Between Culture, Policy and Industry: The Ambiguities of Intermediation in the Creative Economy

The creative economy has become one of the most internationally pervasive prescriptions for the future of regional spatial economies. Accounts of its characteristics and typical ways of working have pointed to the importance of intermediary agents. Intermediation in the creative economy has, however, been comparatively under-theorised. This paper aims to address this gap by focusing on the topic of intermediary efficacy, that is, by what powers does intermediation bring about effects both for and in the creative economy? It argues that a fuller account of intermediation needs to encompass its three principle modalities: the transactional, the regulatory and the strategic.