Over the past decade the introduction of MP3’s, file sharing networks and illegal downloading has fundamentally changed the music industry, structurally and spatially. In the wake of this restructuring it is now estimated that 95% of all musicians in Canada operate independently of record companies (Canadian Independent Recording Artist Association or ‘CIRAA’). Digital technologies afford independent musicians greater freedom and control over how and where they live and work. Although economic geographers have been quick to examine the impact of the so called ‘MP3 Crisis’ on record sales and the major record labels, little is known about how changes at the macro-scale affect the working lives of individual musicians in specific locations. As a result, this dissertation focuses on the employment experiences and spatial dynamics of independent musicians in Toronto. Drawing on sixty-five in-depth interviews with musicians and key informants in the music industry, the thesis documents the intersections between technology, work and space. In particular, the analysis highlights the ways in which the new creative and spatial freedoms, associated with independent music production, are accompanied by intensified competition and employment risk, which musicians experience in an increasingly individualized way. Surviving in the current marketplace requires independent musicians to perform a range of new tasks and exhibit a higher degree of professionalism. Accordingly, the research outlines some of the reasons why some musicians are rejecting and reworking traditional bohemian lifestyles, spatial patterns and risk mediation strategies. In particular, there is growing evidence of new forms of networking and of the increased importance of strategic collaborations between musicians and fashion designers. There are also signs that some musicians are relocating from the downtown core to the surrounding suburbs, and that musical talent is becoming redistributed across the city-region. Ultimately, this dissertation demonstrates the need for specialized policies to incubate and retain creative talent in an increasingly global and digital marketplace.

Over the past decade the introduction of MP3’s, file sharing networks and illegal downloading has fundamentally changed the music industry, structurally and spatially. In the wake of this restructuring it is now estimated that 95% of all musicians in Canada operate independently of record companies (Canadian Independent Recording Artist Association or ‘CIRAA’). Digital technologies afford independent musicians greater freedom and control over how and where they live and work. Although economic geographers have been quick to examine the impact of the so called ‘MP3 Crisis’ on record sales and the major record labels, little is known about how changes at the macro-scale affect the working lives of individual musicians in specific locations. As a result, this dissertation focuses on the employment experiences and spatial dynamics of independent musicians in Toronto. Drawing on sixty-five in-depth interviews with musicians and key informants in the music industry, the thesis documents the intersections between technology, work and space. In particular, the analysis highlights the ways in which the new creative and spatial freedoms, associated with independent music production, are accompanied by intensified competition and employment risk, which musicians experience in an increasingly individualized way. Surviving in the current marketplace requires independent musicians to perform a range of new tasks and exhibit a higher degree of professionalism. Accordingly, the research outlines some of the reasons why some musicians are rejecting and reworking traditional bohemian lifestyles, spatial patterns and risk mediation strategies. In particular, there is growing evidence of new forms of networking and of the increased importance of strategic collaborations between musicians and fashion designers. There are also signs that some musicians are relocating from the downtown core to the surrounding suburbs, and that musical talent is becoming redistributed across the city-region. Ultimately, this dissertation demonstrates the need for specialized policies to incubate and retain creative talent in an increasingly global and digital marketplace.

This study explores different understandings of culture and creativity in the Finnish urban policymaking. It focuses on the development project of Suvilahti, an old power plant that is transformed into work spaces of cultural producers. As a theoretical background it uses different approaches to culture-led urban development and asks whether a ‘creative policy gap’ exists in Helsinki’s cultural policymaking. By analysing the City of Helsinki’s strategies in the field of cultural policy and semi-structured interviews with a sample of cultural producers, the study finds that a ‘creativity gap’ exists between the understandings of different actors. While planners’ understanding is characterized by the neoliberal understanding of creativity, cultural producers mainly understand creativity through the value of cultural democratization. The study calls for a wider understanding of culture in urban policymaking that recognizes creative activities’ potential also in bringing well-being to the society and understands culture’s intrinsic value.

