Informality and Indeterminacy in Media Industries Research

Media industries research has focused largely on the consolidated and regulated industries characteristic of twentieth-century mass media: cinema, television, publishing, recorded music, and newspapers. At the edges of the field, however, there is also a tradition of research into the dynamics of informal media (media systems operating partly or wholly outside regulation, measurement, and taxation). This chapter explains how informal media have surfaced as a topic of interest in media industry research and considers some of the issues this raises for the field. Empirical, methodological, and conceptual challenges are discussed. Various media industries and institutions are considered, including Bollywood, Nollywood, YouTube, and on-demand service platforms. Three distinct research foci are identified for scholars in the field: (i) informal media industries; (ii) informal employment in otherwise formal media industries; and (iii) the formalizing and deformalizing effects of digital platforms. The chapter concludes with some suggestions, following Nitin Govil, as to how scholars can introduce a productive “indeterminacy” into media industries research.