This book examines the creative impact of licensing on the entertainment industry, how licensing practitioners’ occupational disposition is formed, and the role licensing professionals play in managing the circulation of intellectual property.
Offering a study of the spatial logics and fantasies employed by the licensing field via its annual trade show, the Licensing Expo, this volume investigates how space and place are instrumental in both fortifying and exposing the political-economic, infrastructural, as well as ideological structures that constrain and enable participation in the licensing field. Further supplemented by participant observation and interviews with 25 industry professionals, the book explores how the licensing field understands its increasingly central role in the entertainment industry’s operations, and how it responds to changes in retail environments, digital platforms, and international markets, phenomena which have required a recalibration of the field’s occupational identity.
An exploration of an understudied aspect of the entertainment industry, this book will primarily appeal to scholars within media studies, and those studying media industries, media franchises, and media work cultures. It will also be of interest to people studying consumer culture, brand culture, advertising, organizational communication, as well as fan cultures.
Author(s): Avi Sanro
Series: Routledge Studies in Media and Cultural Industries, 11
Publisher: Routledge
Year: 2022
Language: English
Pages: 282
City: London
Cover
Half Title
Series Page
Title Page
Copyright Page
Dedication
Table of Contents
List of Figures
Acknowledgments
Chapter 1: From Skill to Occupational Identity: The Function of Place in the Formation of the Licensing Field
Licensing: From Practice to Profession
Organizing the field
Putting on a Show
Chapter Breakdown
Notes
References
Chapter 2: Going to Vegas: Licensing Heterotopias and Other Field Lessons
Las Vegas Bound
A Licensing Heterotopia
Let Loose Your Inhibitions in Las Vegas
Conclusion
Notes
References
Chapter 3: Licensing’s Adjacency and Other Lessons They Won’t Teach You at School (But You Will Learn at Licensing University ®)
Licensing University®
Learning to Trust Your Instincts (Or Recognize Your Lack of Them)
We Don’t Need No (Formal) Education …
Awarding Licensing Excellence
Welcome to Licensing University Theater
Conclusion
Notes
References
Chapter 4: Licensing Expo Floor Plans: Mapping the Field’s Pathways and Power Plays
Mapping the Expo
(Re)Zoning License
Won’t You Be My Neighbor?
Changing Locations, Changing Positions, Changing Priorities
Conclusion
Notes
References
Chapter 5: Hanging Out in Mickey’s Joint: The Role of Booth Design in Shaping Brandom in the Licensing Field
Design Theory
Boothscapes as Ubiquitous Workspaces
Boothscapes: Contradictory Consumer Embodiments
Look at My Booth/Look Inside My Booth/Look at Me Inside Your Booth
Booths and Brandom
Disney’s Land?
Conclusion
Notes
References
Chapter 6: Retail Tales: The Role of Shop Talk in Telling Brand Stories through Consumer Products
Consumer Products, Retail Experiences, and Franchised Lifestyles
Shop Talk
Retail Tales
Targeting Annie
Conclusion
Notes
References
Chapter 7: The Digital Frontier: The Potential (and) Perils of Online Platforms and Virtual Merchandise
“Knowing” Consumers
Converting Fan Labor Into Merchandising Opportunities
Born Online; Bought @ Retail
Virtual Merch
Conclusion
Notes
References
Chapter 8: Going Global (Vegas Style): Lessons in International Licensing
Come to Las Vegas, See the World
Countries on Display
Let’s Put the International in Licensing International
Conclusion
Notes
References
Chapter 9: Coda: How COVID-19 Has (and Has Not) Changed the Licensing Field
New Places? New Strategies?
Leaving Las Vegas
Wrapping Up
Notes
References
Index