In this thesis, I analyse the representation of grooming in Australian men’s lifestyle magazines to explore the emergence of new masculine subjectivities constructed around narcissism and the adoption of previously feminine-coded products and practices which may indicate important shifts in the cultural meanings of Australian masculinity. However, in order to talk about ‘new’ subjectivities and ‘shifts’ in masculine behaviours and cultural ideals, then it is imperative to demonstrate ‘old’ practices and ideologies, and so while the thesis is concerned with discourses of grooming and models of masculinity presented in the new genre of men’s lifestyle titles which appeared on the Australian market in the late 1990s, it frames this discussion with detailed analyses of previously unexplored Australian men’s general interest magazines from the 1930s. According to Frank Mort consumption, traditionally associated with the feminine has now become a central part of imagining men (1996: 17-18) while the representation and sale of masculinity is an increasingly important part of the ‘cultural economy’ (Mikosza, 2003). In this thesis I am concerned with the role of men’s lifestyle magazines and magazine representations of masculinity in the ‘cultural economy’ of mediated male grooming cultures.

No description available.

Nas últimas décadas, produtores simbólicos ditos independentes têm ampliado sua presença no espaço público. Esse adjetivo passou a funcionar como critério distintivo, condensando modos de intervenção intelectual e política que descrevem e prescrevem estilos de presença na produção cultural. Esta tese tem por objetos o desenvolvimento de um debate sobre editores, editoras, livros e publicações independentes em escala transnacional e seu enraizamento no Brasil e na Argentina. Estudam-se os materiais intelectuais, os agenciamentos coletivos e as políticas setoriais e públicas referentes a esse universo. Discute-se a (re)emergência da noção de editor(a) independente e a inscrição sócio-institucional dos agentes engajados em defini-la, difundi-la, adotá-la ou recusá-la. O objetivo foi compreender que sentidos essa categoria classificatória assume; a que posturas ideológicas, estéticas e políticas ela remete em cada caso; e a que condicionantes sociais podem ser atribuídas as diferenças e semelhanças entre os casos estudados. / In recent decades, the so-called \"independent\" symbolic producers have increased their presence in the public space. This adjective began to function as a criterion of distinction, summarizing ways of intellectual and political intervention that describe and prescribe certain styles of cultural production. This thesis addresses the development of a debate on \"independent\" publishers, publishing houses, books and publications on a transnational scale, as well as its specificities in Brazil and Argentina. The intellectual materials, collective bodies and sectoral and public policies on this universe were studied. The public appearance of the notion of \"independent\" publishing is discussed, as well as the social and institutional position of the agents engaged in its definition, diffusion, adoption or rejection. The purpose was to understand which meanings this classification category assumes, to which ideological, aesthetic and political positions it refers in each case, and to which social conditions the differences and similarities among the cases studied can be attributed.

Nas últimas décadas, produtores simbólicos ditos independentes têm ampliado sua presença no espaço público. Esse adjetivo passou a funcionar como critério distintivo, condensando modos de intervenção intelectual e política que descrevem e prescrevem estilos de presença na produção cultural. Esta tese tem por objetos o desenvolvimento de um debate sobre editores, editoras, livros e publicações independentes em escala transnacional e seu enraizamento no Brasil e na Argentina. Estudam-se os materiais intelectuais, os agenciamentos coletivos e as políticas setoriais e públicas referentes a esse universo. Discute-se a (re)emergência da noção de editor(a) independente e a inscrição sócio-institucional dos agentes engajados em defini-la, difundi-la, adotá-la ou recusá-la. O objetivo foi compreender que sentidos essa categoria classificatória assume; a que posturas ideológicas, estéticas e políticas ela remete em cada caso; e a que condicionantes sociais podem ser atribuídas as diferenças e semelhanças entre os casos estudados. / In recent decades, the so-called \"independent\" symbolic producers have increased their presence in the public space. This adjective began to function as a criterion of distinction, summarizing ways of intellectual and political intervention that describe and prescribe certain styles of cultural production. This thesis addresses the development of a debate on \"independent\" publishers, publishing houses, books and publications on a transnational scale, as well as its specificities in Brazil and Argentina. The intellectual materials, collective bodies and sectoral and public policies on this universe were studied. The public appearance of the notion of \"independent\" publishing is discussed, as well as the social and institutional position of the agents engaged in its definition, diffusion, adoption or rejection. The purpose was to understand which meanings this classification category assumes, to which ideological, aesthetic and political positions it refers in each case, and to which social conditions the differences and similarities among the cases studied can be attributed.

