A process of change

A process of change

1)Napster’s gone but the technology remains 1. And so does the damage to profits. So can the music industry adapt to the times and turn the technology that’s taken its profits into a positive.

Downloading music from the Internet has never been more popular--millions of people doing it daily, illegally and for free.

With around one billion music tracks available online, it’s difficult to 2)quantify lost revenue, but while record companies are 3)reeling, they also acknowledge downloading presents a massive opportunity.

Rob Wells (New Media Director, Universal Music Group): What we’re excelling is marketing 2 and the big question everyone asks is that how do we turn consumers off of the free music and on to the paid for downloads.

Not an easy task. Until now the five major 4)labels Universal, EMI, Sony, Warner music and BMG have had problems of their own download services. But now they may have a road map from an unlikely source, computer maker 3, Apple. In April, Apple launched iTunes, an Internet site where users pay 99 US cents to download a song with more than four million downloads recorded already, it’s by far the most successful pay site. Here’s how the iTunes business model sets itself apart from the rest: there is no monthly subscription 4 fee, users can own rather than rent music, and users aren’t required to buy entire albums.

Rob Wells: I think it ironic 5 that it’s taken a hardware manufacturer to show us, the record industry, how to actually market to consumers, and how to actually sell digital goods to consumers.

But the music industry’s search for new business models doesn’t just apply to the labels. 5)HMV, one of the world’s largest music retailers 6 has established its own download site and hopes to bring the Internet experience into its stores.

Change is now the 6)mantra of the music business at all levels. The Skint Records, a small British label famous for signing Fatboy Slim. The new digital era could make a difference to the bottom line.

Damian Harris (Co-Founder, Skint Records): We’ve signed a couple of new acts, we wanna introduce them to people but the costs of putting out a single are crippling.

So the Skint wants to release singles online. This way the artists get exposure and the costs remain realistic. Universal also plans on using its connection to the stars as an online marketing tool. This means buy a U2 album and you may also get an exclusive interview with the band, but Universal intends to sell more than just music. Want a broadband connection? Just go to your favorite artists web site and sign up.

As a window into youth culture, MTV will try to convince its viewers that paying to download music is the future. And the industry will have to be careful. There are many who believe the music industry’s best days have past. But for the players themselves, it’s just a question of change.

The power of music will 7)prevail, definitely. Absolutely, 100%. This isn’t about do or die, this is about this is just a state of 8)flux 7. We are going through a process of change.

想说爱你不容易

Napster已经不存在了，但网络音乐的技术还在，唱片业的利益也同样还在遭受损失。那么，唱片业是否能顺应时代潮流，采取技术从而重新赢利呢？

从国际互联网下载音乐从来没像现在这样流行，数百万的人们每天都从网上免费下载音乐，但这是不合法的。

大约有十亿首歌曲在网上免费提供下载，损失的利润是无法计算的。在唱片公司举步唯艰的时候，他们也承认，网上下载的确能提供大量选择。

罗布·韦尔斯（环球唱片公司新媒体经理）：我们的强项是推广。每个人都会问的问题是，我们如何使消费者放弃免费音乐而选择有偿下载。

这可并不容易，迄今为止，五大唱片公司—环球、百代、索尼、华纳和BMG唱片公司的下载服务都出现了问题。但现在，他们也许都从一个不太靠得住的来源—电脑制造商苹果公司那里获得了解决办法。四月，苹果公司成立了iTunes网站，有四百万首歌曲可供下载，消费者只要付99美分就可以下载一首歌。这是目前最成功的有偿网站了。iTunes这种商业模式与其他种种所不同的是，它不用交月费。消费者拥有音乐，而不是租借音乐；而且还不用购买整张专辑。

罗布·韦尔斯∶我觉得这真够滑稽，需要一名电脑制造商来告诉我们唱片业该怎样将产品销售给顾客，以及怎样将数码产品销售给顾客。

但唱片业新商业模式的尝试对其自身来说并不是十全十美的。世界最大的唱片零售商之一—“主人之声”已经建立起自己的下载网址，并有望将其互联网经验引入其店铺经营中。

变化是唱片业方方面面所面临的最大威胁。英国一家小唱片公司Skint因与Fatboy Slim签约后而名声大噪。数码时代的到来将发生翻天覆地的变化。

达米安·哈里斯（Skint唱片公司联合创始人）∶我们已与几个新人签约，想将他们推出，但仅仅一人的费用就无比昂贵。

所以，Skint唱片公司想在网上发布单曲。这样，歌手就能得到曝光，费用也可以比较合理。环球公司还想利用其与明星的关系辅助网上营销。这意味着，如果购买一张U2的专辑，就有可能获得一次与乐队见面的独一无二的机会。但环球公司并不只是想销售音乐。想要宽带吗？只要去你最喜欢的歌手的网站并注册就可以了。

作为青年人文化的窗口，MTV将试图说服它的观众，有偿下载音乐才是大势所趋。唱片业仍不能掉以轻心。许多人都相信，唱片公司的黄金时代已经过去了。但对于歌手们来说，只是一个改变的问题。

毋庸置疑，音乐的力量是所向披靡的。毫无疑问，百分百肯定。问题的关键不是成或败，而是一种变迁。我们正经历着这种改变。

注释:

1) Napster: Napster曾是美国最大的免费音乐网站，在2001年因涉及版权侵权问题而遭起诉并最后关闭

2) quantify [5kwCntifai] v. 确定数量

3) reel [ri:l] v. 蹒跚地走

4) label [5leibl] n. 标签，这里指唱片公司］

5) HMV: His Master’s Voice: （英国）“主人之声”牌唱片

6) mantra [5mQntrE] n. 符咒

7) prevail [pri5veil] v. 流行，盛行

8) flux [flQks] n. 变迁