Björn Ulvaeus: How music streaming transformed songwriting | TED

Transcriber:

Translator: Tracy Hui Reviewer: Thomas Tam

開始前，我想引用一句話

但係我唔知喺邊度嚟 所以好尷尬

不過佢講得好好：

I'd like to start with a quote,

「版權唔單止係對創作人公平

but it's very embarrassing because I don't know where it comes from.

亦可促進科學 藝術以及文化發展

But it's very well put, and it goes like this:

"Copyright is designed not only to provide fairness for authors,

提升整個社會嘅生活質素。」

but also to enhance the quality of life within a society

換句話說

依家全球社會當務之急嘅係

by promoting the progress of science, art and culture."

令創作者喺經濟條件許可下創作

In other words,

the concept of making it economically feasible for creators to create

我冇咩關於寫歌詞嘅回憶

is now globally recognized as a social imperative.

但係有個喺好耐之前嘅特別記憶

I have very few memories writing lyrics to songs.

我趴喺間細客房床上面

But there is a particular one from long ago that I do remember.

面前有本簿

隔離主人房入便

I was lying on my stomach on a bed in a small guest room

有我當時嘅老婆 Agnetha 瞓得好稔

with a writing pad in front of me.

In the master bedroom next door,

喺我個腦入便 有段音樂唔停噉播緊

my then wife, Agnetha, was sleeping undisturbed.

所以唔需要喇叭 甚至係耳筒

仍然冇歌詞嘅旋律 係未開發嘅領域

The music was playing in my head,

so no need for speakers, not even headphones.

作詞人必須小心噉處理

A melody that still lacks words is virgin territory

有時候喺紙上最後嘅歌詞

upon which a lyricist must tread lightly.

係作詞人深思熟慮嘅結果

Some of the time, the final words on the page

詞曲作家亦應該學識相信直覺

are the result of hard work, deep thought

不過有時會發生 意想不到嘅事

and the intuition that a songwriter must learn to trust.

拉埋咗嘅窗簾，會突然間打開 旋律會浮現喺腦海

But sometimes, extraordinary things happen;

然後開始聯想起 不同嘅圖像同連串事件

closed curtains are suddenly drawn, and the melody speaks to you

你只需要寫低 見到啲咩

and starts to conjure up images and even sequences of events.

音樂創作人係 逐啲逐啲噉完成一首歌

All you have to do is write it down, write down what you witnessed.

但係間唔中會 突然間全部彈出嚟

A song can come to its creator in bits and pieces.

歌詞似乎喺腦裏便徘徊咗好耐

But when it once in a while appears out of thin air in its entirety,

亦或者係一直都好心急

it seems to suggest it had already lingered there, God knows how long,

想俾聽覺靈敏嘅人聽到

perhaps impatiently waiting to be plucked down

就好似透過思維境界 穿過咗啱嘅渠道嚟到地球

by someone with a keen and sensitive ear,

as if it needed the right vessel to flow through

我完成嗰陣就極之開心

from the realm of ideas all the way down to earth.

我感激音樂本身

I was deliriously happy when I had finished.

感激呢種難以捉摸 無法定義嘅現象、純粹存在

At that moment, I was grateful for music itself,

冇經過我哋嘅大腦 就直接進入內心

for the sheer existence of this elusive, undefinable phenomenon

我好想大聲唱出嚟 但係嗰陣係凌晨兩點鐘

that seems to ignore our brains and go straight to our hearts.

雖然樂極忘形

都唔想整醒個老婆 第二日佢會唱我嘅歌

I wanted to sing it out loud, but it was two o'clock in the morning,

and even in my euphoria,

如果今日我同 Benny Andersson 作嗰首歌

I had the good sense not to wake the woman who was to sing my words the next day.

你可能唔會有機會聽到

由於佢只係其中一首——

If Benny Andersson and I had written that song today,

每日有八萬首上載到串流平台嘅新歌 呢首歌可能又係幻滅嘅創作夢想

you might not have gotten to hear it.

It could have been just another lost dream,

[one of] about 80,000 new songs uploaded to streaming services

今時今日嘅競爭激烈

比 1977 年更加厲害

every single day.

The competition today is fierce,

就算 Spotify 用戶經常點擊我哋嘅歌

much fiercer than it was back in 1977.

專利費絕對交唔起任何人嘅租屋錢

And even if our song had been clicked very often by Spotify subscribers,

今日我想講嘅係

chances are slim that the royalties would have paid anyone's rent.