What is the role of the consumer in the contemporary cultural economy? Where are culturaleconomy innovations and competitiveness created? This thesis aims to provide tentativeanswers to these questions by focusing on some illustrative examples from the Japanesecultural economy. However, rather than primarily describing firm strategies or industrialdynamics, emphasis is put on the places and practices of users. The thesis is based on a seriesof qualitative studies carried out between 2007 and 2009. In these studies various forms ofinteraction between consumption, innovation and space are highlighted. In the first article,media mix is analyzed. Media mix is the space in which media, images and narrativesinteract: a space where the user contributes to the introduction of new innovation into alreadyexisting concepts, and thereby, plays a crucial role in creating the mix. In the second article,the Akihabara district in Tokyo is analyzed. This is a place where consumers enable hightechnologyand popular culture to merge and where new trends and consumer cultures arecreated. In the third article, the mega event Comiket is analyzed. Comiket is a market foramateur artists involved in Japanese popular culture. It is a space where plagiarism andprovocation by mainstream Japanese popular culture are driving factors for creativity. Thethesis concludes by suggesting that the role of the consumer needs to be further emphasized inresearch on the cultural economy, as many users are active innovators, and create trends andpractices that shape global consumer cultures. / Japansk populärkultur har under de senaste årtiondena blivit väldigt uppskattadöver hela jorden. Manga (japanska serietidningar), anime (Japansk animeradfilm) och framförallt dataspel fascinerar, särskilt bland de yngre generationerna.Men var kommer då dessa kulturella uttryck ifrån och vem skapardem? Denna avhandling utforskar den kulturella ekonomins geografigenom att utifrån ett rumsligt perspektiv studera människor och platser somskapar, tolkar och utvecklar nya trender och produkter. I studien har fokusflyttats från etablerade produktutvecklare, företag och industriella drivkrafteroch tar med hjälp av tre separata artiklar sikte på att beskriva och tolkakopplingar mellan det rumsliga å ena sidan samt lärande och skapande åandra sidan. Avhandlingen har en tolkande ansats och baseras på kvalitativametoder som inspirerats av fenomenologin. Det empiriska materialet byggertill stor del på fältstudier som bedrivits i Japan under åren 2007-2009.Den första artikeln inleds med ett konstaterande av hur produktutvecklingsker inom den japanska leksaks- och spelindustrin. Idag är en vanlig metodför utvecklingen av berättelser att de sprids mellan olika former av medier.En mix av olika medier ger starka varumärken och trogna kunder. Samtidigtvisar studien att användaren är av central betydelse för skapandet av en helhetsupplevelse.Det är inte nödvändigtvis lisensägaren, en författare eller ettspecifikt företag som skapar produkternas konkurrenskraft. Istället är detmedia mixens sammantagna upplevelse som spelar en avgörande betydelseför användarna. Media mix möjliggör även att nya medier och berättelserkan introduceras av såväl företag som andra konsumenter.I den andra artikeln analyseras stadsdelen Akihabara i Tokyo som sedanlänge är känt som ett centrum för konsumtion av prylteknologi och hemelektronikmen som alltmer kommit att präglas av konsumtion av populärkulturi form av dataspel