Culture Crash

When artists and artisans cant make a living, the health of Americas culture is at risk Change is no stranger to us in the twenty-first century. We must constantly adjust to an evolving world, to transformation and innovation. But for many thousands of creative artists, a torrent of recent changes has made it all but impossible to earn a living. A persistent economic recession, social shifts, and technological change have combined to put our artistsfrom graphic designers to indie-rock musicians, from architects to booksellersout of work. This important book looks deeply and broadly into the roots of the crisis of the creative class in America and tells us why it matters. In this book Scott Timberg considers the human cost as well as the unintended consequences of shuttered record stores, decimated newspapers, music piracy, and a general attitude of indifference. He identifies social tensions and contradictionsmost concerning the artists place in societythat have plunged the creative class into a fight for survival. Timberg shows how Americas now-collapsing middlebrow culturea culture once derided by intellectuals like Dwight Macdonaldappears, from todays vantage point, to have been at least a Silver Age. The book is essential reading for anyone who works in the world of culture, knows someone who does, or cares about the work creative artists produce.