• In the present day, a lot of people aspire to be in a creative occupation however it is a struggle when you aren’t in a family or know people who can get you into it, no matter the creative ability you have, e.g cultural work in the complex professional era is that many more people seem to have wanted to work professionally in the cultural industries than have succeeded in do so. Few people make it, and surprisingly little attention has been paid in research to how people do so, and what stops others from getting on.
• David is currently a Professor of Media, music and culture at the University of Leeds.
• He has wrote books such as Understanding Media: Inside Celebrity (Maidenhead Open University Press, 2005), Media Production (Maidenhead: Open University Press, 2006), Media and Society, 6th edition (New York: Bloomsbury, 2019) and many more.
• Hesmondhalgh analyses the relationship between media and work as well as the media industry.
• Applying/getting a job requires luck or a family member to be successful.
• David Hesmondalgh says that the creative/cultural industry is a risky business.
• Businesses are divided into three sectors such as production, distribution and consumption.
• The strategies that minimise the risks are strategies such as the ‘Horizontal integration’ which enables large-scale institutions to achieve scale base cost savings while also allowing them to maximise profits by positioning brands so they do not compete with one another. A second way to minimise the risks is the vertical integration, this is where production, distribution, marketing specialist subsidiaries and media conglomerates can control all aspects of their supply chain while also achieving significant cost saving efficiencies. The final strategy of minimising risk is the multi-sector integration, this is the buying of companies across the culture industry, allowing for further cross-promotion opportunities and the deployment of brands across media platforms.

David Hesmondalgh wrote a book called “The culture industries”

His work is about tracing the relationship between media work, workers, and the industry.

“VH:[00:17:10] I think a lot sadly does come down to luck and who you know. “

“MM: [00:34:02] So how do you see that? Looking back do you think that was, do you think basically you were lucky? The right person, in the right place, at the right time?

JL: [00:34:12] Yeah.  “

Many younger people believe that the creative industry is a lot different to how it really is

“LH [00:20:14] the minute that I went in I realized not everybody who works in creativity is a fun person. There are a lot more boring than you’d expect them to be. They’re not as fun.“

They are drawn to the ideas of fame and wealth and that it will be easy and fun, putting them in a vulnerable position when they realise that this is not the case and the industry requires you to get very lucky.

1. Cultural industries  – an industrialized culture, essentially produced for the sake of making profits
2. Production – The making of a piece of media
3. Distribution – How media products are delivered to audiences
4. Exhibition / Consumption – How a media product is viewed
5. Media concentration – The ownership of mass media by few individuals
6. Conglomerates – A company that owns numerous other companies involved in media
7. Globalisation (in terms of media ownership)
8. Cultural imperialism – A theory that states western nations dominate media around the world
9. Vertical Integration – When a media company owns different businesses in the same chain of production and distribution e.g. 20th century fox owns studios; cinemas; TV channels
10. Horizontal Integration – A media company’s ownership of several businesses of the same value e.g. a magazine; radio station and TV channel
11. Mergers – When a media company acquires another company
12. Monopolies – A large company owning many shares of a media source
13. Gatekeepers – People who filter information for dissemination
14. Regulation – The process of disallowing certain things in the media through guidelines
15. Deregulation – Removing or loosening government restrictions on the ownership of media outlets
16. Free market – A market where the prices of services are self-regulated
17. Commodification  – The process whereby things are transformed into objects for sale in a capitalist economic system
18. Convergence  – blending together multiple forms of media
19. Diversity  – Differing ideas and forms of media 
20. Innovation  – The development of new media platforms, or new business models, or new ways of producing media etc.

David Hesmondhalgh states that the media industry is a “risky business” – However, there are many ways that companies minimise this risk.

For Example, many companies use vertical integration – where they acquire subsidiaries based in Production, Distribution AND Consumption. This allows them to control everything that happens with their product from how it is made, to how it is advertised and where it can be consumed.

Furthermore, many companies build up monopolies – which while illegal, have many workarounds that the companies use. For example, a company may only allow their films to be viewed in certain cinemas i.e. cineworld – except for one cinema in Thailand that allows for the company to deny the monopoly.

Book called the “culture industries”

His work is about tracing the relationship between media work, media workers and the media industry.

he says that young people can be seen to desire a career in the creative industry as it can be very influential and more popular.

its mainly down to pure luck as the media industry is such a high demand.