(The Economics of) Cultural Festivals in the Digital Age: An analysis of the comics publishing industry

Festivals are one of the most diffused examples of living production in the cultural and creative industries (CCIs) (Frey, 1994; Caves, 2000; Luonila, Johansson, 2016). However, up to the 1990s “the study of temporary events such as Festivals, markets, fairs and other ephemeral events” was relatively limited1 (Benghozi, Nénert, 1995: 66). In recent years, festivals have attracted increased attention and increased in number (del Barrio et al., 2012; Baez-Montenegro, Devesa-Fernandez, 2017). Moeran and Strandgaard Pedersen (2011) highlight that fairs, festivals, and competitive events are feld-confguring events and enable ritualized industry practices. Several studies investigate various aspects related to the organization, management, and success of these events (cf. among others, del Barrio et al., 2012; Snowball, 2013; Vestrum, 2014; Wong et al., 2015; Dantas, Colbert, 2016; Baez-Montenegro, Devesa-Fernandez, 2017).

Since the earliest cultural economic and management studies, there have been several works that have focused on music and flm festivals (cf. Section 1) which are the longest established festivals. They represent popular activities and are well-suited to public performances, events and shows to which these temporary events can be linked. However, few works look at festivals related to less popular sectors such as publishing. The aim of this contribution is to investigate these smaller events by conducting a case study of comics festivals to identify the nature of the dynamics and strategies at work. We consider their location, how the offers are structured and their strategic positioning in the publishing industry by examining the impact of two selected festivals organized in two small cities in France and Spain: the comics festivals in Angers2 (France) and Avilés3 (Spain). Detailed analysis of the characteristics of these selected festivals along their various editions, shows in which extent they clear up the structuration of a multi-faced economic model, and how they are linked specifcally to the characteristics of the CCI sector.