Bennett, T. 2020. Towards ‘Embedded Non-creative Work’? Administration, digitisation and the recorded music industry. International Journal of Cultural Policy. 26 (2), pp. 223-238. https://doi.org/10.1080/10286632.2018.1479399
| Title | Towards ‘Embedded Non-creative Work’? Administration, digitisation and the recorded music industry |
|---|---|
| Type | Journal article |
| Authors | Bennett, T. |
| Abstract | For contemporary cultural policy, ‘non-creative’ work continues to form a conceptual blindspot: a foil to define and value creativity against. This paper develops existing categories to augment the task-focused notion of ‘embedded creativity’ with a more situated view of work’s cultural and institutional embedding. It first interrogates this ‘embeddedness’, taking a ‘cultural economy’ approach to intermediation and administrative support. Drawing on observations from an in-depth qualitative study of employees in major record labels, the second part articulates the heightened importance of ‘admin’ to recorded music industries, after ‘digital disruption’. Routine bureaucratic labour presents an atypical example, revealing much about the hidden relational and identity work that goes into constructing ‘creative industries’ as such. The intention is not to show that ‘embedded non-creative workers’ are in fact ‘creative’ but, on the contrary, to articulate the distinct contributions and value of support work in this context, questioning a persistent reliance on creative/non-creative dualisms. Policy research would benefit from enriched understanding of culture's assembly in marketable objects, reorienting understandings of ‘cultural’ labour markets and careers, and reimagining the role of traditional cultural ‘administration’ in the contemporary ‘creative economy’. |
| Journal | International Journal of Cultural Policy |
| Journal citation | 26 (2), pp. 223-238 |
| ISSN | 1028-6632 |
| 1477-2833 | |
| Year | 2020 |
| Publisher | Taylor & Francis |
| Digital Object Identifier (DOI) | https://doi.org/10.1080/10286632.2018.1479399 |
| Web address (URL) | https://doi.org/10.1080/10286632.2018.1479399 |
| Publication dates | |
| Published | 23 Feb 2020 |