Beyond ad hocery: Defining Creative Industries

This paper explores the rise of the creative industries, whose development marks an increasingly central element of contemporary economies, whose form is informational, global and networked. It begins with a discussion of the various ways in which the creative industries have been defined, in both policy statements and in the academic literature. It relates the development of the creative industries to three trends. First, it is connected to has the development of cultural industries as an object of public policy, as well as a critical rethinking of the best means by which cultural development can be supported through cultural policy. Second, the rise of the knowledge- ased economy, and debates about the relationship between information, knowledge and creativity, have provided a stimulus to creative industries development. Third, the shift from manufacturing to services as the dominant employment sector has raised important issues about the nature of services sector employment and the services industry model. Finally, there is a discussion of the significance of creative industries development to the concept of cluster development and policies to promote the development of creative cities and regions, as part of the ‘night time economy’