This book critically investigates the declining status of creative workers in contemporary societies following changes associated with the neoliberal creativity discourse – from the distribution of resources around cultural production to consumption, and from the management of ‘labour time’ to ‘life time’. These changes have narrowed career pathways for creative workers, resulting in exploitative working conditions for both professionals and amateurs. The contemporary cultural industries accentuate entrepreneurialism, informed by ‘social network markets’ and a capacity to engage technologised consumer culture.

This book suggests that a radically different view is needed to understand how creative workers justify their continued participation in the cultural industries. It pays particular attention to the identities of marginalised cultural workers (underpaid or under-rewarded) and argues that cultural work cannot be understood as a route into entrapment by self-exploitation (sacrificial labour) nor as an abstract form of creative autonomy. Creative workers must engage the ‘artist critique’ to re-claim the social values of making culture as ‘public labour’.

Bringing together theory and practice via contemporary case studies, this book is a significant contribution to research on the cultural economy and will be of interest to researchers in this field and practitioners in the management of cultural work.

'This book is a major contribution to the current hot debate on cultural work. It asks questions not just about exploitation and sacrificial labour or about diversity and representation. It goes beyond these to ask what’s at stake in cultural work? What values do cultural workers bring and how do they sustain in increasingly challenging circumstances? After the end of the creative industries, what is the way forward for art and culture and those who dedicate their lives to producing them?' Justin O'Connor, University of South Australia

'A brave undertaking, analysing the growing creative economy discourse and policy frames of independent cultural work, this book comes as a highly recommend read and will appeal to cultural workers and researchers alike, helping to understand the continuing struggles and the strengths of the contemporary creative workforce and advocating culture and cultural work as a global public good.' Simone Wesner, International Journal of Cultural Policy

Xin Gu is Director of the Master of Cultural and Creative Industries and Senior Lecturer in the School of Media, Film and Journalism at Monash University, Australia.