評(píng)論
打印
Finance & economics
財(cái)經(jīng)版塊
Live music
現(xiàn)場(chǎng)音樂
Mo’ problems, mo’ money
問題越多，錢越多（注：標(biāo)題來自一首說唱歌曲的歌名。）
Concerts seem to be impervious to economic downturns. Why?
演唱會(huì)似乎不受經(jīng)濟(jì)下行的影響，為什么？
The mood music on Wall Street is downbeat, as America’s government throttles trade and consumers seem poised to trim spending.
華爾街的氣氛音樂是低沉的，因?yàn)槊绹谑站o貿(mào)易，消費(fèi)者也準(zhǔn)備削減開支。
Yet one corner of the entertainment industry is partying on regardless.
然而在娛樂業(yè)的一個(gè)角落里，派對(duì)依然繼續(xù)進(jìn)行。
Live Nation, a concert promoter, has said it expects the live-music industry to break records in 2025.
演唱會(huì)推廣公司“現(xiàn)場(chǎng)之國”表示，預(yù)計(jì)現(xiàn)場(chǎng)音樂產(chǎn)業(yè)將在2025年打破紀(jì)錄。
Its Ticketmaster app had 70% more traffic this February than last, reckons Sensor Tower, a data firm.
數(shù)據(jù)公司“傳感燈塔”估計(jì)，今年2月，現(xiàn)場(chǎng)之國旗下的“票務(wù)大師”應(yīng)用程序的流量比去年增加了70%。
This party may yet fizzle out.
這場(chǎng)派對(duì)最終可能還是會(huì)散場(chǎng)。
But the music business has a record of performing well during downturns.
但音樂行業(yè)在經(jīng)濟(jì)低迷時(shí)期一直表現(xiàn)良好。
Although concerts were clobbered by covid-19 lockdowns in 2020-21, during America’s previous three recessions live entertainment held up even as spending on other forms of fun dipped, according to Goldman Sachs, a bank.
雖然在2020至2021年期間，新冠疫情封鎖對(duì)演唱會(huì)造成了重創(chuàng)，但根據(jù)高盛銀行的數(shù)據(jù)，在美國之前三次經(jīng)濟(jì)衰退中，現(xiàn)場(chǎng)娛樂活動(dòng)依然堅(jiān)挺，而其他形式的娛樂消費(fèi)卻有所下滑。
Timing is one reason: concert-goers may book tickets months in advance, so the impact of belt-tightening is delayed.
時(shí)機(jī)是一個(gè)原因：演唱會(huì)觀眾可能會(huì)提前幾個(gè)月預(yù)訂門票，因此收緊錢包的影響會(huì)有所延遲。
Another is that the average big-name gig in America is still cheaper than a night out on Broadway or at the National Football League, meaning that concerts are not the first treats to be forgone in a crunch (they may even serve as cheaper substitutes).
另一個(gè)原因是，在美國，大明星演唱會(huì)的平均票價(jià)仍然比百老匯戲劇或國家橄欖球聯(lián)盟比賽的門票更便宜，這意味著在財(cái)務(wù)緊張時(shí)，演唱會(huì)并不是首先被砍掉的娛樂（甚至可能成為更便宜的替代選擇）。
The globalisation of music fandom also protects touring artists from downturns.
歌迷的全球化也讓巡演的歌手免受經(jīng)濟(jì)低迷的影響。
If demand falters in Johannesburg, add a date in Jakarta.
如果南非的約翰內(nèi)斯堡的需求疲軟，那就在印度尼西亞的雅加達(dá)再加一場(chǎng)。
The most improbable saviours of live music in recessions are a group more often cast as villains: ticket touts.
在經(jīng)濟(jì)衰退時(shí)，拯救現(xiàn)場(chǎng)音樂的最出人意料的英雄是一群常被視為反派的人：賣票的黃牛。
Concerts are deliberately underpriced, to ensure that true fans—young and hip but penniless—make it into the audience alongside rich oldies and corporate-hospitality bores.
演唱會(huì)的票價(jià)故意定得很低，這是為了確保真正的粉絲——年輕、時(shí)尚但沒有錢——能夠與富有的老人和無聊的企業(yè)客戶一起進(jìn)入觀眾席。
Scalpers take advantage by buying tickets early, then reselling them at the true market-clearing price.
黃牛提前購票，然后以真正的市場(chǎng)出清價(jià)格把票轉(zhuǎn)賣，利用差價(jià)牟利。（注：市場(chǎng)出清價(jià)指需求和供給相等時(shí)的價(jià)格。）
In booms they prosper: in 2019, just before the pandemic, Live Nation said that the average uplift in ticket prices on the secondary market in America was 70%, providing touts with a profit of $1.3bn (more than Live Nation’s own operating profit that year).
在經(jīng)濟(jì)繁榮時(shí)期，黃牛生意興隆：就在疫情暴發(fā)前的2019年，現(xiàn)場(chǎng)之國表示，美國二級(jí)市場(chǎng)的門票價(jià)格平均上漲了70%，這為黃牛提供了13億美元的利潤(rùn)（超過了現(xiàn)場(chǎng)之國當(dāng)年的營(yíng)業(yè)利潤(rùn)）。
But when demand softens, touts feel it first.
但當(dāng)需求減弱時(shí)，黃牛也能最先感受到。
Their billion-dollar profit pool in effect shields the primary market from declines in consumer spending, argue Stephen Laszczyk and Antares Tobelem of Goldman Sachs.
高盛的斯蒂芬·拉斯奇克和安塔雷斯·托貝倫認(rèn)為，黃牛的數(shù)十億美元利潤(rùn)池實(shí)際上保護(hù)了一級(jí)市場(chǎng)，使其免受消費(fèi)者支出下降的影響。
“In the event of a recession, we would expect that the secondary market would absorb most of the pressure on marginal demand, insulating the underlying profitability of the live-music industry,” they predict.
“如果經(jīng)濟(jì)衰退，我們預(yù)計(jì)二級(jí)市場(chǎng)將吸收邊際需求的大部分壓力，從而保護(hù)現(xiàn)場(chǎng)音樂行業(yè)的基本盈利能力?！彼麄冾A(yù)測(cè)。（注：邊際需求指價(jià)格變化時(shí)，需求增加或減少的值。）
If the direst forecasts for America’s economy come true, fans may not be willing to pay as much to see bands like Oasis, whose comeback tour begins in July.
如果對(duì)美國經(jīng)濟(jì)最悲觀的預(yù)測(cè)成真，那么歌迷們可能不愿意花那么多錢去看綠洲等樂隊(duì)的演出（綠洲樂隊(duì)的復(fù)出巡演將于七月開始）。
Yet with tickets already sold out in the primary market, the Gallagher brothers have no need to worry.
但是綠洲的一級(jí)市場(chǎng)門票已經(jīng)售罄，所以加拉格兄弟（樂隊(duì)的兩位主唱）無需擔(dān)憂。
It is those trying to make a buck in the secondary market who will have to roll with it.
而那些試圖在二級(jí)市場(chǎng)賺錢的人，則不得不應(yīng)付這種情況。（注：roll with it也是綠洲的一首歌名。）
