Smith Mehta explores the digital transformation of the screen industries with a special focus on the power dynamics in creative production. He completed his PhD from the Digital Media Research Centre (DMRC), Queensland University of Technology (QUT) in 2021 for his study on the digital transformation of the Indian media industries. Smith has previously worked with Viacom18 Motion Pictures in the Content Development team and contributed to launching its streaming media service, Voot. In his last assignment, he worked as a Senior Research Associate with Mudra Institute of Communications Ahmedabad (MICA) where he undertook teaching, research, and curriculum development assignments. In 2018, he was selected as a Creative Specialist for the UNESCO APAC summit on Creative Diversity held in South Korea (2018). Supervisors: Dist. Prof. Stuart Cunningham and Dr Kevin Sanson
Drawing on Indian, Irish, and Turkish YouTube creators' perceptions of their work, this article f... more Drawing on Indian, Irish, and Turkish YouTube creators' perceptions of their work, this article focuses on peripheral creator work cultures to broaden the understanding of creator labor precarity. We situate creator labor within not only the platform architectures but also within the geographical specificities of media production, distribution, and consumption. In doing so, we demonstrate that peripheral creators face distinctive struggles for visibility and survival in screen industries that emerge from their heterogeneous sociocultural and linguistic contexts. Based on the interviews with creators and streaming service executives conducted between 2017 and 2023, the findings reveal that creators' choice of language and place of practice distinctly affects their global reach, visibility, and their ability to sustain a career in screen industries.
My article examines the influence of platformization in labor exchanges to assess how gendered ex... more My article examines the influence of platformization in labor exchanges to assess how gendered expectations impact digital production cultures. It investigates the socio-cultural transactions that marginalized communities, especially women, from above-the-line professions have to navigate as they seek work opportunities on streaming services. Drawing on feminist production studies and media studies scholarships, the article discusses how gendered expectations become the norm in hiring creator labor. Through analysis of the data-set on the gender representation of key creative professionals in the Indian web series produced between 2014 and 2020, semi-structured interviews with creative professionals, and trade press literature, this research offers a nuanced understanding of how and why Indian on-screen dynamic representations and democratic entrepreneurial working structures do not eradicate gendered production norms. On the contrary, gendered interpretation of algorithmic data, the #metoo movement, and newer forms of sexism emerge alongside existing gendered production cultures to hamper the participation of women and minorities.
In this article, I discuss the various issues that have prompted select creators such as writers,... more In this article, I discuss the various issues that have prompted select creators such as writers, directors, actors, producers and casting agents to focus their creative energies on Internet-based content. The article’s main findings illustrate that because a growing segment of Indian content, new media practitioners are disillusioned by the programming and industrial practices of television, they increasingly embrace digital delivery platforms as the preferred outlets for their creative expressions. By drawing from critical media industry studies framework, the aim of this research is to examine the everyday practices of content creators and compare the formal and aesthetic qualities of their textual artefacts, as these professionals navigate the larger structural tensions between television and Internet in India. The article marshals evidence based on qualitative interviews, trade press, and news articles to suggest that the television industry’s production culture discourages cre...
Convergence: The International Journal of Research into New Media Technologies
This article foregrounds the significant transformations within the nature and role of Indian int... more This article foregrounds the significant transformations within the nature and role of Indian intermediaries such as talent agents and multichannel networks (hereafter, MCNs) in the new screen ecology. Building on previous findings (Cunningham and Craig, 2019; Boyle, 2018; Lobato, 2016; Roussel, 2017), I contend that intermediaries exercise a strong influence over streaming platforms as well as content creators through role playing as producers, facilitators and enablers of media talent and content. Through diversification in media management activities across traditional and new media, the intermediaries have successfully readjusted their image from marginalized invisible middlemen to proactive media industry trendsetters. The MCNs and talent agents have been instrumental in developing revenue circuits through their distinct industrial and cultural practices. In doing so, both these entities have diversified from their defined business operations to create their niche by identifyin...