och anime-relaterade produkter. Akihabara är ettexempel på ett rum där kunskap och trender förmedlas och sprids; men ocksåskapas, utvecklas och förfinas. Platsen och dess användare spelar en avgöranderoll i dessa processer och konsumtion och konsumenternas handlingarär en grogrund för kulturella innovationer med konkurrenskraftiga kulturella uttryck. Artikeln ger därmed ett bidrag till diskussionen om innovativa miljöermed ett exempel som ligger långt bort från företagsparker och industriellakluster.Till sist, i en tredje artikel, analyseras Comik Market. Det är en mässa i Tokyoför manga där konstnärer i nära 40 år kunnat utväxla idéer, berättelseroch tekniker. Evenemanget har växt till en enorm happening där välkändastjärnor kan sälja sina varor bredvid helt okända nykomlingar. En viktigdrivkraft för skapandet är plagiat av redan etablerade och populära serier ochgenrer. Ofta är berättelserna provokativa och utmanande. Parallellt med seriernapågår dessutom utvecklandet av en besläktad populärkultur kallad cosplay.Vem som helst kan klä ut sig till sin favoritfigur och visa upp sig fördeltagarna. Skapandet och leken på mässan ger efterverkningar inom denjapanska kulturella ekonomin men avknoppas även utanför Japan. Idag finnsmånga liknande mässor runt om i världen där nya konsumenter och kreatörermöts och skapas. Artikeln är ett exempel på den event-baserade ekonominsom kräver spektakulära händelser för sin överlevnad. Samtidigt är det kreatörernasjälva som skapar och driver mässan trots etablerade mediakonglomeratoch myndigheter.På detta sätt ger avhandlingen uttryck för ett angreppssätt inom samhällsvetenskapendär kulturella och ekonomiska processer samspelar. Rumslighetenses som en avgörande komponent för skapandet av kulturella innovationer.Där masskulturen utvecklas, utvecklas också masskonsumtionen. De rumsom artiklarna belyser har därigenom en indirekt betydelse för den kulturellaindustrins konkurrenskraft. Dessutom, vid sidan av storföretagens mångmiljoninvesteringar och reklamjippon, framträder idag konsumenterna sombetydelsefulla innovatörer inom de kulturella näringarna. En av anledningarbakom detta är att värdet av kulturella produkter styrs av tillfälliga faktorersåsom trender och hajpar. Kunskap odlas och nytänkande frodas i utprägladekonsumtionskulturer och bland fans och kreativa konsumenter finns oftakärnan till många framgångsrika produkter. På detta sätt bidrar avhandlingentill förståelsen av samtidens kulturella ekonomi samt dess koppling till rummetoch konsumenten. Avhandlingen argumenterar därmed att forskningenpå kulturella näringar i högre grad bör uppmärksamma konsumenterna somaktiva kreatörer och värdeskapare. / 日本の文化経済に関する地理学的考察：イノベーションと創造的消費に着目して今日、日本のポップカルチャーはますます世界中で親しまれるようになった。マンガやアニメ、特にデジタル・ゲームは若者を中心に人気を集めている。日本文化の世界的展開を前にして、西欧諸国の人々が以下のような関心を抱くことも自然であろう。これらの文化的表現は一体どこで生まれ、また、誰によって制作されているのか。本研究の目的は文化経済の地理的現象について、新たなトレンドや製品を生み出し、解釈し、そして発展させる人々およびその空間について探求することである。もっとも、ここでは、定評のある作家・クリエーターや製品開発者、企業、さらには産業動態といった、一般的に文化経済研究において注目される観点に重きを置いていない。本研究を構成する三つの論考において、特定の空間と商取引や学習、創造性、革新性との関係を描き、検証することを課題としている。その方法として、解釈的アプローチ並びに現象学より着想を得た定性的分析を採用した。分析データについては、主に2007年から2009年の間に日本において行ったフィールドワークより収集したものを用いている。第一論文では、日本の玩具およびゲーム産業における製品開発を題材としている。物語や映像を展開する手段として、それらを様々なメディア形態へと配信していくことが一般的である。メディア媒体の混合を通じて、ブランドを創出し、根強い顧客を確保していく。西欧諸国において人気の高い二つの日本のキャラクターを検証して明らかとなったことは、メディア・ミックスの全体性を作り出す際の製品ユーザーの重要性である。その役割は必ずしも製品競争力に直結するようなライセンス取得者や作家・クリエーター、もしくは特定の企業であるとは限らない。むしろ、連結された体験こそがユーザーにとって重要である。新たな映像や物語が取り込まれるにつれてメディア・ミックスは発展する。