In 1944, the term "Kulturindustrie" was coined to describe the production of mass culture and power relations between capitalist producers and mass consumers. Today, network technologies have contributed to the further erosion of the boundaries between high art, mass culture and the economy, resulting in new kinds of cultural production charged with contradictions. This publication uses the concept of the culture industry as a point of departure and tests its currency under new conditions.

Great mix of contributors including Esther Leslie Cutting-edge critical theory - includes an analysis of the film 'The Yes Men' Explores how & why new technologies - like the internet - have changed the relationship between mass culture and high art Focuses on the economics of cultural production - the power relation between producers and consumers The interaction between culture and economy was famously explored by Theodor Adorno and Max Horkheimer. They coined the term 'Kulturindustrie' (The Culture Industry) to describe the production of mass culture and power relations between capitalist producers and mass consumers. Their account is a bleak one, but one that continues to be relevant, despite being written in 1944. Today, the pervasiveness of network technologies has contributed to the further erosion of the rigid boundaries between high art, mass culture and the economy, resulting in new kinds of cultural production charged with contradictions. On the one hand, the culture industry appears to allow for resistant strategies using digital technologies, but on the other it operates in the service of capital in ever more complex ways. critical texts that explore issues at the intersection of culture and technology. The editorial group are Geoff Cox, Joasia Krysa, Anya Lewin, Malcolm Miles, Mike Punt & Hugo de Rijke.