Clear Channel and radio broadcasting

　　清晰頻道通信公司與無(wú)線電廣播。

　　Come stream with me.

　　跟我去發(fā)展流式音頻吧。

　　Is there money in digital radio?

　　數(shù)字廣播有錢可賺嗎?

　　FRANK SINATRA knew he was getting a raw deal. He could sing but he was not much of asongwriter, so he never saw a cent when most of his 300 or so singles were played onAmerican radio. He spent years fruitlessly lobbying Congress to change a 1909 royalties law,which requires radio broadcasters to pay composers but not performers. Broadcasters-a moreformidable lobby than artists or record labels-have long fought any change, arguing thatairtime gives singers free publicity. But this month the artists and labels have had somegood news.

　　弗蘭克辛納特拉知道自己受到的待遇不公正。他歌唱得好，但寫歌不在行;因此，雖然他大約300首單曲中的大部分在美國(guó)廣播電臺(tái)播放，他卻從來(lái)沒(méi)拿到過(guò)一分錢。一項(xiàng)1909年的版權(quán)使用費(fèi)法要求電臺(tái)對(duì)歌曲作者付款，但不必對(duì)歌者付款。他多年游說(shuō)國(guó)會(huì)修改這項(xiàng)法律，但毫無(wú)成效。廣播公司的游說(shuō)比藝術(shù)家或唱片公司更強(qiáng)大;他們長(zhǎng)期以來(lái)反對(duì)對(duì)這項(xiàng)法律的任何修改，理由是廣播免費(fèi)宣傳了歌唱家。但本月歌手與唱片公司終于聽(tīng)到了些好消息。

　　On June 5th Clear Channel Communications, America s largest radio broadcaster,announced a deal with Big Machine, a country-music label, to pay performance royaltieson all its radio channels, terrestrial and digital. The plan is for ClearChannel to pay the label and its artists, who include Taylor Swift and Tim McGraw, a cut of itsadvertising revenue.

　　美國(guó)最大的廣播公司清晰頻道6 月5日宣布與一家鄉(xiāng)村音樂(lè)唱片公司大機(jī)器達(dá)成協(xié)議，將為它播出的所有大機(jī)器名下的歌曲演出付費(fèi)，無(wú)論歌曲是由地面頻道或數(shù)字頻道播出。根據(jù)該計(jì)劃，清晰頻道將按廣告收入比例向大機(jī)器及它旗下的藝術(shù)家付費(fèi)，其中包括泰勒斯威夫特和蒂姆麥克羅。

　　The agreement indicates that Clear Channel plans to invest more in digital radio, the part ofthe industry that is growing. But unlike terrestrial broadcasters, digital stations are obligedby a 1998 law to pay fees to artists whenever a song is played. This skewed system hasmade life painful for digital platforms trying to build an audience, such as Pandora, which paysout more than half of its revenue in music royalties. We can t make business work onlinewith these rates, says Tim Westergren, founder and chief strategy officer of Pandora. Hisfirm has spent $50,000 this year lobbying Congress to change the law.

　　這項(xiàng)協(xié)議表明，清晰頻道計(jì)劃增加它在數(shù)字廣播上的投資，而正是數(shù)字廣播在廣播業(yè)中前景可觀。但與地面廣播公司不同的是，按照一項(xiàng)1998年的法律規(guī)定，無(wú)論何時(shí)，只要數(shù)字電臺(tái)播出歌曲，它都必須向演唱者付費(fèi)。這種扭曲的制度讓試圖招徠聽(tīng)眾的數(shù)字平臺(tái)日子很不好過(guò);僅以潘多拉為例，它收入的一半以上都用于支付音樂(lè)版權(quán)費(fèi)。潘多拉的創(chuàng)建人、首席策略師蒂姆威斯特格蘭說(shuō)： 版稅如此之高，我們沒(méi)法開(kāi)展在線業(yè)務(wù)。 他的公司今年已在游說(shuō)國(guó)會(huì)修改法律上花了5萬(wàn)美元。

　　Only 2% of Clear Channel s listeners are digital and 98% terrestrial, so the deal lookscostly. But Big Machine supplies only a small proportion of Clear Channel s music. Andpaying a share of ad revenues hurts less than paying per song. The idea is to see what thisdoes to the bottom line before negotiating with other labels.

