Cultural and creative industries can be understood in terms of what they produce: a blockbuster movie, a bestselling book, a critically acclaimed dance troupe. The industries cover various sectors: the arts – fine arts, performing arts, and fashion – as well as traditional media industries – film, television, radio, newspapers, magazines, books, music, and advertising. In the current economy, they also include newer sectors such as animation and video games. These industries center around performances or content, rather than tangible goods or even conventional services. Such works and their value remain firmly inspired by and anchored in innovation and creativity. Innovation and creativity in today’s technologically driven markets, have become important forces to gain strategic advantage or even to ensure survival. Traditional media industries in recent years have suffered significant declines in legacy revenue streams. In contrast, new media platforms have emerged, and gaining market traction rapidly. The present converged and globalized environments offer disruptive threats and opportunities. In China specifically, the industries’ contribution has been acknowledged by policy makers as pillars of the economy, and their future development is designated as crucial strategic efforts. It is in this stream of efforts that the USC-SJTU Institute of Cultural and Creative Industry will contribute.
Part of the Institute is Zizhu New Media Management Research Center (the Center), jointly established by ICCI and USC Annenberg, partnering with the Shanghai-based Zizhu International Education Park(http://www.zizhu-edu.com/en/). Zizhu has provided initial funding for the Center amounting to RMB 5,000,000 for the next three (3) years.
Research topics of interest to the Center include:
- Network audio-visual new media management;
- Network audio-visual industries’ development strategies, including new models for revenue and pricing, as well as for audience behavior;
- Creativity surrounding network audio-visual content development, production and marketing;
- Intellectual property protections and digital copyright expansions;
- Big data analytics design and management for network audio-visual platforms;
- Online digital transactions and commerce;
- Managing change in cultural industry firms’ media operations, among others.