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Supply chains - Out of the groove
供應鏈——節奏之外（譯者注：雙關，這里既有脫離最佳狀態之意，也暗指本文要講的音樂行業，groove也指節奏）
The music industry is an unexpected victim of a plastics shortage.
音樂產業意外成為塑料供應短缺的受害者。
At the start of 2020, Green Lung, a London heavy-metal act with a cult following, were about to go on their first American tour.
2020年初，倫敦重金屬樂隊“綠肺”——擁有一眾狂熱追隨者——即將進行他們的首次美國巡演。
Then came covid-19.
接著新冠疫情爆發。
The band used ensuing lockdowns to produce a second album, “Black Harvest”.
該樂隊在隨后的封鎖時期內制作了第二張專輯《黑色收獲》。
By December it was recorded and ready to be mastered and pressed onto 5,000 gold-vinyl records.
到了12月，專輯錄制完成，準備制作母版，并壓制出5000張金膠唱片。
Given pandemic disruptions, Green Lung gave itself lots of time, fully nine months, to make these in time for a tour this September.
考慮到疫情造成的破壞，綠肺樂隊給自己留了充足的時間，趕在九月巡演之前，用整整9個月的時間來制作這些唱片。
“We were fairly comfortable,” says Tom Templar, the lead singer.
“我們感覺時間非常寬裕，”主唱湯姆·坦普爾說。
Instead the first pressing of the record, which is sold out in pre-orders, will not be available until October.
但實際情況并非如此，預售時就已銷售一空的首版唱片要到10月份才能到手。
The band could have launched on a streaming service like Spotify.
樂隊本可以在Spotify這樣的流媒體上推出新專輯。
But it wanted to wait for the LP, which generates far more money in the short run.
但它想等等黑膠唱片，因為黑膠唱片能在短期內帶來更多的利潤。
“The vinyl sales prop up the US tour,” explains Mr Templar.
坦普爾解釋說：“黑膠唱片的銷售支撐著美國巡演。”
In the end, Green Lung played its album-launch gig on September 1st record-less.
最后，綠肺樂隊在沒有唱片的情況下于在9月1日舉行了新專輯發布會。
The band thus became the latest, unexpected casualty of upheaval in global supply chains.
至此，該公司成為全球供應鏈動蕩中最新的意外受害者。
First CDs, then digital downloads and now streaming have made vinyl records look like a vintage curiosity.
一開始是CD，然后是數字下載，現在是流媒體，這些都讓黑膠唱片看起來像是老古董。
In recent years, however, sales have soared, as fans have taken to owning their favourite bands’ music in physical form (waxing insistent about its supposedly better sound quality).
然而，近年來，隨著粉絲們開始購買他們最喜歡的樂隊的實體形式音樂(他們堅持認為實體唱片的音質更好)，黑膠唱片的銷量飆升。
In March vinyl sales in Britain reached highs last seen in 1989.
三月份，英國的黑膠唱片銷量達到1989年以來的最高點。
“Every artist in the world has spent 18 months twiddling their thumbs, so they are making records,” says Ed Macdonald, the manager of 100% Records, which represents artists such as We Are Scientists, an indie rock band.
“世界上所有藝術家都有了18個月無所事事的時間，所以他們都在制作唱片，”100%唱片公司的經理艾德·麥克唐納說。該公司代理著一些藝術家，比如獨立搖滾樂隊We are Scientists。
“Vinyl is such an integral part of our turnover,” he says.
他說：“黑膠是我們營業額中不可或缺的一部分。”
Mainstream artists are increasingly involved.
越來越多的主流藝術家參與進來。
Taylor Swift’s album, “Evermore”, first released digitally in December, broke a 30-year record for vinyl sales.
去年12月以數字形式首次發行的泰勒·斯威夫特的專輯《Evermore》打破了30年來的黑膠唱片銷售記錄。
Albums are expected to be released soon by Ed Sheeran, ABBA and Coldplay.
預計艾德·希蘭、阿巴樂隊和酷玩樂隊的專輯很快就會發行。
Unfortunately for musicians, getting them pressed is becoming close to impossible.
不幸的是，對于音樂家們來說，壓制唱片幾乎快要成為不可能的事了。
In the late 1990s and early 2000s most vinyl-pressing factories closed.
在20世紀90年代末和21世紀初，大多數壓膠工廠倒閉了。
As covid-19 raged the biggest remaining ones — in America, the Czech Republic, Germany and Poland — had to shut temporarily, creating a backlog.
隨著新冠肆虐，剩下最大的幾家工廠——位于美國、捷克、德國和波蘭——不得不暫時關閉，造成了訂單積壓。
Now demand from musicians is outstripping capacity.
現在，生產能力已經無法滿足音樂家們的需求。
On top of that, the price of PVC, the plastic used to make LPs, has surged after Hurricane Ida knocked out 60% of America’s production in August, while demand has boomed from firms that use the stuff in cars, pipes and much besides.
最重要的是，由于8月份颶風“艾達”摧毀了美國60%的PVC產品，這種用于生產黑膠唱片的塑料價格飆升，而汽車、管道和其他許多行業的公司對這種材料的需求也激增。
Dirk van den Heuvel of Groove Distribution, a distributor of dance music in Chicago, says that the big labels created the crisis by closing their own pressing factories in the 2000s.
芝加哥舞曲分銷商Groove Distribution的Dirk van den Heuvel說，大唱片公司在21世紀初關閉了自己的壓制工廠，從而造成了這場危機。
If they had kept these running, he grumbles, the majors would have been ready for the demand and smaller musicians would not now be so squeezed.
他抱怨道，如果他們當初繼續經營這些工廠，大工廠就能做好滿足需求的準備，小音樂家也不會像現在這樣受到這么大的壓力。
It is true that big labels can often secure priority on the presses.
誠然，大唱片公司往往能獲得印刷的優先權。
But not always.
但也不總是如此。
It may be cold comfort to Mr van den Heuvel or Green Lung, but Ms Swift’s fans had to wait months for their LPs, too.
斯威夫特的粉絲們也得等上幾個月時間才能拿到他們的黑膠唱片，雖然這對van den Heuvel或綠肺樂隊來說，可能起不到什么安慰作用。
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