In this article, I foreground the granular movements that determine the ubiquitous nature of Indi... more In this article, I foreground the granular movements that determine the ubiquitous nature of India’s new media economy created by the advent of streaming media platforms and the emergence of regional online content creators in India. I argue that the increasing preference of Indian audiences to consume online content in their own language has led to a demand for ‘regional’ content, whereby streaming platforms and online creators are increasingly investing in ‘non-Hindi’ and ‘non-English’ language content to cater to the linguistically and culturally diverse Indian population. Through a primary focus on online content creation practices in Bengali and Marathi languages, the article explores their ‘local’, ‘regional’, ‘transnational’ and ‘global’ appeal, and subsequent blurring of boundaries between ‘regionalization’ and ‘localization’. The remainder of the article focuses on the emerging diaspora of regional online content creators who are adopting distinct content strategies to deve...
Film, television, and music form a major domestic and export product in India. Whereas, in the pa... more Film, television, and music form a major domestic and export product in India. Whereas, in the past, content production has been restricted to professional producers, digital media platforms have drastically altered the landscape of content production in India. Through in-depth interviews of ten online content creators, the article describes motivations of online content creation in India. Discussion themes include professional activities, identity construction of creators, and quasi-corporate structures that are taking root in the democratized digital spaces in India. In doing so, the article challenges the notion of creators on social media as mere “amateurs” or “UGC” (user-generated content). Conclusions from this study suggest future research should take a more holistic approach to studying online content creators rather than classifying creators on the basis of platform affordances.
Film, television, and music form a major domestic and export product in India. Whereas, in the pa... more Film, television, and music form a major domestic and export product in India. Whereas, in the past, content production has been restricted to professional producers, digital media platforms have drastically altered the landscape of content production in India. Through in-depth interviews of ten online content creators, the article describes motivations of online content creation in India. Discussion themes include professional activities, identity construction of creators, and quasi-corporate structures that are taking root in the democratized digital spaces in India. In doing so, the article challenges the notion of creators on social media as mere “amateurs” or “UGC” (user-generated content). Conclusions from this study suggest future research should take a more holistic approach to studying online content creators rather than classifying creators on the basis of platform affordances.
Television’s role in Indian new screen ecology_Media Culture and society, 2020
In this article, I discuss the various issues that have prompted select creators such as writers,... more In this article, I discuss the various issues that have prompted select creators such as writers, directors, actors, producers and casting agents to focus their creative energies on internet-based content. The article's main findings illustrate that because a growing segment of Indian content new media practitioners (n=50) are disillusioned by the programming and industrial practices of the television industry.
This article foregrounds the significant transformations within the nature and role of Indian int... more This article foregrounds the significant transformations within the nature and role of Indian intermediaries such as talent agents and multichannel networks (hereafter, MCNs) in the new screen ecology. Building on previous findings (Cunningham and Craig, 2019; Boyle, 2018; Lobato, 2016; Roussel, 2017), I contend that intermediaries exercise a strong influence over streaming platforms as well as content creators through role playing as producers, facilitators and enablers of media talent and content. Through diversification in media management activities across traditional and new media, the intermediaries have successfully readjusted their image from marginalized invisible middlemen to proactive media industry trendsetters. The MCNs and talent agents have been instrumental in developing revenue circuits through their distinct industrial and cultural practices. In doing so, both these entities have diversified from their defined business operations to create their niche by identifying the demands of the evolving Indian media landscape. In charting out their evolving dynamics, my study critically analyses intermediary transactions to offer a revisionist account of their industrial practices.
The international journal of cultural studies, 2019
In this article, I foreground the granular movements that determine the ubiquitous nature of Indi... more In this article, I foreground the granular movements that determine the ubiquitous nature of India’s new media economy created by the advent of streaming media platforms and the emergence of regional online content creators in India. I argue that the increasing preference of Indian audiences to consume online content in their own language has led to a demand for ‘regional’ content, whereby streaming platforms and online creators are increasingly investing in ‘non-Hindi’ and ‘non-English’ language content to cater to the linguistically and culturally diverse Indian population. Through a primary focus on online content creation practices in Bengali and Marathi languages, the article explores their ‘local’, ‘regional’, ‘transnational’ and ‘global’ appeal, and subsequent blurring of boundaries between ‘regionalization’ and ‘localization’. The remainder of the article focuses on the emerging diaspora of regional online content creators who are adopting distinct content strategies to develop relationships with online communities based on commonalities of language and culture.
