Creating in the Digital Age

With the rise of new, innovative technologies and digital media, barriers to creating are breaking down everyday. Indeed, creatives today — from social media influencers to YouTube personalities — have dramatically increased the reach of their content and its impact with all the necessary tools at their fingertips. Companies such as Netflix, Amazon, and Apple have also increasingly played a role in disseminating art and creative media to wider audiences through new channels. With these new possibilities also comes the challenge of learning and understanding how to best harness the power of these channels to efficiently and successfully create content and maximize impact. At the same time, these technologies also have great potential to shape and change long-established relationships between creators, content, and audiences. How has digital innovation had an effect on more traditional creative media and their audiences — radio, published works, film, music? Is it a democratizing force or a threat?