Cultural industries in public policy


This paper focuses on cultural industries. They are becoming a part of culture on the national level because they create both the symbolic and the economic capital. The research proves that investment in cultural industries is beneficial; they help to attract tourists and investors from other countries, improve the image of the country and increase awareness about it. Cultural industries are becoming a perspective area of economy. In Europe and other countries of the world, cultural industries have appeared as a branch of private business which do not require state support; however, the subsequent development of these industries and their successful competition with international corporates of cultural industries require purposeful state policy. Recently, the notion of cultural industries has been included into the cultural policy. Political decisions determine certain changes in cultural industries and their influence on the culture in a country. Countries can shape their policy of cultural industries in different ways; they can select the means to implement the policy depending on their aims and to establish institutions to implement them. The following models of the policy of cultural industries are distinguished: paternalistic, patronal, and liberal; they indicate a state’s approach towards cultural policies and help to understand and evaluate its decisions in the area of the management of cultural industries. Therefore, the aim of the article is to reveal the extent of control imposed on cultural industries in the state policy. The first part of the article surveys the notion of cultural industries and the areas attributed to them. The second part analyses cultural industries as an area of cultural policy, and the last part describes possible models of the policy of cultural industries.