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Creative Industries Management

Module description

Creative Industries Management will introduce you to contemporary arts policy, creative industries strategy and creative brand development. It will explore the relationship between production and reception, content creation and digital consumption within a convergent media landscape. You will analyse a range of case studies, with an emphasis on sustainable creative management, and will consider some of the ways in which cultural capital is expressed and rewarded, particularly in relation to, for instance social media audiences, prizes and funding awards.

The module begins by considering the influence of critical thinking on the development of the field. The focus then shifts from theory to practice, with students being encouraged to develop a toolbox of skills that will enhance employability and provide insights into some of the complexities of working for a creative industries organisation, business or start-up.

By exploring socio-economic and political landscapes that dynamically shape the creative industries, you will develop your antenna for detecting opportunities and trend-spotting, which will enable you to hone your ability to develop your creative credentials in a competitive working environment. You will also be encouraged throughout the module to consider what Arts Council England describes as the ‘creative case for diversity’, which underpins their funding strategy.

From this broad context, the module will then focus in on a series of practical skills and techniques, such as project management, pitching, audience development, and developing creative content, which will enable you to work towards developing your own creative industries portfolio. 

Module aims - intentions of the module

This module aims to:

• Offer an insight into working within the creative industries and the practical management of creative projects, in addition to developing their research, professional and employment-related skills
• Explore the socio-economic and political landscape that dynamically shapes the Creative Industries
• Introduce project and time management skills necessary for delivering a creative event or publication, which you will hone and develop through research and practice to create their own performance brand

Intended Learning Outcomes (ILOs)

ILO: Module-specific skills

On successfully completing the module you will be able to...

• 1. Contextualise the current economic construction of the Creative Industries in their wider economic, political and historic landscape
• 2. Clearly communicate the unique aspects and appeals of a creative industries project to both stakeholders and audiences through written, digital and verbal means
• 3. Source, sort and synthesise a wide range of information from a variety of digital and non-digital sources, audience feedback and post-event evaluations in order to develop a performance brand

ILO: Discipline-specific skills

On successfully completing the module you will be able to...

• 4. Utilise research tools and to translate theory into practice
• 5. Engage critically and analytically from different theoretic perspectives. Explore theoretical concerns through practice, and vice versa, and synthesise findings in practical and written tasks. Interpret research into physical practice and vice versa
• 6. Apply a wide range of library and digital skills in detailed independent research

ILO: Personal and key skills

On successfully completing the module you will be able to...

• 7. Develop advanced personal research skills using personal initiative; set personal objectives that are linked to a sense of challenge and extending boundaries; identify and evaluate personal learning strategies that are self critical as much as self reflective
• 8. Develop advanced confidence in performance skills and public presentation, in a variety of situations and/or with a variety of audiences, both of dramatic practice and researched material
• 9. Think laterally and demonstrate originality in problem solving; express and communicate creative ideas and images; initiate and sustain creative work, both group and solo
• 10. Balance self-direction and collaborative work; to adapt and design working methods for each new situation, self-management, collaborative working skills, problem solving, critical analysis and valuing own and others' ideas and beliefs

Syllabus plan

• An examination of the creative industries and the concept of creativity, centred on a discussion of their socio-cultural uses and relative value as a force for good
• Overview of a history of the political and economic development of government policy and planning in relation to the Creative Industries
• Project and time management skills required in the delivery of an arts event or publication, including finance and fundraising, administration and human resources, negotiation and presentation, brand development and a consideration of the new conditions of marketing the arts in a digital age
• Students develop their own business plan and brand identity that will communicate, through both a presentation and portfolio, how their economically viable, innovative arts project, event or publication (portfolio) might be realised for an appropriate audience

Learning activities and teaching methods (given in hours of study time)

Details of learning activities and teaching methods

Formative assessment

Summative assessment (% of credit)

Details of summative assessment

Details of re-assessment (where required by referral or deferral)

Re-assessment notes

Deferral – if you miss an assessment for certificated reasons judged acceptable by the Mitigation Committee, you will normally be either deferred in the assessment or an extension may be granted. The mark given for a re-assessment taken as a result of deferral will not be capped and will be treated as it would be if it were your first attempt at the assessment.

Referral – if you have failed the module overall (i.e. a final overall module mark of less than 40%) you will be required to submit a further assessment as necessary. If you are successful on referral, your overall module mark will be capped at 40%.

Indicative learning resources - Basic reading

Indicative reading:

• Adiga, Aravind (2008). White tiger. Atlantic Books.
• Cialdini, Robert (2007). Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion. London: Harper.
• Csikszentmihalyi, Mihaly (2013). Creativity: The Psychology of Discovery and Invention, Harper Perennial.
• Eagleton, Terry (2000). The Idea of Culture. Oxford: Blackwell.
• English, James F. (2005). The Economy of Prestige: Prizes, awards, and the Circulation of Cultural Value. Harvard University Press.
• Gino, Francesca (2016). ‘Let your workers rebel’ https://hbr.org/cover-story/2016/10/let-your-workers-rebel
• Holt, Douglas (2016). ‘Branding in an age of social media’. Harvard Business Review.
• Huang, T. Y. and Arndt, F. (2018). Entrepreneurship and Creativity Education in China: Reflections from an Experience-Based Approach to an Introductory Module in Entrepreneurship.
• Laloux, Frederic (2014). Reinventing organizations: A Guide to Creating Organizations Inspired by the Next Stage in Human Consciousness. Nelson Parker.
• Machon, J. (2013). Immersive Theatres: Intimacy and Immediacy in Contemporary Performance. Palgrave.
• Mould, 0. (2018). Against Creativity. London: Verso.
• Pine, J. and Gilmore, J. (1999). The Experience Economy: Competing for customer time, attention, and money. Boston: Harvard University Press.
• Poole, S. (2018). An Exploration of the Tension Between Tradition and Innovation in Wilson, N. and Martin, L. The Palgrave Handbook of Creativity at Work. London: Palgrave.
• Storey, John (2009) Cultural Theory and Popular Culture: An Introduction. 4th/5th edition. Harlow: Pearson Longman.
• Williams, Raymond (1985) Keywords. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Section on ‘Culture’
• Townley, Barbara and Beech, Nic (2010). Managing Creativity: Exploring the Paradox. Cambridge University Press.

Reports and strategy documents:

• The Durham Commission on Creativity and Education
• Let’s Create: Strategy 2020-2030. Arts Council England.
• Rethinking ‘Diversity’ in Publishing
• https://www.hubspot.com/startups/library

Indicative learning resources - Web based and electronic resources

• ELE – https://vle.exeter.ac.uk/course/view.php?id=3114 

Key words search

professional, creative industries, arts in society, economic, fund raising, business model generation, Theory of Change