2019年经济学人 6500亿美元的狂欢--美国娱乐业投资热潮(1)

 

来源于《社论》版块

The $650bn binge

6500亿美元的狂欢

Creative

创造力

Creative destruction in the entertainment business has had blockbuster results

娱乐业的“创造性破坏”取得了惊人的成果

America has seen some spectacular investment booms: think of the railways in the 1860s, Detroit’s car industry in the 1940s or the fracking frenzy¹ in this century. Today the latest bonanza² is in full swing, but instead of steel and sand it involves scripts, sounds, screens and celebrities³. This week Disney launched a streaming service which offers “Star Wars” and other hits from its vast catalogue for $6.99 a month, less than the cost of a DVD. As the business model pioneered by Netflix is copied by dozens of rivals, over 700m subscribers are now streaming video across the planet. Roughly as much cash—over $100bn this year—is being invested in content as it is in America’s oil industry. In total the entertainment business has spent at least $650bn on acquisitions and programming in the past five years.

美国出现了一些引人注目的投资热潮：想想19世纪60年代的铁路，20世纪40年代的底特律汽车工业，或者本世纪对水力压裂的狂热。如今，最新的热潮正如火如荼地进行着，但涉及的不是钢铁和沙子，而是剧本、声音、屏幕和名人。本周，迪士尼推出了一项流媒体服务，以每月6.99美元的价格提供《星球大战》和其他热门影片，这比一张DVD的价格还低。随着Netflix开创的商业模式被数十家竞争对手模仿，目前全球有超过7亿用户在观看流媒体视频。今年大约有超过1000亿美元的现金被投资在内容上，可以对投资在美国石油工业的投资比肩。过去5年，娱乐业在收购和节目制作方面总共花费了至少6500亿美元。

This binge is the culmination⁴ of 20 years of creative destruction. New technologies and ideas have shaken up music, gaming and now television. Today many people associate economic change with deteriorating⁵ living standards: job losses, being ripped-off, or living under virtual monopolies in search and social networks. But this business blockbuster is a reminder⁶ that dynamic markets can benefit consumers with lower prices and better quality. Government has so far had little to do with the boom, but when it inevitably⁷ peaks the state will have a part to play, by ensuring that the market stays open and vibrant⁸.

这场狂欢是20年创造性破坏的高潮。新技术和新思想撼动了音乐、游戏和电视。如今，许多人将经济变化与生活水平的下降联系在一起：失业、被敲竹杠，或生活在搜索和社交网络的虚拟垄断之下。但这部商业大片提醒我们，充满活力的市场能够以更低的价格和更好的质量造福消费者。到目前为止，政府与经济繁荣几乎没有任何关系，但当经济不可避免地达到顶峰时，政府将通过确保市场保持开放和活力而发挥作用。

1 frenzy   

n.疯狂，狂热，极度的激动

参考例句：

• He was able to work the young students up into a frenzy.他能激起青年学生的狂热。
• They were singing in a frenzy of joy.他们欣喜若狂地高声歌唱。

2 bonanza   

n.富矿带，幸运，带来好运的事

参考例句：

• Bargain hunters enjoyed a real bonanza today.到处买便宜货的人今天真是交了好运。
• What a bonanza for the winning ticket holders!对于手持胜券的人来说，这是多好的运气啊。

3 celebrities   

n.（尤指娱乐界的）名人( celebrity的名词复数 )；名流；名声；名誉

参考例句：

• He only invited A-list celebrities to his parties. 他只邀请头等名流参加他的聚会。
• a TV chat show full of B-list celebrities 由众多二流人物参加的电视访谈节目

4 culmination   

n.顶点；最高潮

参考例句：

• The space race reached its culmination in the first moon walk.太空竞争以第一次在月球行走而达到顶峰。
• It may truly be regarded as the culmination of classical Greek geometry.这确实可以看成是古典希腊几何的登峰造级之作。

5 deteriorating   

恶化，变坏( deteriorate的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• The weather conditions are deteriorating. 天气变得越来越糟。
• I was well aware of the bad morale and the deteriorating factories. 我很清楚，大家情绪低落，各个工厂越搞越坏。

6 reminder   

n.提醒物，纪念品；暗示，提示

参考例句：

• I have had another reminder from the library.我又收到图书馆的催还单。
• It always took a final reminder to get her to pay her share of the rent.总是得发给她一份最后催缴通知，她才付应该交的房租。

7 inevitably   

adv.不可避免地；必然发生地

参考例句：

• In the way you go on,you are inevitably coming apart.照你们这样下去，毫无疑问是会散伙的。
• Technological changes will inevitably lead to unemployment.技术变革必然会导致失业。

8 vibrant   

adj.震颤的，响亮的，充满活力的，精力充沛的，(色彩)鲜明的

参考例句：

• He always uses vibrant colours in his paintings. 他在画中总是使用鲜明的色彩。
• She gave a vibrant performance in the leading role in the school play.她在学校表演中生气盎然地扮演了主角。