The International Journal of Communication (https://ijoc.org/index.php/ijoc/article/view/12577), 2019
Through critical reflection on the creator labor discussions in the new media economy and its app... more Through critical reflection on the creator labor discussions in the new media economy and its application to the quotidian practices of Indian online content creators, I analyze the emerging industrial practices that are shaping India’s new screen ecology with direct implications to the Indian media-entertainment landscape. In doing so, the article highlights the distinct understanding of Indian online creator labor to argue the several ways in which the creators perform agency while negotiating with social media platforms. I articulate 4 broad categories in which precarious creativity is dealt with, on and through social media, as they balance the structural tensions between old and new media. Findings also suggest the creator’s preference to deal with precarious creativity on social media platforms than having to struggle with creative hegemony and closed-door networks of Indian traditional media.
ORCID ID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9429-3240 LinkedIn ID: https://www.linkedin.com/in/smithmeh... more ORCID ID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9429-3240 LinkedIn ID: https://www.linkedin.com/in/smithmehta Facebook ID: https://www.facebook.com/smitmehta Unstructured abstract: This article draws on findings from fieldwork, narrative as well as textual analyses to explore the inherent gender biases that pervade within the Indian media ecology. It explores the precarious nature of women participating in internet television production culture to argue how internet-television, despite demonstrating the values of freedom of expression, reinforces the same social inequalities that exist within the traditional media. Findings reveal that the such discriminatory practices prevail even within globally reputed media institutions such as FTII. Finally, in examining these instances, the research concurs that failure to check toxic masculinity may have been one of the reasons for the #MeToo cases in Indian media.
Pushing the Next Level: Investigating Digital Content Creation in India, 2019
Film, television, and music form a major domestic and export product in India. Whereas, in the pa... more Film, television, and music form a major domestic and export product in India. Whereas, in the past, content production has been restricted to professional producers, digital media platforms have drastically altered the landscape of content production in India. The article discusses several distinctive aspects of India's New media ecology, but more importantly demonstrates evidence to caution against the binary categorisation of 'amateur'/ 'UGC' (User generated content) or PGC (Professionally generated content) based on platform affordances Discussion themes include professional activities, identity construction of creators, and quasi-corporate structures that are taking root in the democratized digital spaces. Conclusions from this study suggest future research should take a more holistic approach to studying online content creators rather than classifying creators on the basis of platform affordances.
In this essay, we use a political economy approach to examine the politics of censorship that und... more In this essay, we use a political economy approach to examine the politics of censorship that undergird the Indian online audiovisual sector. Through interviews with creators, document analysis of Government policies and trade press literature, we analyze the implications of censorship on the online production culture and, in particular, examine the Indian Government's ideological foundations in spearheading this process. We conclude that the current measures for regulating online content reflect the Government's stance to curb freedom of expression and promote Hindu nationalism through policy intervention.
Drawing on Indian, Irish, and Turkish YouTube creators' perceptions of their work, this article f... more Drawing on Indian, Irish, and Turkish YouTube creators' perceptions of their work, this article focuses on peripheral creator work cultures to broaden the understanding of creator labor precarity. We situate creator labor within not only the platform architectures but also within the geographical specificities of media production, distribution, and consumption. In doing so, we demonstrate that peripheral creators face distinctive struggles for visibility and survival in screen industries that emerge from their heterogeneous sociocultural and linguistic contexts. Based on the interviews with creators and streaming service executives conducted between 2017 and 2023, the findings reveal that creators' choice of language and place of practice distinctly affects their global reach, visibility, and their ability to sustain a career in screen industries.
My article examines the influence of platformization in labor exchanges to assess how gendered ex... more My article examines the influence of platformization in labor exchanges to assess how gendered expectations impact digital production cultures. It investigates the socio-cultural transactions that marginalized communities, especially women, from above-the-line professions have to navigate as they seek work opportunities on streaming services. Drawing on feminist production studies and media studies scholarships, the article discusses how gendered expectations become the norm in hiring creator labor. Through analysis of the data-set on the gender representation of key creative professionals in the Indian web series produced between 2014 and 2020, semi-structured interviews with creative professionals, and trade press literature, this research offers a nuanced understanding of how and why Indian on-screen dynamic representations and democratic entrepreneurial working structures do not eradicate gendered production norms. On the contrary, gendered interpretation of algorithmic data, the #metoo movement, and newer forms of sexism emerge alongside existing gendered production cultures to hamper the participation of women and minorities.
