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Interest in the Cultural and Creative Industries (CCIs) has been largely revived in recent years. These industries have become a focal point in management research, given their weight in the economy as well as the fact that they serve as a laboratory for creative and innovative practices. It is not clear, however, whether this renewed interest has emerged from internal industry dynamics or is the result of targeted institutional and political attention. Understanding its origin and the structuring of associated concepts is important in terms of managerial practices and research: both fostering CCIs’ development, and understanding and promoting awareness of CCIs. In this perspective, this article highlights how the concept of CCIs has gradually imposed itself in the institutional field. We argue that a thorough analysis of the content of the various Communications issued by the European Commission serves to measure the growing weight of CCIs, the ways in which the importance and meaning of the concept has been mobilized, and its place in public policy, beyond long-established cultural policies.