the video,
to spread the radio,
to spread, I don't know,
to spread out the telephone calls for example.
Second there is a device convergence.
Devices convergence means that the inside the one device,
we can see a very diverse different functionalities,
and the edit functionalities of devices means that you can
use the same device to consume different kind of content.
For example one of the first example of the convergence device was the,
all the radialer of the radio sets with integrated electro form or gramo form.
So with electric tool to listen for the vineral discs,
is the one of the example of convergence.
So the second is the ideology of devices convergence.
Then we have deal with the service convergence,
because if the network is the same, device is the same,
then you can provide just one service,
all inclusive we'll say,
all inclusive because inside one service,
you can charge internet,
you can charge pay TV,
you can charge even the telephone.
Then after that, we can speak about genres convergence.
Because since the platforms are convergent,
since the device is the same,
you can see how the genres from for example from newspaper,
from printed platforms, are moving progressively to our usual platforms.
For example the so-called audio columns,
or audio columnist, or video columnist, radio columnist.
It's the one of the example of using a genre from newspaper,
the column to the digital platform especially for the video.
Of course then it means the market convergence because since
service are converging between them and the general source are common,
so we can speak about the market convergence.
It's not right now a separate market of the,
I don't know, television, and newspaper,
it could be the market of online,
of the online environment.
And then finally, we can speak about the regulation of convergence.
The convergence of regulation.
Means that since the market is common,
we should use the common principles of regulation of all platforms.
Of course such six forms of convergence becomes true,
become working only within the digital environment.
Means that the digital distribution,
digital content create a common environment,
where any content can be distributed to
many digital network and read on that particular digital device.
From this point of view,
this ideology of course created in the 1990s,
a lot of mythologies,
because this ideology was read as the technically driven ideology.
And it was highly based on technical determinism that
any changes within technical platforms will
automatically produce some particular changes in field of practices,
audience, strategies et cetera.
And the technical innovation has been considered as a main driver of that.
Of course a lot of examples of
non-successful mergement between telecommunication companies and content producers,
between IT companies and the media companies et cetera especially
1990s and beginning of 2000s and we'll back to it in the next week,
it can be a good example of the convergence as ideology.
Means that finally, the convergence remains the ideology just
because it's not automatically guarantee they will say successful strategies,
a successful mergements of different companies.
It means that the technical convergence for example,
convergence between telecommunication operator and content producer entertainment company
for example that major film studio,
doesn't guarantee the obligate reminder that it will be a particular operational income,
or that the convergence,
the real convergence between these two sector will be really place.
And the example of
the actual telecommunication companies and a lot of them actually are different,
are independent from companies of content producing is the good example.
Of course, the current trends in these fields of the convergence is the first one,
the first trend is that until now we can't see what kind of device is the main.
There is no unique device in this field actually until now.
Even if any device is convergent,
you can use the tablet PC for exactly the same things.
Then you can use your laptop computer,
and then you can use your tablet PC.
But until now, there is no unique most important device in this field.
So, this mythology of the media center,
or the mythology of PC TV,
this is a mythology of 1990s,
the idea of convergence between computer and the TV set.
So this mythology of media center remains the mythology.
Then another kind of trend which has been observed this week,
is the individualization of practices of course.
Then we can also speak about the growth of individual devices,
individual device is device which could be
individual such as smartphones but also tablets,
multimedia players, all-connected devices, iPods et cetera.
So, devices which could be switched to the particular user,
and which could be well say,
adapted to the private usage of that particular person.
From this point of view of course,
the device manufacturers possess more and more power on the content sales of course,
just because devices start to make a pressure on the content producing field,
just because devices are manufacturing
the most important things in this content environment.
And finally, the production actually is quite
different than just the purchase of the rights of the distribution.
Which means that finally
the production field is
evolving to the new kind of producing technique et cetera.
Finally, in the actual digital world,
we can see this platform dependence.
We can see this platform dependence even if
the ideological mythology of
the platform independence is very still popular.
And a good example of such platform dependence in the digital world is
the creation of aggregation services that cannot be used jointly,
that cannot be used with another devices for example,
you cannot use iTunes with another kind of platform, then with iOS.
So, if you have an apple, you should,
you are obliged in some extent to use iTunes.
If you have Android based smartphone or tablet,
you should use google play.
So, is the new kind of dependence in digital world.
So from this point of view until now,
the platform independence become,
or remains a quite ideological concept.
But this ideological concept of cause drives some kind of
regulations and a good example is the so-called Net neutrality ideology.
Net neutrality ideology means that the networks cannot
discriminate or charge differently users of different platforms.
So users on the basis,
users which has different devices,
different platforms, et cetera.
And there was strong debate at the Federal Communications Commission in
the United States which finally led to the decision
of the FCC to classify broadband as telecommunications service and
finally to spread out this neutrality ideology.
So of course, it means that the idea of the open platform,
or open access platform,
or platform independence until now remains a kind of common mythology.
Common mythology just because until now we can find new ways of regulating,
new ways of creating the commercial power in the field
of content distribution even if this distribution is entirely digital,
if even if this distribution is mainly done across
the digital devices which are mainly
convergent devices which can use different functions et cetera.
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