Digital labor in the state-led/capitalist complex: State labor and playful workaholics in the Chinese digital space

Abstract

Contemporary Chinese digital creative industries are no longer a realm of self-entrepreneurship, with multi-channel networks (MCNs) playing a significant role in shaping the digital labor market. This study focuses on the multifaceted Chinese digital labor regimes characterized by capitalism, national agendas, and state regulation. Through a qualitative analysis of 203 recruitment advertisements of major MCNs and 17 interviews of digital laborers, the findings reveal that the digital labor of MCNs operates in a state-led/capitalist complex. Beyond the risks of the capitalist industries, MCNs’ recruitment logic and management align with the state's agenda of economic development. Whether intentionally or not, the digital labor of MCNs has been swept into China's entrepreneurial solutionism, evolving into a form of state labor that integrates creative power and individual entrepreneurship into national building.