その強さを促進する原動力はしばしばユーザーの手中にある。第二論文では東京都秋葉原を分析地域とした。この地域は家電製品やハイテク機器の商店が立ち並ぶ日本有数の電気屋街として知られている。近年では、デジタル・ゲームやマンガに関連した商品など、大衆文化の一大消費拠点でもある。秋葉原が知識やアイディアを交換する空間へと変化した結果、流行ならびに新たな文化的現象が創出され、評価され、そして発展していく場となっている。この過程において、秋葉原という特定の空間とその人々こそが重要であり、消費および消費者の諸活動が文化的イノベーションと競争力のある文化的表現を育てる。従って、本論考は、一般的なビジネスパークや産業クラスターの諸研究とは異なる観点からの、イノベーションおよびクリエイティブ・ミリュー論への貢献と位置づけられよう。第三論文ではコミックマーケットを分析対象としている。コミックマーケットは、参加者達のアイディアや物語、専門的技法といった情報交換の場として40年もの間に進化を遂げてきた。著名な作家・クリエーターにとって、本イベントは新たな読者・愛好家へと作品を広めるような開放的な空間をもつ大規模な催しへと発展した。そこで展示もしくは頒布される同人誌は挑発的であり挑戦的でもある。また、「コスプレ」を代表として、その他の多くの文化的現象も見られる。本イベントにおける創造的活動や遊びは、しばしば日本の文化経済に影響を与えるような新たなトレンドの契機となる。世界中にも消費者とクリエーターが出会い、触れ合うような同様のイベントは少なくない。本稿の事例は、大々的な催しを必要とするような、イベントを基礎とした経済活動の一例である。他方で、関連省庁やメディア・コングロマリットとは異なるような、ボトムアップ型で成功的に発展してきた文化経済の制度的催しの一例ともいえよう。以上のように、本研究では文化と経済過程の関係が相互的かつ互恵的となるような社会科学のアプローチを提示している。特定の場とユーザーは、大衆消費が確立され、大衆文化が発展するような空間において、文化的イノベーションを生み出す上で最も重要な役割を果たしている。従って、これらの空間は文化産業の競争力を間接的に左右している。今日、有力企業による大規模投資や高額な展示方法などに続き、消費者は文化経済の鍵となるイノベーターとして認識されよう。その理由の一つとして、文化的商品の価値が流行や誇張された宣伝のような偶然的要因によって決定される点と無関係ではない。これらはファンと創造的な消費者が有する独特の消費文化の中で開花することが多い。本稿が探求してきた点は、この消費と空間、延いては現代文化経済の理解についてである。文化産業に関する今後の研究は、制作プロセスに関与する積極的な主体として、ますます消費者に着目する必要があろう。

The aim of this essay was to investigate the effects of adopting a site to the UNESCOs World Heritage List. Thefocus laid on the example of the Decorated Farmhouses of Hälsingland, which was the most recent Swedishadoption. With the question of impact of the World Heritage List in mind, the region of Hälsingland became themain focus. The study was made with particular focus on Gästgivars, a farm located in the municipality ofBollnäs, to which the theory of social life of things was applied. The result of the World Heritage was, in the caseof Gästgivars, an increase of the cultural value and social status.This case study has shown that the impact of the nomination has not been immense, but suggests that longtermeffects can show. The nomination to the World Heritage has led to some small changes in how thefarmhouses are managed, for example an increase of guided tours of a site. Although there were some opinionson how it was handled, World Heritage site recognition is looked upon as something positive. In this studyUNESCO and ICOMOS, in addition to other governing bodies, appeared to be authoritarian in some aspects,mainly when it came to local decisions concerning the World Heritage site. Thus, it has also shown that thoseinstitutions were not the only authoritarians regarding the handling of the site.The adoption of the Decorated Farmhouses could contribute to a feeling of community, or to create asymbol of the region and municipality, or perhaps a feeling of local identity and community. On an economiclevel, the World Heritage designation could contribute to additional income for the region and secondary effects.The case study is not completely a part of the experience industry which shows that cultural economy had littleeffects. Furthermore, the study showed that the adoption of the Decorated Farmhouses of Hälsingland to theWorld Heritage List can promote the view upon culture in small cities and an alternation of the cultural life.To analyze possible interactions due to a site being added to the World Heritage list has succesfully beenperformed with qualitative methods and interviews. The interviews became the primary material of the study andwas backed by statistics of the number of visitors to a site, some documents, and historical facts.

