The terms 'cultural industries' or ‘creative industries’ have become very common in the field of cultural policy research, regional policy or economic policy. However, not many people know that the term itself has changed over time with the emergence of each new technology. It begun with Adorno and Horkheimer's definition of the 'Culture Industry', that occurred as a result of the emergence of radio, TV and cinema. The term acquired its plural form 'cultural industries' with the work of Bernard Miege's UNESCO team and John Myerscough's report The Economic Importance of the Arts in Britain (London: Policy Studies Institute, 1988), which highlighted the abundance of cultural production occurring during the last century, countering the negative critique of Adorno and Horkheimer. Digitisation brought a new wave of cultural production for the masses and consequently a number of new variations on the term emerged, including 'creative industries', ‘creative economy’, 'content industries' (in the USA), 'entertainment industries' and 'copyright industries'. ‘Creative industries’ should be a broader counterpart of the term ‘cultural industries’ as it also covers software production, advertising, PR and similar activities. As the content of the Slovenia Cultural Profile relates specifically to arts and culture, it has been decided to use the term ‘Cultural industries’.

The UK’s Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) pioneered the definition and mapping of the creative industries with its Creative Industries Mapping Document, the first edition of which was issued in 1998. The DCMS defined the creative industries as 'those activities which have their origin in individual creativity, skill and talent and which have a potential for wealth and job creation through the generation and exploitation of intellectual property', eg advertising, architecture, the art and antiques market, crafts, design, designer fashion, film and video, interactive leisure software, music, the performing arts, publishing, software and computer services, television and radio. They showed how the profile of the creative industries could be raised and their role in economic and social regeneration strengthened by creating dialogue between professionals from the creative sector and policy makers.