The Journal of Specialised Translation Issue 29 – January 2018 2 Translation in the creative industries: An introduction Dionysios Kapsaskis, University of Roehampton ABSTRACT The aim of this introduction is to highlight the presence of translation in the world of creative industries. I discuss various models of creative industries that are operative in different parts of the globe and I propose a basic typology that can help to clarify the role of translation according to these models. The discussion then moves to the theoretical implications that this extraordinary range of translational phenomena has for the way we understand translation in the present era. This part concludes with an attempt to identify some ‘family resemblances’ between these phenomena, to wit, the creative, the aesthetic and the promotional elements. The second part of the introduction presents the contributions to this issue and highlights the diversity of approaches and the potential of research in this newly conceptualised area of enquiry. KEY WORDS Creative industries, cultural institutions, intercultural transfer, creativity, promotional texts. The concept of ‘creative industries’ first appeared in public discourse in the 1990s and has since gained traction as a policy theme in almost every corner of the world. John Hartley (2005: 5) clarifies that it is a “historical rather than categorical” idea, in the sense that “it has evolved from previous conceptualizations of the ‘creative arts’ and the ‘cultural’ industries” in various ways, “depending on local heritage and circumstance” (Ibid.). While ‘creative industries’ generally refers to ideas of innovation and creativity within the framework of national development strategies, it remains overall an unclear and, for many, a contentious term. It is unclear because there is no consensus as to what exactly counts as a creative industry; and it is contentious in that it carries strong neoliberal connotations related to the idea of the exploitation of individual creativity at a mass scale as part of the transition to a postindustrial society. 1 At the heart of the creative industries is the “potential for wealth and job creation through the generation and exploitation of intellectual property” (BOP Consulting 2010: 16), while the term itself applies to such broad areas as audiovisual media, performing and visual arts, design and fashion, and cultural sites and establishments (BOP Consulting 2010: 40- 41; UNCTAD 2010: 8). The difficulty of pinning down the meaning of ‘creative industries’ has not in any way impeded the proliferation of its usage as a term, which has gone hand in hand with the global expansion of the creative sector as a whole. According to a survey by the International Confederation of Societies of Authors and Composers, in 2013 the “cultural and creative industries” generated a revenue of 2,250 billion USD or 3% of the world’s GDP, and 29.5 million jobs or 1% of the world’s active population (World creative 2015). Despite important inequalities, according to the same source, each and every continent