2019年经济学人 6500亿美元的狂欢--美国娱乐业投资热潮(2)

 

The entertainment business is fast-moving by its very nature. It has few tangible¹ assets, it relies on technology to distribute its wares² and its customers crave³ novelty. The emergence⁴ of sound in the 1920s cemented Hollywood as the centre of the global film business. But by the end of the 20th century the industry had grown as complacent⁵ as a punchline⁶ in a repeat episode of “Friends”. It relied on old technologies—analogue broadcasting, slow internet connections and the storage of sounds and sights on fiddly CDs, DVDs and hard drives. And the commercial approach was to rip off consumers by overcharging for stale content packaged into oversized bundles.

本质上，娱乐业发展快速。几乎没有什么有形资产，依靠技术来销售产品，其消费者渴望新奇。20世纪20年代声音的出现巩固了好莱坞作为全球电影产业中心的地位。但到了20世纪末，该行业变得自满起来，就像《老友记》中反复出现的笑话一样。它依靠的是老式技术——模拟广播、网速慢以及将声音和影像存储在精巧的CD、DVD和硬盘上。而商业方法是通过对包装成超大包的陈旧内容收取过高费用来敲诈消费者。

The first shudder⁷ came in music in 1999, with internet services soon putting established music firms such as emi and Warner Music under pressure. In television Netflix broke the mould in 2007 by using broadband connections to sell video subscriptions⁸, undercutting the cable firms. When the smartphone took off it tailored its service to hand-held devices. The firm has acted as a catalyst⁹ for competition, forcing the old guard to slash¹⁰ prices and innovate¹¹, and sucking in new contenders. The boom has seen star writers paid as if they were Wall Street titans, sent rents for Hollywood studio lots into the stratosphere and overtook the 20th century’s media barons¹², including Rupert Murdoch, who sold much of his empire to Disney in March.

第一次颠覆发生在1999年的音乐领域，互联网服务很快将百代和华纳音乐等老牌音乐公司置于压力之下。在电视领域，Netflix在2007年打破了这一模式，使用宽带连接来销售视频订阅，从而比有线电视公司更便宜。当智能手机普及流行时，它为手持设备量身定制服务。这家公司已经成为竞争的催化剂，迫使老一代的卫道士们降低价格，进行创新，并吸引新的竞争者。在这股热潮中，明星作家们拿着高薪，仿佛自己就是华尔街的巨头，好莱坞工作室的租金也一路飙升，并超过了20世纪的传媒大亨，其中包括鲁珀特?默多克。今年3月，默多克将其帝国的大部分资产出售给了迪士尼。

1 tangible   

adj.有形的，可触摸的，确凿的，实际的

参考例句：

• The policy has not yet brought any tangible benefits.这项政策还没有带来任何实质性的好处。
• There is no tangible proof.没有确凿的证据。

2 wares   

n. 货物, 商品

参考例句：

• They sold their wares at half-price. 他们的货品是半价出售的。
• The peddler was crying up his wares. 小贩极力夸耀自己的货物。

3 crave   

vt.渴望得到，迫切需要，恳求，请求

参考例句：

• Many young children crave attention.许多小孩子渴望得到关心。
• You may be craving for some fresh air.你可能很想呼吸呼吸新鲜空气。

4 emergence   

n.浮现，显现，出现，（植物）突出体

参考例句：

• The last decade saw the emergence of a dynamic economy.最近10年见证了经济增长的姿态。
• Language emerges and develops with the emergence and development of society.语言是随着社会的产生而产生，随着社会的发展而发展的。

5 complacent   

adj.自满的；自鸣得意的

参考例句：

• We must not become complacent the moment we have some success.我们决不能一见成绩就自满起来。
• She was complacent about her achievements.她对自己的成绩沾沾自喜。

6 punchline   

n.（笑话、故事等的）结尾警语，点睛之笔

参考例句：

• Even then,the magical pause can strengthen the punchline.即使这样，有魔力的停顿依然可以增强笑点。
• A good joke or a mystery novel has along wind up to the final punchline.好的笑话或神秘小说都是一路曲折，直至最后的笑料或真相。

7 shudder   

v.战粟，震动，剧烈地摇晃；n.战粟，抖动

参考例句：

• The sight of the coffin sent a shudder through him.看到那副棺材，他浑身一阵战栗。
• We all shudder at the thought of the dreadful dirty place.我们一想到那可怕的肮脏地方就浑身战惊。

8 subscriptions   

n.（报刊等的）订阅费( subscription的名词复数 )；捐款；（俱乐部的）会员费；捐助

参考例句：

• Subscriptions to these magazines can be paid in at the post office. 这些杂志的订阅费可以在邮局缴纳。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Payment of subscriptions should be made to the club secretary. 会费应交给俱乐部秘书。 来自《简明英汉词典》

9 catalyst   

n.催化剂，造成变化的人或事

参考例句：

• A catalyst is a substance which speeds up a chemical reaction.催化剂是一种能加速化学反应的物质。
• The workers'demand for better conditions was a catalyst for social change.工人们要求改善工作条件促进了社会变革。

10 slash   

vi.大幅度削减；vt.猛砍，尖锐抨击，大幅减少；n.猛砍，斜线，长切口，衣衩

参考例句：

• The shop plans to slash fur prices after Spring Festival.该店计划在春节之后把皮货降价。
• Don't slash your horse in that cruel way.不要那样残忍地鞭打你的马。

11 innovate   

v.革新，变革，创始

参考例句：

• We must innovate in order to make progress.我们必须改革以便取得进步。
• It is necessary to innovate and develop military theories.创新和发展军事理论是必要的。

12 barons   

男爵( baron的名词复数 )； 巨头； 大王； 大亨

参考例句：

• The barons of Normandy had refused to countenance the enterprise officially. 诺曼底的贵族们拒绝正式赞助这桩买卖。
• The barons took the oath which Stephen Langton prescribed. 男爵们照斯蒂芬？兰顿的指导宣了誓。