騰訊與華納達成音樂授權協議

In the music industry’s latest effort to make money from China, the Warner Music Group has signed an extensive licensing deal with Tencent, one of China’s biggest Internet businesses, the companies announced on Thursday.

華納音樂集團(Warner Music Group)和中國最大的互聯網企業之一騰訊在週四宣佈，雙方簽署了一項廣泛的授權協議。這是音樂產業爲從中國賺錢而做出的最新動作。

Not long ago, Western record companies viewed China as a market largely ruined by piracy. But, in recent years, labels have struck several deals with Chinese Internet companies and mobile carriers to reduce piracy and license music legitimately, most prominently with the search giant Baidu in 2011.

不久前，西方唱片公司認爲，中國市場基本上被盜版毀了。但最近幾年，唱片公司與中國互聯網企業和移動運營商簽署了多項協議，以減少盜版，合法地對音樂進行授權，其中最著名的是2011年與搜索巨頭百度簽訂的協議。

Still, those efforts have yielded little revenue. According to the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry, a trade group, recorded music sales in China brought just $83 million in wholesale revenue last year, making the nation the 21st most valuable market in the world, below India and Denmark. By comparison, South Korea yielded $211 million last year and Japan $3 billion, according to the federation.

然而，這些舉措產生的收益微乎其微。行業組織國際唱片業協會(International Federation of the Phonographic Industry)稱，去年唱片業在中國取得的批發銷售收入僅有8300萬美元（約合5億元人民幣）。根據這個數字，中國在全世界最具價值市場的排名中居於第21位，名列印度和丹麥之後。與其形成對比的是，該協會的數據顯示，韓國去年的音樂批發銷售收入爲2.11億美元，日本爲30億美元。

With its new deal, Warner — whose roster includes stars like Bruno Mars, the Red Hot Chili Peppers and Linkin Park — will grant licenses for Tencent to use its music through Tencent’s various outlets online. Those include the QQ Music streaming service but may also lead to innovative uses like Warner’s music in Tencent’s hugely popular gaming and mobile messaging platforms, the companies said.

根據新簽訂的協議，華納將授權騰訊在各個在線平臺使用自己的音樂。華納旗下藝人包括布魯諾·馬爾斯(Bruno Mars)、紅辣椒(Red Hot Chili Peppers)和林肯公園(Linkin Park)等明星。兩家公司稱，許可的平臺包括流媒體服務QQ音樂，但也可能會進行一些創新性的使用，如在騰訊廣受歡迎的遊戲和移動即時通訊平臺上使用華納的音樂。

China, which has a population of 1.36 billion, has some 632 million Internet users, according to one recent study. Tencent says that its mobile messaging platform has 820 million active users in China.

最近的一項調查顯示，中國擁有13.6億人口，互聯網用戶達6.32億人。騰訊稱，該公司的移動通訊平臺在中國擁有8.2億活躍用戶。

“In the end, China isn’t defined by the fact it’s currently an $80 million market,” said Stu Bergen, the president of international recorded music at Warner. “It’s defined by the potential of having over 800 million people — more than twice the size of the U.S.— using Tencent’s Messenger platform and creating a legitimate, long-term, rational music ecosystem that encourages artistry and entrepreneurial investment.”

“最終，中國的定位不會侷限於目前價值8000萬美元的市場規模，”華納唱片國際業務總裁斯圖·伯根(Stu Bergen)說。“而是在於它的潛力，這裏有超過8億人——美國人口的兩倍多——使用騰訊的通訊平臺，可以創造一個合法的、長期的、合理的音樂生態系統，鼓勵藝術創作和企業投資。”

The deal includes an unusual provision giving Tencent the right to distribute Warner’s catalog to “all legitimate local Chinese audio services,” the companies said, with the exception of mobile carriers, which are licensed by Warner Music China.

兩家公司透露，協議中一條罕有的條款授權騰訊向“中國所有合法的音頻服務”發行華納的音樂，但移動運營商除外，後者獲得了華納音樂中國的授權。

The licensing deal includes some revenue guarantees for Warner, which is controlled by the Russian-born billionaire Leonard Blavatnik. Other terms were not disclosed.

該授權協議對華納提供了一些收入保障，華納公司目前歸俄羅斯億萬富翁列昂納德·布拉瓦特尼克(Leonard Blavatnik)所有。其他條款沒有對外公佈。

Tencent, based in Shenzhen, China, is considered a major power in mobile gaming and messaging. Its parent company, Tencent Holdings, had $9.9 billion in revenue in 2013, and is listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange with a market capitalization of $150 billion.

總部位於深圳的騰訊公司被認爲是移動遊戲及通訊方面的主導公司。其母公司騰訊控股2013年的收入達到了99億美元，該公司在香港交易所(Hong Kong Stock Exchange)上市，市值達到1500億美元。

Warner’s deal with Tencent follows its purchase this year of Gold Typhoon, a Hong Kong-based label with popular acts throughout China, Hong Kong and Taiwan, including the singers Kay Tse, David Tao and Khalil Fong.

今年，華納在與騰訊達成交易之前，收購了香港唱片公司金牌大風(Gold Typhoon)，該公司的音樂作品在中國內地、香港和臺灣非常受歡迎，比如歌手謝安琪(Kay Tse)、陶喆(David Tao)和方大同(Khalil Fong)。