喺比較簡單同容易 預測嘅樂壇做詞曲創作人

So what I want to talk to you about today

is how I see the changes in the song economy

點樣睇歌曲經濟嘅改變

using my perspective of what it was like to be a songwriter

依家所有嘅嘢 都係用數據記低

when the music industry was simpler and perhaps more predictable.

數據話俾我哋知

串流平台嘅聽眾通常都係聽 佢哋鐘意嘅歌

These days, everything is tracked by our data.

而唔係鐘意嘅歌手

And data from streaming tells us

that listeners much more often click their favorite song

佢地有時甚至唔係好肯定 聽緊邊個歌手嘅歌

than their favorite artist

如果係音樂播放列表

on a streaming service.

如果我哋更加關心首歌嘅話

Sometimes they're not even sure who it is they're listening to,

噉詞曲作家呢？

if it's a playlist, for example.

詞曲作家 一路都唔俾人重視

So if we're paying more attention to the song, though,

what about the songwriter?

Songwriters have been forced into the back seat,

我擔心佢哋會係 改變下嘅受害者

and I would even say, bungled into the trunk.

My concern is that songwriters are at risk of becoming invisible victims

現在音樂嘅產業 變咗係歌曲經濟

但係創作首歌嘅人得益最小

of the change that is taking place.

The music business is now a song economy.

究竟件事係點樣發生㗎？

Yet the creators of the songs that fuel it get the smallest slice of the pie.

我暫時唔會建議讓時光倒流

How did that happen?

噉樣做，你哋會懷疑係 出自過氣流行歌星嗰把口

I am not, for one moment, about to suggest that we should turn back the clock,

不過喺過去十年發生嘅事

有機會對詞曲創作人 產生難以置信嘅積極影響

which you may have suspected from an old pop star.

但係我依家會講下串流革命

But what's happened in the last decade

has the potential to be incredibly positive for songwriters.

帶嚟意想不到嘅後果

點樣改變詞曲作家嘅生活

Now, instead, I'm going to describe the unintended consequences

之後，我會表達啲方案

of the streaming revolution,

去解決帶嚟意想不到嘅影響

how they are reshaping the lives of songwriters.

And then, I will present some proposals

我哋依家有個 寫作同製作音樂最佳嘅時機

for how the impact of these unintended consequences can be addressed.

任何人都會有機會 搵到全球嘅觀眾

It has never been a better time to be writing and making music.

如果佢哋想

自己仲可以嘗試做 就唔使靠唱片公司或者音樂出版商

Anyone today has the potential to find a global audience,

and if they so choose,

成個音樂軟件產業正在掘起

they can even try to do that on their own, without a record label or music publisher.

為新一代嘅詞曲創作人服務

A whole music software industry is emerging,

串流形成咗新嘅音樂模式

serving the needs of a new generation of artists and songwriters.

自從 2020 年因疫情關係 現場音樂表演停咗

Streaming has enabled this new music paradigm.

好多藝人都發現 單靠串流平台係搵唔到食

Once the pandemic stopped live music in 2020,

有啲藝人要返去同父母一齊住

many artists realized that they couldn't pay their bills on streaming alone.

有啲就揸 Ubers 勉強維持生計

Some have moved back in with their parents,

喺以前串流唔多唔少 都係宣傳佢哋嘅巡迴同現場表演

and others are driving Ubers to make ends meet.

呢啲表演佔佢哋大部分嘅收入

Previously, streaming had more or less been promotion for their tours,

有趣嘅係，喺 70 年代 對 Abba 嚟講就相反啦

and live appearances, by far providing most of their revenue.

我哋嗰陣好少做巡迴表演 如果做，我地就會蝕錢

It's funny, but it was exactly the opposite for Abba in the 70s.

不過意思係巡迴表演 原本係用嚟宣傳專輯

We hardly toured at all, and when we did, we lost money.

所以冇乜所謂

再加上我都唔記得 我哋有冇埋怨過專利費嘅數額

But, I mean, the touring was supposed to be promotion for the album

但喺疫情期間啲音樂創作人好辛苦

so that didn't matter.

And I can't recall that we ever complained about the size of our royalties,

串流同專利費突然變成咗 佢哋唯一嘅收入來源

which the artists, during the pandemic, have done bitterly,

我諗：「如果呢啲係對藝人嘅影響，」

when streaming and royalties suddenly were the only source of income.

