Managing Talent in the Digital Multi-platform Age

Abstract

This chapter examines how recent changes in the technology of television distribution have affected the role played by cultural intermediaries in developing, managing, promoting and valuing talent. The chapter examines the rise of talent agencies and the role they play in the television industry in managing both on- and off-screen talents and investigates how the digital multi-platform environment is changing their relationship with both clients and the industry. Drawing on original interviews with key industry stakeholders it investigates if the transition to a digital media environment has diminished entry barriers, reshaped frameworks of support for emerging talent and created new pathways that overcome earlier blockages which may have affected the development of talent. It argues that despite structural changes, the talent agent as a key cultural intermediary within the television industry remains important.