The Cultural Economy Is Growing — But for Whom?

This article analyzes the expansion of the cultural economy in Brazil, focusing on the relationship between occupational structure, value capture, and the conditions of permanence in cultural work. Based on IBGE data (2025) and theoretical contributions from Bourdieu, McRobbie, Srnicek, and Zukin, it argues that economic growth coexists with structural instability, in which increased participation does not translate into stable working conditions. The article highlights how value is increasingly captured through circuits of circulation and digital infrastructures, producing uneven conditions of sustainability within the cultural field.