In this article, I discuss the various issues that have prompted select creators such as writers,... more In this article, I discuss the various issues that have prompted select creators such as writers, directors, actors, producers and casting agents to focus their creative energies on Internet-based content. The article’s main findings illustrate that because a growing segment of Indian content, new media practitioners are disillusioned by the programming and industrial practices of television, they increasingly embrace digital delivery platforms as the preferred outlets for their creative expressions. By drawing from critical media industry studies framework, the aim of this research is to examine the everyday practices of content creators and compare the formal and aesthetic qualities of their textual artefacts, as these professionals navigate the larger structural tensions between television and Internet in India. The article marshals evidence based on qualitative interviews, trade press, and news articles to suggest that the television industry’s production culture discourages cre...
Convergence: The International Journal of Research into New Media Technologies
This article foregrounds the significant transformations within the nature and role of Indian int... more This article foregrounds the significant transformations within the nature and role of Indian intermediaries such as talent agents and multichannel networks (hereafter, MCNs) in the new screen ecology. Building on previous findings (Cunningham and Craig, 2019; Boyle, 2018; Lobato, 2016; Roussel, 2017), I contend that intermediaries exercise a strong influence over streaming platforms as well as content creators through role playing as producers, facilitators and enablers of media talent and content. Through diversification in media management activities across traditional and new media, the intermediaries have successfully readjusted their image from marginalized invisible middlemen to proactive media industry trendsetters. The MCNs and talent agents have been instrumental in developing revenue circuits through their distinct industrial and cultural practices. In doing so, both these entities have diversified from their defined business operations to create their niche by identifyin...
In this article, I foreground the granular movements that determine the ubiquitous nature of Indi... more In this article, I foreground the granular movements that determine the ubiquitous nature of India’s new media economy created by the advent of streaming media platforms and the emergence of regional online content creators in India. I argue that the increasing preference of Indian audiences to consume online content in their own language has led to a demand for ‘regional’ content, whereby streaming platforms and online creators are increasingly investing in ‘non-Hindi’ and ‘non-English’ language content to cater to the linguistically and culturally diverse Indian population. Through a primary focus on online content creation practices in Bengali and Marathi languages, the article explores their ‘local’, ‘regional’, ‘transnational’ and ‘global’ appeal, and subsequent blurring of boundaries between ‘regionalization’ and ‘localization’. The remainder of the article focuses on the emerging diaspora of regional online content creators who are adopting distinct content strategies to deve...
Film, television, and music form a major domestic and export product in India. Whereas, in the pa... more Film, television, and music form a major domestic and export product in India. Whereas, in the past, content production has been restricted to professional producers, digital media platforms have drastically altered the landscape of content production in India. Through in-depth interviews of ten online content creators, the article describes motivations of online content creation in India. Discussion themes include professional activities, identity construction of creators, and quasi-corporate structures that are taking root in the democratized digital spaces in India. In doing so, the article challenges the notion of creators on social media as mere “amateurs” or “UGC” (user-generated content). Conclusions from this study suggest future research should take a more holistic approach to studying online content creators rather than classifying creators on the basis of platform affordances.
Film, television, and music form a major domestic and export product in India. Whereas, in the pa... more Film, television, and music form a major domestic and export product in India. Whereas, in the past, content production has been restricted to professional producers, digital media platforms have drastically altered the landscape of content production in India. Through in-depth interviews of ten online content creators, the article describes motivations of online content creation in India. Discussion themes include professional activities, identity construction of creators, and quasi-corporate structures that are taking root in the democratized digital spaces in India. In doing so, the article challenges the notion of creators on social media as mere “amateurs” or “UGC” (user-generated content). Conclusions from this study suggest future research should take a more holistic approach to studying online content creators rather than classifying creators on the basis of platform affordances.
Television’s role in Indian new screen ecology_Media Culture and society, 2020
In this article, I discuss the various issues that have prompted select creators such as writers,... more In this article, I discuss the various issues that have prompted select creators such as writers, directors, actors, producers and casting agents to focus their creative energies on internet-based content. The article's main findings illustrate that because a growing segment of Indian content new media practitioners (n=50) are disillusioned by the programming and industrial practices of the television industry.
