NESTA PROJECT: FINE ARTSITS AND INNOVATION

ecognisably within the genre of popular music; it did not
create an entirely new field.
At the same time, few would be comfortable with the notion
that every ‘new’ cultural product – each book, film, song or
videogame produced – is an innovation 1 . Michael Palin’s
‘New Europe’, is one of a series of books he has written to
accompany his BBC TV programmes. The book may not
have been written before, but it uses a well-known format
and very few would regard it as an ‘innovation’ in travel
writing.
Innovations in the arts do not necessarily make existing
products, processes or organisational forms obsolete.
Shakespeare would recognise much about the day-to-day
work of a repertory theatre company today; and while most
contemporary authors use a computer rather than a pen,
Dickens would not think the work of a modern author
unrecognisable.
2.1.2 The role of consumers
Nor should innovation be seen as a cultural product’s only
desirable quality (Bunting, 2007): tradition, heritage, memory
and ritual influence the value that consumers get from
cultural products, even in popular culture. Few fans at a
Rolling Stones concert want to see the Stones take an
entirely new musical direction; most come to hear old
favourites and relive youthful memories. They are taking part
in a communal ritual, not seeking novelty.
So, while consumers are generally seen as promoting
innovation, as discussed below, they can sometimes restrain
innovation. Indeed some artists complain that audiences
want the same old favourites while they may be interested in
pursuing a new direction. Remember the now-infamous fans’
reaction to Bob Dylan’s first experiments with an electronic
guitar.
1 As argued by Paul Stoneman (2007) in his NESTA Working Paper, ‘An Introduction to the
Definition and Measurement of Soft Innovation.’
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