「歡迎嚟到詞曲作家嘅世界。」

好多專業音樂創作人都冇巡迴演出

"If this is the impact on artists," I thought,

佢哋唔會賣 T恤同其他產品

"welcome to the world of songwriters."

佢哋係靠首歌搵食

Most professional songwriters don't tour,

但係連呢樣嘢都喺度改變緊

they don't sell T-shirts or other merchandise ...

因為串流嘅關係而喺度演變緊

They rely on the song itself.

亦都越嚟越多唱片公司

But even that seems to be changing,

because the song has evolved in response to streaming,

同一大班詞曲作家合作

創造出幾乎話係基因改造嘅流行曲

and it's increasingly common for record labels

歌曲嘅編寫同結構方式係針對 串流平台所用嘅演算法去寫出嚟

to get large teams of songwriters to work together,

creating almost genetically modified hits.

演算法仲決定埋我同你聽咩音樂

Songs are written and structured in ways

that are optimized for the algorithms that streaming services use

近日有啲研究指出

to decide what music you and I listen to.

依家全美公告牌排行榜頭十首熱門歌曲 平均有五位創作人合寫

Some research has been done to suggest that these days,

而唔係一兩位，係五位 有時仲甚至係十位

a Billboard Top 10 hit has, on average, five songwriters --

除咗噉，佢哋仲要 寫多啲歌同寫得快啲

只係為咗跟得上串流平台嘅需求 創造出無窮無盡嘅新音樂

not one or two, but five -- and sometimes even 10.

And on top of this, they’re having to write more songs and more quickly,

自從 ABBA 喺 1974 年 以《 滑鐵盧》贏咗歐洲歌唱比賽之後

simply to keep up with the insatiable demand

for new music that streaming creates.

突然間多咗好多版權費

After ABBA had won the Eurovision Song Contest in 1974 with "Waterloo,"

跟住我同 Benny 就可以全職寫歌

朝九晚五

royalties suddenly came pouring in,

做咗呢樣嘢之後，有好多唔同

and Benny and I could afford to write songs full time,

我哋寫嘅 95% 歌詞都可以唔要

nine-to-five.

That made such a huge difference.

淨係留返最好嘅歌詞

We could afford to throw away 95 percent of what we wrote

我哋學識咗分辨唔好嘅歌詞

如果你想作到更好嘅歌詞 呢樣技巧係必須嘅

and just keep the very, very best.

We learned how to recognize garbage,

版權費淨係提供咗 時間同創作自由

and that's essential if you want to get good at your craft.

唔使講，你唔會有呢啲嘅嘢

Royalties simply gave us time and creative freedom.

如果你時間倉猝 再加上有人時刻監視住你

Needless to say, you will have neither

業界令好多詞曲創作人 更難建立持續嘅職業生涯

if you’re in a hurry and someone is breathing down your neck all the time.

The industrial approach to songwriting is making it harder

成功嘅就會好成功

for many songwriters to build sustainable careers.

無咁成功嘅，但曾經 以創作詞曲為生嘅人

Those that are successful are very successful,

真係好辛苦

but those in the layers below,

佢地變咗服務嗰個系統 而唔係系統服務佢哋

who used to be able to make a living from songwriting,

are really suffering.

呢度有三個關鍵嘅痛點

They are becoming parts of a system that they serve more than it serves them.

首先，串流服務俾錄音嘅錢

And here are three key pain points.

係歌曲作品嘅四倍

Firstly, streaming services typically pay out about four times more

即係話詞曲作家喺線上 收聽收入比藝人還要少

for the recording than they do the composition,

呢樣係以前留低嘅問題

which means a streaming income is even smaller for songwriters

當時錄音同實體產品都係好貴

than it is for artists.

所以錄音佔多啲收入都係合理

It's a legacy from the past,

when recordings and the packaging of physical products were very expensive,

但依家唔同咗

呢啲改變仲未反映 喺點分配版權費

so a larger share for the recording was justified.

第二

But that has changed.

連串流服務點俾版權費都係有問題

But the change has not yet been reflected in the division of royalties.

每個月 9.99 美元嘅訂閱費會先俾中央處理

Secondly,

even the way that streaming services pay royalties is problematic.

然後根據嗰個月嘅網絡流量分配

A listener’s monthly 9.99 subscription goes into a central pot,

決定咗每一次下載流量或者收聽嘅價值

which then gets divided by the total number of streams that month.

即係話如果你有聽 Arne Jansen 嘅爵士三重奏

That decides the value of one stream, or listen.

