The evolution of the culture industries cannot be studied without simultaneously examining the history of capitalism in developed countries. A process of financialization - i.e. increasing dependence on the collection of capital in financial markets - has accompanied the growth of these industries, especially over the past twenty years. Their characteristic functioning, described by the culture industry theory, can be ascribed to the nature of this financialization. Its impact on the structure of the sector and on certain management variables, especially profit levels, seems to be confirmed by the statistical study of a sample of European firms. Connected to concentration, internationalization and industrialization, the financialization of communication activities is spawning a number of paradoxical phenomena that can be used to justify changes in public policies.