【雅思课外精读】鲍勃·迪伦为什么要卖掉全部歌曲版权？

　　【雅思课外精读】鲍勃·迪伦为什么要卖掉全部歌曲版权？   原文译文  *注：本文选自12月8日《NBC News》

　　Why buying Bob Dylan's songwriting catalog is a boon for Universal Music Group

　　为什么鲍勃·迪伦把自己全部歌曲的版权都卖给了环球音乐集团

　　Bob Dylan's songs defined an American era. The revenues from his music are still pouring in, experts explain.

　　鲍勃·迪伦反映了一个时代。专家称，他的歌曲所创造的收入仍在增加。

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　　1.In almost 60 years, Bob Dylan has created a staggering body of work: wistful folk ballads, earnest anti-war anthems, fiery rock tracks, laid-back country tunes and even some gospel.

　　在近60年的写作生涯中，鲍勃·迪伦创作了大量令人叫绝的作品：怀旧的民谣，诚挚的反战歌曲，火热的摇滚，还有一些福音歌曲。

　　2.The artistic worth of his catalog — newly acquired by Universal Music Group in ablockbuster deal — is hard to overstate. But the value of Dylan's songwriting oeuvre is not just a matter of his contributions to culture, according to music industry experts. Universal, a unit of the French media conglomerate Vivendi, stands to reap enormous rewards after it takes control of both the income Dylan receives as a songwriter, as well as more than 600 song copyrights.

　　环球音乐集团最近重金购得他全部歌曲的版权，这真的再怎么夸张都不为过。但是，音乐专家称，迪伦的价值并不在于其对文化的贡献。环球音乐集团是法国媒体集团威望迪的子公司，取得迪伦600多首歌曲收入及其版权之后，这家公司将获得巨额回报。

　　3.Universal will collect royalties any time Dylan's music — from era-defining favorites like "Blowin' in the Wind" to this year's epic John F. Kennedy tribute "Murder Most Foul" — is sold, streamed, broadcast or featured in other media, such as a TV series.

　　只要迪伦的歌曲被出售，被播放或者被引用到电视剧等其他媒体上，环球公司就会获得版权费。迪伦的歌曲包括经典流行曲《随风飘荡》，致敬肯尼迪的《最卑鄙的谋杀》等等，它们随时都在创造价值。

　　4."If you hear a song in a television commercial or you stream it on Spotify or you hear it in a movie, the publisher of that work is getting paid, no matter who is performing it," said Jeff Slate, a songwriter and music journalist who has written for The New Yorker, Esquire and other publications.

　　杰夫·斯莱特是一名作曲家，同时也是一个音乐记者，他曾为《纽约客》，《时尚先生》等杂志供稿。他说，“只要你听了一首歌，不管是再电视商业广告中还是在spotify这样的流媒体上，这首歌的出版方都会获得收益。”

　　5.Universal is contractuallybarred from revealing how much it paid as part of the deal, but a source told NBC News that the sale price was “a sizable 9 figure amount, north of $200 million." Dylan's spokesperson said he could not comment on any numbers involved in the deal, adding that Dylan himself would not make a statement about it.

　　根据合同规定，环球影业不能公布此次购买迪伦歌曲版权花了多少钱，但是有消息人士称，这笔交易金额巨大，“有2亿多元。”迪伦发言人称不会就此发表评论，他还说，迪伦本人也不会对此有所回应。

　　6.The potential windfall for the record company is even bigger when you consider what makes Dylan rare among professional recording artists, the experts said. The first reason is that Dylan, who was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for his "lyrical compositions of extraordinary poetic power," is the sole writing credit on most of his songs — which means Universal will not have to split royalties with collaborators or other interested parties, according to George Howard, an associate professor of music business management at the Berklee College of Music in Boston.

