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.

貝裏，一個「狡猾的商人」，他的手裡掌握著許多專輯的版權。因為他有個本領，能夠領會合同中複雜的條款。對於事業剛剛起步的藝人或者在青少年時就簽約唱片公司的，他們一般都還沒有商人這樣狡猾聰明的頭腦，這使公司可以利用這一點。

「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.」

他說到：「這一直都是場混戰，但一些擁有巨大影響力的人正在站出來發聲，這一點具有進步意義。如果這些有著廣泛影響力的人團結在一起並為公平的規則發聲，這將會非常偉大。」

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.

據巴爾多里所說：這些事業剛剛起步的藝人們通常是和那些已經處理合同數十年的唱片公司協商。他提到：「隨著時間的推移，這對藝人越來越不利。你毫無手段和經驗，進入這個行業後你會發現真的什麼都不知道。」

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.

巴爾多里說到：「然而在風險方面，許多藝人是清楚地瞭解的。他們在與唱片公司協商時的確沒有經驗見識，因為這需要一定水平的專業知識。」他還說到：「對於讓這一系統能夠成功有效地運作，有個例子，就是說唱歌手邁克摩爾。」邁克摩爾在自己發行音樂後名聲大噪，隨後他用粉絲的支持去為自己的協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.

這件事變得更加複雜是因為音樂產業中新興技術的影響。更加年輕的藝人發行音樂時可以避開協商合同這一步，比如通過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.

巴爾多里說到：「阿曼達·帕爾默是這些能夠避開簽約唱片公司的藝人之一，他們跳過了這些更加傳統的通往成功的道路。」帕爾默在Patreon網站和其他平臺上有著大量的關注。儘管在主流中不是非常出名，但是他演出的票總是可以售空。巴爾多里又說到：像這樣的藝人，那些在網上很出名但是在其他地方卻沒被聽說過，正在大量地增長著。並且正通過獨立的方式賺錢，比如通過周邊和現場演出。

「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.」

「有很多藝術家，通過自己創作的音樂作品賺了幾百萬」 他說道：「其實在30或者40年前，音樂行業要統一得多。」

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?斯威夫特因自己的專輯被賣給了斯科特·布勞恩這件事，讓她感到很難過。她的這一舉動在社交媒體上引發了強烈的反響，並得到了熱烈的支持。與此同時在流行音樂界引發了分歧，尤其是在布勞恩的客戶中。

「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.」

「這不能再糟糕了，這就是當你在15歲時與某個認為「忠誠」這個詞只是說著玩玩，僅為一個合同概念的人簽約後發生的事。」泰勒?斯威夫特在湯不熱上寫道：「當我把自己的音樂母帶作品留給Scott的時候，我就已經選擇了接受他會把這些版權賣掉的事實。但在我所有最糟糕的噩夢中，我都沒有想到他會賣給斯科特·布勞恩」

Braun did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

斯科特·布勞恩至今沒有並回應這些說法。

推薦閱讀：