Cette thèse vise à mettre en lumière les pratiques artistiques des années soixante élargies, en Europe et aux Etats-Unis, qui ont conduit les artistes à interroger l’économie au sein de leur création. Au milieu du XXe siècle, les économistes et les sociologues commençaient à appliquer leurs méthodes au domaine artistique, envisageant l’art comme une « marchandise » voire comme un « investissement » et l’artiste comme une « profession ». La thèse défendue est que les artistes furent symétriquement nombreux à s’approprier les questions économiques, indépendamment des styles et des mouvements, et à proposer des œuvres qui articulaient de manière critique leur propre statut économique. Le but de cette étude est d’éclairer ces œuvres en soulignant leur ancrage dans un contexte d’histoire et de pensée économiques précis. Mais cette recherche a également pour ambition de montrer qu’elles offrent à leur tour un regard privilégié sur l’économie de leur temps, à trois niveaux interdépendants : celui du marché de l’art, entre hausse et crise ; celui, plus macro-économique, de l’inflation, de la chute du système monétaire international et de l’étalon-or ; celui, enfin, de la constitution à l’époque de l’économie comme champ d’expertise formalisé, réservé aux experts. Les quatre parties de cette thèse interrogent quatre notions économiques fondamentales : la valeur et le prix à partir du tournant de 1960 (avec les œuvres d’Yves Klein, de Giuseppe Gallizio et de Robert Filliou) ; la monnaie en 1962 (avec les cas de Larry Rivers et Andy Warhol) ; les marchés financiers à la fin des années 1960 (avec l’art conceptuel) ; le commerce au début des années 1970 (avec Ray Johnson et Marcel Broodthaers). / This doctoral thesis aims to enlighten art works and practices from the larger Sixties, in Europe and the United States, which questioned economics from within artistic creation. In the mid-20th century, economists and sociologists started to extend their tools and analyses to the artistic realm, presenting artworks as “goods” or “investments,” and artists as “professionals.” In turn, I argue, artists simultaneously decided to place economics at the heart of their practice and to produce artworks that critically articulated their own economic position. The goal of this study is to enhance the knowledge and appreciation of these art works by grounding them in a precise economic and historical context. I also hope to demonstrate that art offered a privileged viewpoint on the economics of its time, at three interdependent levels: the art market, from boom to crisis; the macro-economic level of inflation, the fall of the international monetary system and the gold standard; the construction of economics as a disciplinary field, formalized and reserved to experts. The four parts of this thesis question four major economic notions: price and value starting at the turn of the 1960s (with works by Yves Klein, Giuseppe Gallizio and Robert Filliou); the currency in 1962 (with the study cases of Larry Rivers and Andy Warhol); the financial markets at the end of the 1960s (with conceptual art); commerce at the beginning of the 1970s (with Ray Johnson and Marcel Broodthaers).