This article foregrounds the significant transformations within the nature and role of Indian int... more This article foregrounds the significant transformations within the nature and role of Indian intermediaries such as talent agents and multichannel networks (hereafter, MCNs) in the new screen ecology. Building on previous findings (Cunningham and Craig, 2019; Boyle, 2018; Lobato, 2016; Roussel, 2017), I contend that intermediaries exercise a strong influence over streaming platforms as well as content creators through role playing as producers, facilitators and enablers of media talent and content. Through diversification in media management activities across traditional and new media, the intermediaries have successfully readjusted their image from marginalized invisible middlemen to proactive media industry trendsetters. The MCNs and talent agents have been instrumental in developing revenue circuits through their distinct industrial and cultural practices. In doing so, both these entities have diversified from their defined business operations to create their niche by identifying the demands of the evolving Indian media landscape. In charting out their evolving dynamics, my study critically analyses intermediary transactions to offer a revisionist account of their industrial practices.
The international journal of cultural studies, 2019
In this article, I foreground the granular movements that determine the ubiquitous nature of Indi... more In this article, I foreground the granular movements that determine the ubiquitous nature of India’s new media economy created by the advent of streaming media platforms and the emergence of regional online content creators in India. I argue that the increasing preference of Indian audiences to consume online content in their own language has led to a demand for ‘regional’ content, whereby streaming platforms and online creators are increasingly investing in ‘non-Hindi’ and ‘non-English’ language content to cater to the linguistically and culturally diverse Indian population. Through a primary focus on online content creation practices in Bengali and Marathi languages, the article explores their ‘local’, ‘regional’, ‘transnational’ and ‘global’ appeal, and subsequent blurring of boundaries between ‘regionalization’ and ‘localization’. The remainder of the article focuses on the emerging diaspora of regional online content creators who are adopting distinct content strategies to develop relationships with online communities based on commonalities of language and culture.
The International Journal of Communication (https://ijoc.org/index.php/ijoc/article/view/12577), 2019
Through critical reflection on the creator labor discussions in the new media economy and its app... more Through critical reflection on the creator labor discussions in the new media economy and its application to the quotidian practices of Indian online content creators, I analyze the emerging industrial practices that are shaping India’s new screen ecology with direct implications to the Indian media-entertainment landscape. In doing so, the article highlights the distinct understanding of Indian online creator labor to argue the several ways in which the creators perform agency while negotiating with social media platforms. I articulate 4 broad categories in which precarious creativity is dealt with, on and through social media, as they balance the structural tensions between old and new media. Findings also suggest the creator’s preference to deal with precarious creativity on social media platforms than having to struggle with creative hegemony and closed-door networks of Indian traditional media.
ORCID ID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9429-3240 LinkedIn ID: https://www.linkedin.com/in/smithmeh... more ORCID ID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9429-3240 LinkedIn ID: https://www.linkedin.com/in/smithmehta Facebook ID: https://www.facebook.com/smitmehta Unstructured abstract: This article draws on findings from fieldwork, narrative as well as textual analyses to explore the inherent gender biases that pervade within the Indian media ecology. It explores the precarious nature of women participating in internet television production culture to argue how internet-television, despite demonstrating the values of freedom of expression, reinforces the same social inequalities that exist within the traditional media. Findings reveal that the such discriminatory practices prevail even within globally reputed media institutions such as FTII. Finally, in examining these instances, the research concurs that failure to check toxic masculinity may have been one of the reasons for the #MeToo cases in Indian media.
Pushing the Next Level: Investigating Digital Content Creation in India, 2019
Film, television, and music form a major domestic and export product in India. Whereas, in the pa... more Film, television, and music form a major domestic and export product in India. Whereas, in the past, content production has been restricted to professional producers, digital media platforms have drastically altered the landscape of content production in India. The article discusses several distinctive aspects of India's New media ecology, but more importantly demonstrates evidence to caution against the binary categorisation of 'amateur'/ 'UGC' (User generated content) or PGC (Professionally generated content) based on platform affordances Discussion themes include professional activities, identity construction of creators, and quasi-corporate structures that are taking root in the democratized digital spaces. Conclusions from this study suggest future research should take a more holistic approach to studying online content creators rather than classifying creators on the basis of platform affordances.
In this essay, we use a political economy approach to examine the politics of censorship that und... more In this essay, we use a political economy approach to examine the politics of censorship that undergird the Indian online audiovisual sector. Through interviews with creators, document analysis of Government policies and trade press literature, we analyze the implications of censorship on the online production culture and, in particular, examine the Indian Government's ideological foundations in spearheading this process. We conclude that the current measures for regulating online content reflect the Government's stance to curb freedom of expression and promote Hindu nationalism through policy intervention.
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