经济学人321:音乐节 泥泞的曲调

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　　音乐节

　　Muddy tunes¹

　　泥泞的曲调

　　How big outdoor concerts are changing the music industry

　　大型的户外演唱会如何改变音乐行业

　　DOLLY PARTON, an American musician, is used to performing for big crowds. But after her set this year at Glastonbury, Britain's largest music festival, she admitted to feeling nervous. Since that show, seen by 100,000 revellers and 2m television viewers, her album “Blue Smoke” has hovered³ near the top of the album chart for eight weeks. Ms Parton's resurgence⁴ hints at how festivals are reshaping Britain's music business.

　　美国音乐家多莉·帕顿（DOLLY PARTON）经常参与公演。但在今年参加过英国最大的音乐节格拉斯顿伯里音乐节（Glastonbury）之后，她承认确实感到有些紧张。在那次表演之后（围观此次表演的有10万名狂欢者和200万电视观众），她的专辑“Blue Smoke”连续8周位居专辑榜前列。Parton歌唱事业的“第二春”暗示了音乐节是如何改变英国的音乐格局。

　　泥泞的曲调.jpg

　　The live music market is flourishing even as sales of recorded music have mouldered⁵. Between 2012 and 2013 it grew by a quarter, according to the Performing Right Society for Music, an industry body. Gig-goers now spend more than 1 billion (1.7 billion) a year on tickets and almost half that again on food, drink and the like. Festivals make up a large chunk⁶ of this. In the early 1990s Britain had few of them, recalls Melvin Benn of Festival Republic, a promoter. Around 450 will take place this year. The festival season, once limited to July and August, now stretches until early autumn. On the first weekend of September four festivals battle it out.

　　正值唱片销售疲软之际，现场音乐的市场不断蓬勃发展。英国表演权协会（一个行业组织）表示，在2012年到2013年间，现场音乐的市场份额就已增长了四分之一。如今乐迷们一年在门票上的花费就逾10亿欧元（合17亿美金），此外在吃、喝等方面的花费几乎是它的一半。在音乐节上的花费就占了很大一部分。来自Festival Republic（共和节日，一个音乐推广公司）Melvin Benn回忆，在20世纪90年代早期，英国还没有出现这样的一群人。今年预计有450场音乐节。曾在7、8月开展的音乐节，如今已延伸至初秋。在9月的第一个周末，四大音乐节就全面展开、决一胜负。

　　One boost was a change to the licensing⁷ laws in 2005, recalls Jim Whewell of the Wilderness⁸ Festival, a music and performing arts event. This made it easier to put on a show outdoors. The recession helped too: Britons who could no longer afford foreign holidays found a weekend of camping in a muddy field more attractive. And as fewer people buy recorded music, fans are splurging the money they save on live events, says Chris Carey, a consultant⁹.

　　据Wilderness Festival （旷野节，一个音乐和表演艺术的活动）的Jim Whewell 回忆，2005年许可法的变化对现场音乐有一定推动效应。这使得在户外举办表演变得更加容易。同时经济的衰退也对此有一定的帮助。负担不起国外度假的英国人发现，在泥泞的旷野中来一次周末露营更具吸引力。而且购买唱片的人越来越少，乐迷们更青睐将他们积攒的钱财用于生活消费，一位名叫Chris Carey的顾问说道。

　　Ageing crowds are another bonus. A survey in 2013 found that the average age of a reveller² at Glastonbury, excluding those under 18, was 36 years old. Older people have more cash to spend on boozing, and their demands have helped make festivals safer and more pleasant. Security at bigger festivals has grown much tighter. Toilets are slightly less gruesome (though punters must often pay an extra fee to use the cleanest ones). Posh food and fancier drinks have replaced cheap hot dogs and watered-down beer. At Wilderness, middle-aged¹⁰ bacchanals quaff¹¹ champagne¹² or real ale and eat lobsters¹³.

　　大龄人群则是另一个惊喜。2013年的一个调查发现，除去那些18岁以下人群，Glastonbury音乐节狂欢者的平均年龄是36。老年人有更多的金钱来买酒豪饮享乐，而且他们的需求有助于音乐节变得更安全更令人满意。大型音乐的安保条件已变得愈加严格，厕所也稍微地没那么惊悚（尽管赌徒常为使用干净的马桶支付额外的费用）。精致食品和高档饮品已取代了廉价的热狗和兑水的啤酒。在旷野节，中年的狂欢者痛饮着香槟和鲜啤酒，享受着美味龙虾。

　　All this is changing the way the music industry works. Festivals are increasingly seen as a way to test whether big-name artists have enough fans to warrant arena¹⁴ tours, says Rebecca Kane of the 02, a large venue¹⁵ in London. Newer names find them essential: Clean Bandit, a British band who brought out their first album this year, are performing at around 20 festivals this summer. And music executives are increasingly taking into account how successfully they think artists will perform at big outdoor gigs before deciding to sign them.

　　所有的这些都在改变着音乐行业的运作方式。来自The 02（一个位于格林威治半岛的大型娱乐区）的Rebecca Kane表示，音乐节越来越被看做是一种测试大牌艺人是否号召足够的歌迷来撑场面的一种方式。这些音乐节对于新人来说不可或缺：今年推出了他们的第一张专辑的Clean Bandit（清洁盗贼，一支来自英国的电音组合），这个夏天就参加了近20个音乐节。而且音乐公司在签下艺人之前，格外看重艺人是否像他们考虑的那样在大型户外演唱会中取得成功。

　　Some promoters complain festivals are getting harder to run. “Most people do it as a labour of love,” sighs one. Increasingly bureaucratic¹⁶ paperwork is a pain, complains Sidharth Sharma of Shambala Festival, a smaller event, while providing better food and drink is expensive. One big problem is that competition for headliners means the most popular bands, many of whom are getting on in years, can command eye-watering fees. Few new acts have Dolly Parton's pulling power.

　　部分推广者抱怨，音乐节越来越难办。其中一人感叹，“大部分人做这个都是兴趣使然。” Shambala Festival（山巴拉音乐节，一个小型活动）的Sidharth Sharma抱怨，越来越多的官僚文书让人烦闷的同时，提供较好的食物和饮料也是花费不少。另一个最大的问题就是，各个音乐节对头版头条的竞争意味着大部分流行乐队（他们中的多数都有一定资历）能狮子开口、漫天要价。几乎没有新人能拥有Dolly Parton的号召力

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