Berry, an 「astute businessman,」 was able to control much of his catalog because he had a knack for understanding the complex terms of his contracts, Baldori says. For artists just starting out or signing to record labels as teenagers, that business acumen is typically missing, allowing companies to take advantage.

贝里，一个「狡猾的商人」，他的手里掌握著许多专辑的版权。因为他有个本领，能够领会合同中复杂的条款。对于事业刚刚起步的艺人或者在青少年时就签约唱片公司的，他们一般都还没有商人这样狡猾聪明的头脑，这使公司可以利用这一点。

「It』s always been a dogfight,」 he says. 「It』s good that someone with that much clout is standing up and talking about it—it would be great if the ones that have leverage got together and lobbied for fair regulations.」

他说到：「这一直都是场混战，但一些拥有巨大影响力的人正在站出来发声，这一点具有进步意义。如果这些有著广泛影响力的人团结在一起并为公平的规则发声，这将会非常伟大。」

Artists who are just starting outare typically negotiating with labels that have handled contracts for decades,according to Baldori. 「As time passes, it gets more unfavorable to the artist.You』re walking in without any leverage, and you don』t know a thing,」 he says.

据巴尔多里所说：这些事业刚刚起步的艺人们通常是和那些已经处理合同数十年的唱片公司协商。他提到：「随著时间的推移，这对艺人越来越不利。你毫无手段和经验，进入这个行业后你会发现真的什么都不知道。」

While many artists are betterinformed in terms of what』s at stake, they aren』t exactly more savvy aboutnegotiating well with labels because it requires a certain level of expertise,Baldori says. One example of an artist who managed to make the system work isthe rapper Macklemore, Baldori says. Macklemore rose to fame after putting outmusic on his own and then leveraging his fan support to negotiate a better dealfor himself.

巴尔多里说到：「然而在风险方面，许多艺人是清楚地了解的。他们在与唱片公司协商时的确没有经验见识，因为这需要一定水平的专业知识。」他还说到：「对于让这一系统能够成功有效地运作，有个例子，就是说唱歌手迈克摩尔。」迈克摩尔在自己发行音乐后名声大噪，随后他用粉丝的支持去为自己的协商到一份更好的交易。

The issue gets furthercomplicated because of the impact of technology on the music industry. Youngerartists can bypass contract negotiations by putting out their music on theirown, whether on YouTube or through crowdfunding efforts.

这件事变得更加复杂是因为音乐产业中新兴技术的影响。更加年轻的艺人发行音乐时可以避开协商合同这一步，比如通过油管或者其他的方式。

Amanda Palmer is one of the artists who was able to bypass the record labels, Baldori says––skipping the more traditional avenues to success. Palmer has a massive following on Patreon and other platforms and sells out shows, despite not being well known in the mainstream. Artists like that, who are 「huge online」 but unheard of elsewhere, are growing by the dozens, and all are making money through independent means, like merchandise and live shows, Baldori adds.

巴尔多里说到：「阿曼达·帕尔默是这些能够避开签约唱片公司的艺人之一，他们跳过了这些更加传统的通往成功的道路。」帕尔默在Patreon网站和其他平台上有著大量的关注。尽管在主流中不是非常出名，但是他演出的票总是可以售空。巴尔多里又说到：像这样的艺人，那些在网上很出名但是在其他地方却没被听说过，正在大量地增长著。并且正通过独立的方式赚钱，比如通过周边和现场演出。

「There are dozens of artists making millions in their own silos,」 he says says. 「The business was a lot more unified 30 or 40 years ago.」

「有很多艺术家，通过自己创作的音乐作品赚了几百万」 他说道：「其实在30或者40年前，音乐行业要统一得多。」

The sale of Swift』s catalog to Braun cut into personal beefs, with the singer saying she was bullied by Braun. The push by Swift prompted loud support on social media and divided the pop music world, particularly among Braun』s clients.

泰勒?斯威夫特因自己的专辑被卖给了斯科特·布劳恩这件事，让她感到很难过。她的这一举动在社交媒体上引发了强烈的反响，并得到了热烈的支持。与此同时在流行音乐界引发了分歧，尤其是在布劳恩的客户中。

「This is my worst case scenario.This is what happens when you sign a deal at fifteen to someone for whom the term 『loyalty』 is clearly just a contractual concept,」 Swift wrote on Tumblr.「When I left my masters in Scott』s hands, I made peace with the fact that eventually he would sell them. Never in my worst nightmares did I imagine the buyer would be Scooter.」

「这不能再糟糕了，这就是当你在15岁时与某个认为「忠诚」这个词只是说著玩玩，仅为一个合同概念的人签约后发生的事。」泰勒?斯威夫特在汤不热上写道：「当我把自己的音乐母带作品留给Scott的时候，我就已经选择了接受他会把这些版权卖掉的事实。但在我所有最糟糕的噩梦中，我都没有想到他会卖给斯科特·布劳恩」

Braun did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

斯科特·布劳恩至今没有并回应这些说法。

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