Multilayer intermediation: Exploring the organization of cultural intermediaries in social media entertainment

This article investigates the phenomenon of the platformization of cultural production within social media entertainment, describing the peculiar interaction between creators and publishing groups. It relies on the case of the Italian video-making company The Jackal and their distinctive economic, organizational, and creative connection with the publishing group CiaoPeople. Starting from Bourdieu’s definition of cultural intermediaries, the article interrogates the role of social media creators as new cultural intermediaries occupying spaces between creativity and economy, acting as co-producers, tastemakers, selectors, and managers of cultural goods and services. Through a longitudinal study, the article argues that social media entertainment enacts a “multilayer intermediation” between brands, creators, consumers, and digital platforms, where legacy media companies may provide creators with tools to resist the entrance of platforms into creative production.