Disputes about the Creative Industry

In the context of the growing importance of the creative industries in the economy and emerging questions about a place of public, cultural, social, economic and innovative policy, an important question appears: what is an essence of the concept of the creative industries? The idea of integration, support and building an identity of the institutions, which activities are based on talented and creative work, has its origins in the United Kingdom and Australia. It is now entering Polish market and arouses interest in policy-makers, academics and practitioners. Still, for many people, the term seems to be vague and arouses a lot of controversy. The article shows the discourse on the creative industries, especially the ongoing debate between: European (mainly British), Australian and American scholars. Furthermore, arguments of critics and defenders of the concept are also presented. The arguments derived from the tradition of the criticism of mass culture which represent the current research on economization of culture are compared in this text. There are three main grounds of the dispute: the definition of the concept, the essence of the concept of a new sector and application in practice. Furthermore, two main phases in the discourse and the pragmatics of the creative industries are also presented: the transition from cultural industries to creative industries and emphasizing the importance of innovation and networking. The study used a critical analysis of the content of not only Polish but also foreign public documents, industry reports and scientific papers. The methodological conclusions drawn from the emergence of a new interdisciplinary research area are also presented. These findings specifically relate to Poland which is entering a crucial phase of policy development in the field of the creative industries. The need for an action is systematized: definitional, classificational and critical analysis of achievements and mistakes of the countries implementing policies to support the sector, as well as the need to adopt it to the local conditions. In the context of relatively limited academic reflection on the issues in Poland, the need of interdisciplinary analysis is also emphasized.