New media after the Dot.com bust

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Abstract
In spite of its designation as part of the “cultural economy”, New Media work was depicted as free‐floating, unimpeded by stuffy national political‐economic regulations. Studies of New Media workers before and after the Dot.com speculative bubble, however, indicate that New Media work was and is influenced by national policy environments. In the United States, New Media work is carried out primarily by independent contractors. The use of a multi‐skilled contract workforce has increased following the decline in labor demand. In Sweden, New Media workers turned to unions following the downturn to deal with rising unemployment. Germany represents a middle ground case with a largely non‐unionized workforce that is, however, influenced by collective industrial relations institutions and norms regarding employer roles. These divergent paths suggest that national policy continues to play a role in shaping work, even in international cultural industries.