Introduction

Abstract This chapter introduces the edited volume. A preamble tells the story of a musician choosing between various funding and financing options as his, her, or their career progresses. This background story sets up a discussion of two contexts that explain why we need this volume. On the one hand, access to funding and financing in the cultural and creative sectors and industries is changing through the impact of digitalisation and the rise of platform-based business models. On the other hand, many artists and organisations in the cultural and creative sectors and industries find it challenging to access public and other traditional funding sources. These circumstances justify further thinking around how sectorial funding and financing models are evolving. Following a discussion of potential theoretical frameworks for studying funding and financing in the cultural and creative sectors, as well as definitions of key terms, the chapter provides an overview of the book's individual chapters and highlights their main contributions. The chapter then concludes with reflections on how emerging funding and financing models are, in some respects, spin-offs that blend traditional tools and practices with the capabilities of modern technology.