　　清晰頻道的聽(tīng)眾中只有2%來(lái)自數(shù)字廣播，另外的98%來(lái)自地面廣播，因此這項(xiàng)協(xié)議看上去代價(jià)很高。但大機(jī)器的節(jié)目在清晰頻道播放的音樂(lè)中所占比例很小。而且，交出一部分廣告收入比按歌付費(fèi)輕松。清晰頻道的打算是，先看看這項(xiàng)協(xié)議對(duì)凈收入的影響后再與其他唱片公司談判。

　　The deal may also reflect anxiety on Clear Channel s part. Its leveraged buy-out in 2008,just before the ad market collapsed, has left it heavily in hock. It has enough cash to keepthings humming for a few years, but in 2023 debts of $12.1 billion fall due. The company willprobably need a maturity extension. There s no way to pay that, says Melissa Link ofFitch, a ratings agency. They need growth.

　　這項(xiàng)協(xié)議可能也反映了清晰頻道方面的擔(dān)憂。2008年，它在廣告市場(chǎng)崩潰前舉債收購(gòu)，這使之負(fù)債沉重。幾年內(nèi)它尚有足夠的資金周轉(zhuǎn)，但2023年有一筆121億美元的債務(wù)到期。該公司或?qū)⑿枰悠趦攤；葑u(yù)評(píng)級(jí)公司的梅利莎林克說(shuō)： 錢他們肯定還不了，他們需要發(fā)展。

　　All eyes are now watching to see whether Clear Channel can make money from digital radio.It already has iHeartRadio, an internet network launched in 2008, which relies on ads ratherthan subscriptions. In September 2011 the network began offering customisable playlists,like Pandora. It offers 11m songs, compared with Pandora s 900,000-but has only a tenth ofits rival s listeners. The big source of growth is among smartphone buyers, who account for70% of Pandora s streaming. Yet Pandora also relies heavily on advertising , and mobiles have proven difficult for ad sales.

　　人人都在關(guān)注清晰頻道是否能通過(guò)數(shù)字電臺(tái)賺錢。他們已在2008年開(kāi)通了線上網(wǎng)站 網(wǎng)絡(luò)電臺(tái) ，該網(wǎng)站靠廣告而不是靠聽(tīng)眾付費(fèi)賺錢。2011年9月 網(wǎng)絡(luò)電臺(tái) 開(kāi)始像潘多拉一樣提供可由聽(tīng)眾點(diǎn)播的播放列表，表中包括1100萬(wàn)首歌。相比之下潘多拉的播放列表中只有90萬(wàn)首歌，但聽(tīng)眾卻是網(wǎng)絡(luò)電臺(tái)的10倍。智能電話的擁有者是發(fā)展聽(tīng)眾的重大來(lái)源，他們占潘多拉聽(tīng)眾的70%。但潘多拉對(duì)廣告的依賴程度也很高，而事實(shí)業(yè)已證明，手機(jī)廣告作用不明顯。

　　Second only to television in its reach, terrestrial radio does not face much of a threat fromdigital, especially given the royalty burden on digital providers. Air-wave radio has held on tolisteners, because it remains free and convenient, particularly for car-bound commuters.Though carmakers are starting to integrate digital-radio platforms, streaming audio can eatup most mobile data plans. It is not expected to steal many listeners soon. But for artists, theClear Channel deal has hit the right note.

　　受眾僅次于電視的地面電臺(tái)沒(méi)有受到數(shù)字電臺(tái)的威脅，考慮到數(shù)字電臺(tái)需要付出的高額版權(quán)使用費(fèi)后尤其如此。無(wú)線電臺(tái)能夠抓住聽(tīng)眾，因?yàn)樗鼈兊墓?jié)目依舊免費(fèi)，而且特別方便駕車上下班的人。盡管汽車制造商正開(kāi)始在汽車收音機(jī)里添加數(shù)字無(wú)線電平臺(tái)，但流式音頻能擊敗大部分移動(dòng)數(shù)據(jù)計(jì)劃。人們認(rèn)為流式音頻還不會(huì)很快搶走大量聽(tīng)眾，但對(duì)藝術(shù)家來(lái)說(shuō)，清晰頻道的協(xié)議效果良好。

　　Clear Channel and radio broadcasting

　　清晰頻道通信公司與無(wú)線電廣播。

　　Come stream with me.

