Abstract:
This paper analyses the multimedia industry in Sydney. It seeks to understand
whether the emergence of the industry has involved dense horizontal and vertical
inter-firm linkages characteristic of an industrial cluster, or whether the industry
has grown because of general urbanisation economies related to such factors as
skilled labour supply and market demand. The industry is highly concentrated
in and around central Sydney. This provides the best access to firms’ main
clients, notably advertising companies and other multimedia firms. It also
reflects the centralised location of skilled labour such as web designers. While
there is evidence of an emerging inner Sydney multimedia cluster which
includes graphic design and advertising and related media, the main driver of
the industry’s development appears to have been general demand from advertising
and related media companies, in association with the pool of computer
graphics talent generated by these companies.
