雙語達人:各地廣辦音樂節,其中不乏生財之道
Back in April, more than 150, 000 music fans flocked to Indio, Calif., for the Coachella Valley Music and Arts festival. In mid-June, Bonnaroo drew over 100, 000 people to Manchester, Tenn., to see Sir Paul McCartney and R. Kelly, among others. Sasquatch brought droves of people to a far-flung corner of Washington State for a long weekend. Every year, more and more festivals seem to pop up in addition to the dozens of music events that already exist. For every Lollapalooza, Austin City Limits or Riot Fest there's a Governor's Ball, which just held its third festival, or Catalpa Festival, which is in its second year.
今年4月份，超過15萬音樂迷成羣結隊地來到美國加州印第奧，參加柯契拉山谷音樂藝術節(Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival)。6月中旬，波納若音樂節（Bonnaroo）吸引10萬多人來到田納西州曼徹斯特，觀看保羅•麥卡特尼爵士和R. Kelly等明星的精彩演出。在一個悠長的週末，大批樂迷不約而同地趕赴華盛頓州一個遙遠的角落，參加在那裏舉行的野人音樂節（Sasquatch）。除了幾十個已經存在的音樂活動外，每年涌現的其他音樂節似乎越來越多。加入洛拉帕羅扎（Lollapalooza）、奧斯汀城市極限（Austin City Limits）或暴亂盛會（Riot Fest）等音樂節行列的，是一些你或許沒有聽說過的音樂盛宴，比如剛剛舉辦了第三屆的州長舞會（Governor's Ball），以及進入第二個年頭的梓木音樂節（Catalpa Festival）。Why are so many festivals popping up? Because music festivals are big business. Coachella is the most profitable festival in the U.S. Last year it sold 158, 000 tickets and pulled in $47.3 million in revenue, according to Billboard Boxscore. That's up from $17 million in 2007. Tickets for the 2013 festival sold out in 20 minutes. Goldenvoice, which produces the festival, expanded it to two weekends last year, a move that was scoffed at, but is now being replicated by other events. Sasquatch has announced plans to expand to two weekends for 2014 after a "highly successful" 2013 edition, which sold out in a record 90 minutes, according to promoters. Bonnaroo also sold out with regular tickets ranging from $224 to $269, and a pair of VIP tickets -- which include parking and camping perks, exclusive lounges and viewing areas -- going for $1449.50. According to Bonnaroo representatives, the festival has no plans to expand just yet.
爲什麼突然冒出這麼多音樂節？因爲這是一門大生意。柯契拉山谷是美國最賺錢的音樂節。根據Billboard Boxscore的統計數據，這個音樂節去年售出了158,000張門票，斬獲4,730萬美元的收入，遠高於2007年的1,700萬美元。2013年的門票在20分鐘內就宣佈售罄。主辦方Goldenvoice公司去年將柯契拉山谷音樂節擴充，橫跨了兩個週末。儘管此舉受到嘲笑，但其他音樂節正在效仿這種做法。野人音樂節已經宣佈計劃稱，2014年的活動將延長至兩個週末。據推廣方透露，野人音樂節在2013年“大獲成功”，90分鐘內就賣完了門票，創下了新紀錄。波納若音樂節的門票也宣告售罄，音樂節普通票的價格從224至269美元不等，兩張VIP門票（這種門票可享受停車和露營方面的特殊優待、專用休息室和觀賞區）的售價爲1,449.50美元。波納若音樂節的代理商表示，他們目前還沒有擴充計劃。While it's clear that there is money to be made in festivals, for some promoters, there are non-financial reasons to get involved in the festival circuit. For Budweiser (BUD), getting into the festival business was an easy decision. "Our company has had an amazing legacy of being a patron of music, " Paul Chibe, Vice President of U.S Marketing at Anheuser Busch told Fortune. The company had a festival in the 1980s called Superfest , and Chibe wanted to reenter the sphere, which they did last year with their Jay-Z curated Budweiser Made in America Festival, which will take place again in Philadelphia over Labor Day weekend. "I felt like it was important that we reestablish ourselves as a leader in the music industry, " Chibe said. "We did it last year in Philly and ended up being a much bigger success than we ever expected."
音樂節顯然是可以賺錢的，但有些推廣方參與這種活動卻不是因爲錢。涉足音樂節對於百威啤酒（Budweiser）來說是一項非常容易做出的決定。“對於我們的公司來說，贊助音樂活動是一個令人驚奇的傳統，”百威英博公司（Anheuser-Busch）美國市場營銷業務副總裁保羅•奇比接受《財富》雜誌（Fortune）採訪時說。早在上世紀80年代，這家公司就主辦過一個名叫“超級盛會”（Superfest）的音樂節，奇比想重新進入這一領域。百威英博公司去年聯手嘻哈天王Jay-Z主辦了百威美國造音樂節（Budweiser Made in America）。第二屆百威美國造將於勞動節週末在費城舉行。“我覺得，重新樹立我們作爲音樂產業的領導地位是一件非常重要的事情，”奇比說。“去年在費城的活動大獲成功，遠遠超過了我們此前的預期。”
"From a financial standpoint we put more in. We didn't make money on it, " Chibe noted, but that wasn't the point of the festival. Instead Budweiser saw an opportunity to give back to the community via the Budweiser Made in America's festival partnership with United Way, but it was also a way to connect with consumers on a personal level. "Music is a key part of who people are, " Chibe said. "It's a powerful pathway to create relationship with the consumer." He continued, "When people think of great music and the brands that enable it, we want them to think of Budweiser." This year's festival is headlined by Beyoncé and Nine Inch Nails.
奇比指出：“從財務的角度來看，我們投入了很多，並沒有賺到錢。”但賺錢並不是贊助音樂節的主旨。相反，百威啤酒認爲，與聯合勸募會（United Way）聯合打造的百威美國造音樂節不僅是一次反饋社區的機會，也是一種在個人層面連接消費者的方式。“音樂是人類生活的重要組成部分，是與消費者建立關係的強大途徑，”他說。“當人們想到偉大的音樂和打造出這種音樂的品牌時，我們希望他們想到的是百威啤酒。”今年音樂節的焦點明星是碧昂絲和九寸釘樂團（Nine Inch Nails）。
