Universitat Internacional de Catalunya
Creative Industries
Other languages of instruction: Catalan, Spanish
Teaching staff
Introduction
The creative industries refer to the economic activities involved in the creation, mass dissemination, and commercial exploitation of cultural products—such as the publishing, media, music, audiovisual, and video game industries—forming what is also known as the cultural industries or the creative economy, one of the main driving forces of contemporary societies in the context of globalisation.
Pre-course requirements
No.
Objectives
- To define the concepts of cultural industries and creative economy.
- To understand the organisational structure of organisations operating in the cultural and creative industries across their different sectors.
- To distinguish between the different cultural industries and to understand the distinctive characteristics of their respective sectors.
- To acquire specialised professional terminology related to the spaces, techniques, and technologies used in the creative industries.
- To understand the specific features of the production, distribution, dissemination, and consumption of cultural goods and services, as well as the value chain associated with them.
- To acquire a global perspective on the impact of the creative industries on contemporary societies.
- To foster creativity and innovation in the audiovisual sector.
Syllabus
Block 1. Foundations
- Introduction to the concepts of culture, creativity, cultural industries and the creative economy.
- Culture, art and entertainment in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic.
- From popular culture to digital culture.
- Cultural policy and the economics of culture: public and private intervention.
Block 2. Overview of the sectors
- The audiovisual sector: production, distribution and exploitation.
- The publishing and press sector: the production chain and the market.
- The music sector and the performing arts.
- Cultural festivals in Catalonia and Spain: main organisational models and target audiences; international projection, relations with public administrations, and economic impact on the territory.
- Video games and entertainment software.
- Media convergence.
- Cultural heritage and tourism: architecture, design, gastronomy and popular art.
Block 3. Innovation and creativity
- Theories of creativity and innovation applied to culture.
- Innovation in cultural festivals: from large-scale events (macrofestivals) to small-scale, local projects.
- Culture and sustainability: the green transition in the creative industries.
Evaluation systems and criteria
In person
The assessment system for this course combines group work, individual engagement with the assigned reading, and class participation, assessing both students' analytical and oral presentation skills and their understanding of the content covered throughout the course.
All assignments are subject to the university's spelling and anti-plagiarism regulations.
Group work — Overview of the sectors — 30%
Research project — Innovation and creativity — 30%
In-class reading test — 30%
Active class participation — 10%
For the second and subsequent sitting, assessment will consist of a test.
Bibliography and resources
Caves, R. E. (2000). Creative industries: Contracts between art and commerce. Harvard University Press.
Cruz, N. (2023). Macrofestivales: El agujero negro de la música. Ediciones Península.
Cruz, N. (2025). Microfestivales y otros escenarios posibles. Sílex Ediciones.
Flew, T. (2013). Global creative industries. Polity Press.
Gompertz, W. (2012). What are you looking at? 150 years of modern art in the blink of an eye. Viking.
González-Piñero, M. (2025). What a wonderful world: How the Sismògraf and Som(riu) festivals foster sustainable innovation in rural settings. In B. Mickov (Ed.), Culture, innovation and the green economy: Towards a sustainable future in Europe. Routledge.
González-Piñero, M., & Pareja-Eastaway, M. (2025). Middleground hubs in entrepreneurial ecosystems of innovation: The case of GameBCN. In L.-E. Dubois, L. Simon, & B. Szostak (Eds.), De Gruyter handbook of creative industries (pp. 151–166). De Gruyter. https://doi.org/10.1515/9783111351209-012
González-Piñero, M., & Rykkja, A. (2026). Securing funding for independent creative firms: Insights from video game monetisation. In C. Dalla Chiesa & A. Rykkja (Eds.), Cultural funding and financing: A guide to new and traditional models in arts and culture. Palgrave Macmillan.
Hesmondhalgh, D. (2019). The cultural industries (4th ed.). Sage.
McRobbie, A. (2016). Be creative: Making a living in the new culture industries. Polity Press.
Passman, D. S. (2023). All you need to know about the music business (11th ed.). Simon & Schuster.
Schreier, J. (2017). Blood, sweat, and pixels: The triumphant, turbulent stories behind how video games are made. Harper Paperbacks.
Tigre Moura, F., & Moruzzi, C. (Eds.). (2026). Artificial intelligence in creative industries: Psychological and social implications. Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003606802
Podcasts
Cómo diferenciarse — disseny i construcció de marca (branding, publicitat).
Está de moda (Isa Hernáez i Ari Cascón) — indústria de la moda i sostenibilitat.
GRINDIN' (Jon García) — música urbana (trap, reggaeton, drill) i indústria musical actual.
Hard Fork (The New York Times, en anglès) — tecnologia i IA, amb episodis sobre IA generativa i creativitat.
Página Dos (RTVE, Óscar López) — món editorial i literari.
Planet Money (NPR, en anglès) — economia explicada, amb episodis sobre música i indústries creatives.
Ràdio Web MACBA (RWM) — creació i producció cultural contemporània, des de 2006.
Simpatía por la industria musical (Subterfuge Radio, Carlos Galán) — mirada més clàssica del negoci discogràfic.
Todopoderosos (Cansado, González-Campos, Cortés, Gómez-Jurado) — cinema, sèries i cultura.
Vandal Radio (Vandal) — indústria dels videojocs: notícies, entrevistes, anàlisi.