　　跟我去發(fā)展流式音頻吧。

　　Is there money in digital radio?

　　數(shù)字廣播有錢可賺嗎?

　　FRANK SINATRA knew he was getting a raw deal. He could sing but he was not much of asongwriter, so he never saw a cent when most of his 300 or so singles were played onAmerican radio. He spent years fruitlessly lobbying Congress to change a 1909 royalties law,which requires radio broadcasters to pay composers but not performers. Broadcasters-a moreformidable lobby than artists or record labels-have long fought any change, arguing thatairtime gives singers free publicity. But this month the artists and labels have had somegood news.

　　弗蘭克辛納特拉知道自己受到的待遇不公正。他歌唱得好，但寫歌不在行;因此，雖然他大約300首單曲中的大部分在美國(guó)廣播電臺(tái)播放，他卻從來(lái)沒(méi)拿到過(guò)一分錢。一項(xiàng)1909年的版權(quán)使用費(fèi)法要求電臺(tái)對(duì)歌曲作者付款，但不必對(duì)歌者付款。他多年游說(shuō)國(guó)會(huì)修改這項(xiàng)法律，但毫無(wú)成效。廣播公司的游說(shuō)比藝術(shù)家或唱片公司更強(qiáng)大;他們長(zhǎng)期以來(lái)反對(duì)對(duì)這項(xiàng)法律的任何修改，理由是廣播免費(fèi)宣傳了歌唱家。但本月歌手與唱片公司終于聽(tīng)到了些好消息。

　　On June 5th Clear Channel Communications, America s largest radio broadcaster,announced a deal with Big Machine, a country-music label, to pay performance royaltieson all its radio channels, terrestrial and digital. The plan is for ClearChannel to pay the label and its artists, who include Taylor Swift and Tim McGraw, a cut of itsadvertising revenue.

　　美國(guó)最大的廣播公司清晰頻道6 月5日宣布與一家鄉(xiāng)村音樂(lè)唱片公司大機(jī)器達(dá)成協(xié)議，將為它播出的所有大機(jī)器名下的歌曲演出付費(fèi)，無(wú)論歌曲是由地面頻道或數(shù)字頻道播出。根據(jù)該計(jì)劃，清晰頻道將按廣告收入比例向大機(jī)器及它旗下的藝術(shù)家付費(fèi)，其中包括泰勒斯威夫特和蒂姆麥克羅。

　　The agreement indicates that Clear Channel plans to invest more in digital radio, the part ofthe industry that is growing. But unlike terrestrial broadcasters, digital stations are obligedby a 1998 law to pay fees to artists whenever a song is played. This skewed system hasmade life painful for digital platforms trying to build an audience, such as Pandora, which paysout more than half of its revenue in music royalties. We can t make business work onlinewith these rates, says Tim Westergren, founder and chief strategy officer of Pandora. Hisfirm has spent $50,000 this year lobbying Congress to change the law.

　　這項(xiàng)協(xié)議表明，清晰頻道計(jì)劃增加它在數(shù)字廣播上的投資，而正是數(shù)字廣播在廣播業(yè)中前景可觀。但與地面廣播公司不同的是，按照一項(xiàng)1998年的法律規(guī)定，無(wú)論何時(shí)，只要數(shù)字電臺(tái)播出歌曲，它都必須向演唱者付費(fèi)。這種扭曲的制度讓試圖招徠聽(tīng)眾的數(shù)字平臺(tái)日子很不好過(guò);僅以潘多拉為例，它收入的一半以上都用于支付音樂(lè)版權(quán)費(fèi)。潘多拉的創(chuàng)建人、首席策略師蒂姆威斯特格蘭說(shuō)： 版稅如此之高，我們沒(méi)法開(kāi)展在線業(yè)務(wù)。 他的公司今年已在游說(shuō)國(guó)會(huì)修改法律上花了5萬(wàn)美元。

　　Only 2% of Clear Channel s listeners are digital and 98% terrestrial, so the deal lookscostly. But Big Machine supplies only a small proportion of Clear Channel s music. Andpaying a share of ad revenues hurts less than paying per song. The idea is to see what thisdoes to the bottom line before negotiating with other labels.

