Digital Convergence and Collaborative Cultures

The aim of this paper is to examine the position of publishing within the arena of the creative industries and set an agenda for research into a particular aspect of change in the relationship between publishing and other creative sectors. In most definitions of creative industries, publishing is listed alongside other creative activities (from film making and fine art to heritage services and advertising), fitting within different sub-categories depending on the models used. However, it might be more useful to align the activities of publishing with the wider creative industries, identifying which characteristics and behaviours it shares with these sectors in order to position itself more effectively alongside them; by taking this approach publishing can recognise its strengths, share the issues that face many creative sectors and collaborate more effectively given new challenges.

Abstract:

As digital media lead to the blurring of edges between different creative forms, from books to film, games to visual archive, it is becoming more important to understand the way publishing fits within the wider creative industries. Organisations like the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) clearly position publishing alongside other activities in their models for creative industries and as such it plays a key role in government agendas for developing creative economies.This paper outlines the position of publishing in this wider context by exploring the characteristics of creative industries and showing how publishing fits such definitions. This includes analysis of themes of creativity and collaboration as well as industry structures and behaviours. The paper aims to show that although publishing can at times be regarded as a traditional, legacy-bound industry, the advent of participatory technologies that break down the old publishing value chains are leading to new ways of working. The challenges that digital developments bring face other creative industries similarly. By aligning with the wider experience of creative industries, publishing can seek to define itself in a broader context of digital convergence.The paper is based mainly on thinking developed from a literature survey undertaken for a piece of primary research I shall be conducting. The paper introduces this proposed research, which will look at the way new collaborations are forming and how publishers are managing these creative partnerships. The research will examine how publishers facilitate collaborations, what they learn from other creative industries, and how this activity may be fundamentally changing the structure of the industry.

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