　　专家们说，在所有艺术家中，迪伦占有一席之地不是没有理由的，基于此，环球唱片简直是发了一笔意外之财。乔治·霍华德是波士顿美国伯克利音乐学院音乐商业管理副教授，他说，迪伦曾因其“抒情作品中的非凡诗意”获得过普利策奖，而环球唱片拥有他的歌曲的全部版权，这意味着环球唱片不会面临和别人分割利益的问题。

　　7."Bob Dylan is arguably the greatest songwriter in history, and unlike [John] Lennon and [Paul] McCartney, [Mick] Jagger and [Keith] Richards, or others in the rock canon, he wrote the vast, vast majority of them by himself," Howard said.

　　霍华德说:“鲍勃·迪伦可以说是历史上最伟大的作曲家，和约翰·列侬、保罗·麦卡特尼、米克·贾格尔、基思·理查兹以及其他摇滚乐手不一样，他的创作范围极广，而且他的作品大多都是自己原创的。”

　　8.The second reason is that Dylan's work is so widely covered by other artists. Universal, which said in a statement that Dylan's songs have been recorded more than 6,000 times, will reap royalty rewards every time musicians put their own spin on his lyrics.

　　其次，迪伦的作品广泛被其他艺术家引用。环球唱片公司在一份声明中表示，迪伦的歌曲已经被录制了6000多次，只要有歌手改变迪伦的歌曲，该公司就会获得版税收入。

　　9."Everybody covers Bob Dylan songs: Coldplay, Adele, Bettye LaVette. I've covered his songs," Slate said. "We're not talking about a second-tier artist from the golden age of rock-and-roll. We're talking about an artist who will be covered by others for many years to come," Slate added.

　　斯莱特补充说，“大家都翻唱鲍勃·迪伦的歌：酷玩乐队、阿黛尔、贝蒂·拉维特。我自己也翻唱过他的歌。迪伦是摇滚黄金年代的一流艺术家，在未来的很多年里，他还会不断被翻唱。”

　　10.Lucian Grainge, the chief executive of Universal Music Group, echoed that sentiment in a statement announcing the deal: "I have no doubt that decades, even centuries from now, the words and music of Bob Dylan will continue to be sung and played — and cherished — everywhere.”

　　环球音乐集团的首席执行官卢西恩·格兰奇宣布这笔交易的声明中也表达了类似的观点：“毫无疑问，几十年，甚至几百年后，迪伦的歌曲还会在世界各地被翻唱。”

　　11.The third reason is that tracks composed by Dylan are frequently used in movies, TV shows and advertisements. The Internet Movie Database lists more than 800 soundtrack credits for Dylan, with songs he has written used to memorable effect in "Easy Rider," "Dazed and Confused," "Forrest Gump," "The Royal Tenenbaums" and many other films.

　　最后，迪伦的歌曲在电影，电视和广告中也频繁被使用。互联网电影数据库列出了迪伦的800多首配乐，在《逍遥骑士》、《年少轻狂》、《阿甘正传》、《特伦鲍姆一家》和其他许多电影中，迪伦都创作了很多让人印象深刻的歌曲。

　　12.But the revenue from licensing agreements won't just pour into Universal every time a new Hollywood production pays a fee to use one of his original compositions. The licensing revenue extends to every "public performance" of a Dylan track, covers and remixes included.

　　版权收入并不仅仅来自好莱坞电影对他的作品的引用，甚至对迪伦歌曲的每一次“公开演唱，”包括翻唱和混音都会给环球唱片带来收入。

　　13.In other words, when the cult classic comedy "The Big Lebowski" (featuring Dylan's 1970 track "The Man in Me") airs on basic cable, "more money will pour into Universal," Howard explained. "It's a dark art in the music industry, but it's a huge revenue stream. The public performance revenues on the Dylan catalog are incredibly vast," he added.

　　换句话说，一旦邪典经典喜剧《谋杀绿脚趾》在电视上播出，就会有“更多的钱流入环球唱片。这是音乐行业的黑暗面，是一个巨大的收入来源。迪伦歌曲的公开演出也会带来巨大收入，”霍华德如是说。