　　清晰頻道的聽(tīng)眾中只有2%來(lái)自數(shù)字廣播，另外的98%來(lái)自地面廣播，因此這項(xiàng)協(xié)議看上去代價(jià)很高。但大機(jī)器的節(jié)目在清晰頻道播放的音樂(lè)中所占比例很小。而且，交出一部分廣告收入比按歌付費(fèi)輕松。清晰頻道的打算是，先看看這項(xiàng)協(xié)議對(duì)凈收入的影響后再與其他唱片公司談判。

　　The deal may also reflect anxiety on Clear Channel s part. Its leveraged buy-out in 2008,just before the ad market collapsed, has left it heavily in hock. It has enough cash to keepthings humming for a few years, but in 2023 debts of $12.1 billion fall due. The company willprobably need a maturity extension. There s no way to pay that, says Melissa Link ofFitch, a ratings agency. They need growth.

　　這項(xiàng)協(xié)議可能也反映了清晰頻道方面的擔(dān)憂。2008年，它在廣告市場(chǎng)崩潰前舉債收購(gòu)，這使之負(fù)債沉重。幾年內(nèi)它尚有足夠的資金周轉(zhuǎn)，但2023年有一筆121億美元的債務(wù)到期。該公司或?qū)⑿枰悠趦攤；葑u(yù)評(píng)級(jí)公司的梅利莎林克說(shuō)： 錢他們肯定還不了，他們需要發(fā)展。

　　All eyes are now watching to see whether Clear Channel can make money from digital radio.It already has iHeartRadio, an internet network launched in 2008, which relies on ads ratherthan subscriptions. In September 2011 the network began offering customisable playlists,like Pandora. It offers 11m songs, compared with Pandora s 900,000-but has only a tenth ofits rival s listeners. The big source of growth is among smartphone buyers, who account for70% of Pandora s streaming. Yet Pandora also relies heavily on advertising , and mobiles have proven difficult for ad sales.

　　人人都在關(guān)注清晰頻道是否能通過(guò)數(shù)字電臺(tái)賺錢。他們已在2008年開(kāi)通了線上網(wǎng)站 網(wǎng)絡(luò)電臺(tái) ，該網(wǎng)站靠廣告而不是靠聽(tīng)眾付費(fèi)賺錢。2011年9月 網(wǎng)絡(luò)電臺(tái) 開(kāi)始像潘多拉一樣提供可由聽(tīng)眾點(diǎn)播的播放列表，表中包括1100萬(wàn)首歌。相比之下潘多拉的播放列表中只有90萬(wàn)首歌，但聽(tīng)眾卻是網(wǎng)絡(luò)電臺(tái)的10倍。智能電話的擁有者是發(fā)展聽(tīng)眾的重大來(lái)源，他們占潘多拉聽(tīng)眾的70%。但潘多拉對(duì)廣告的依賴程度也很高，而事實(shí)業(yè)已證明，手機(jī)廣告作用不明顯。

　　Second only to television in its reach, terrestrial radio does not face much of a threat fromdigital, especially given the royalty burden on digital providers. Air-wave radio has held on tolisteners, because it remains free and convenient, particularly for car-bound commuters.Though carmakers are starting to integrate digital-radio platforms, streaming audio can eatup most mobile data plans. It is not expected to steal many listeners soon. But for artists, theClear Channel deal has hit the right note.

　　受眾僅次于電視的地面電臺(tái)沒(méi)有受到數(shù)字電臺(tái)的威脅，考慮到數(shù)字電臺(tái)需要付出的高額版權(quán)使用費(fèi)后尤其如此。無(wú)線電臺(tái)能夠抓住聽(tīng)眾，因?yàn)樗鼈兊墓?jié)目依舊免費(fèi)，而且特別方便駕車上下班的人。盡管汽車制造商正開(kāi)始在汽車收音機(jī)里添加數(shù)字無(wú)線電平臺(tái)，但流式音頻能擊敗大部分移動(dòng)數(shù)據(jù)計(jì)劃。人們認(rèn)為流式音頻還不會(huì)很快搶走大量聽(tīng)眾，但對(duì)藝術(shù)家來(lái)說(shuō)，清晰頻道的協(xié)議效果良好。