喺過去嗰個月 聽咗呢首歌 50 次

This means that you if you have streamed Arne Jansen's jazz trio,

而你鄰居個女聽咗 Justin Bieber 首歌 5,000 次

if you have done that 50 times in the past month,

你嘅 9.99 美元只有一小部份 係俾 Arne Jansen

and the neighbor’s teenage daughter has streamed Justin Bieber 5,000 times,

Justin Bieber 冇做錯任何嘢

only a small fraction of your 9.99 will go to Arne Jansen.

但係又點可以支持 你最鍾意嘅藝人呢？

另外一個大問題係 好差嘅元數據

Nothing wrong with Justin Bieber,

but how does that reward your favorite artist?

元數據係指首歌同埋 有關佢錄音嘅資訊

And thirdly, bad metadata is a big problem,

好多時加入串流服務嘅錄音

metadata being the relevant information about a song and its recording.

有關資料都係唔準確

例如係漏咗創作人個名

Very often, recordings are injected into a streaming service

亦即係話串流服務唔知道 應該傳送版權費去俾邊個

without accurate data.

The name of the writer is missing, for instance.

所以啲錢就放咗喺所謂嘅「黑盒」

That means that the streaming service doesn't know where to send the royalties,

即係擺咗喺度

最近

20 間串流服務 發放咗 42.4 億美元

and the money is put in a so-called "black box."

Just sits there.

去美國一間非牟利機構

Recently,

20 streaming services distributed 424 million dollars

原意係搵返應該收嗰筆錢啲人

to a US nonprofit organization,

件事將需要數年時間—— 若果找到佢哋嘅話

which is supposed to try and find the rightful recipients of all that money.

所有問題加起上嚟

正喺為詞曲作家創造一場完美風暴

It will take years -- if they ever find them.

過去十年，我見到嘅情況 只係越嚟越差

The combination of all these issues and others

are creating a perfect storm for songwriters.

而喺最近五年

Over the last decade, I've watched this situation get progressively worse.

我有參與解決呢啲問題嘅計劃

And during the past five years,

噉我可以點幫呢？

首先

I've been engaged in projects that aim to do something about it.

有你哋今日喺到聽我講

So how can I help?

當然我係想做啲嘢 引起關注

Well, first of all,

但係我唔淨止想更多人關注

I have you all here today listening to me,

and that's, of course, what I want to do -- to raise awareness.

我亦想幫助業界確定解決嘅方案

But I want to do more than just raise awareness of the issues.

呢度係好多項建議嘅其中幾項

I also want to help the industry identify solutions.

第一：以粉絲為中心嘅專利費

And here are a few suggestions,

為咗確保所有詞曲創作人公平得到收入

out of many.

One: fan-centric royalties.

我建議串流服務以每位聽眾嘅行為

In order to ensure that all songwriters get paid fairly,

分配專利費

I suggest that streaming services allocate their royalty payments

每人得到嘅都應該係除以

based on the behavior of individual listeners.

每位聽眾每個月聽咗幾多首歌

The individual description should be divided by the number of songs

令到每首歌都有價值

the individual listener has played during a month.

假如訂閱費係 9.99 美元

而個聽眾都係喺嗰個月 聽咗 10 次 Arne Jansen

That gives each song a value.

If the subscription is 9.99,

每首歌值 0.99 美元 差唔多係一蚊

and the listener has played 10 Arne Jansen, again,

呢個將會係俾 Arne Jansen 嘅數目

songs that month,

each song has the value of .99, almost a dollar,

根據現時系統

你可以肯定 Arne 會得到

and that's the amount that will be paid to Arne Jansen.

大概 0.00 美元

Under the current system,

所以呢項以粉絲為中心嘅方法 去分配專利費係更加公平

you can be sure that Arne would get

the value of .00-something dollars.

亦都以 Deezer 同 SoundCloud 首先開始為基礎

So this fan-centric approach to royalties will bring much-needed fairness

不過要改善串流服務專利費

and can build on the important starts made by Deezer and SoundCloud.

最簡單同最有效嘅方法可能係

串流平台收多啲錢

But perhaps the simplest and most effective way

to improve streaming royalties

串流服務已經有多過十年都係 9.99 美元

would be for streaming services to increase how much they charge.

但係 Netflix 就好似每星期都加價

Streaming pricing has been stuck at ridiculous 9.99 for more than a decade.

研究顯示訂閱咗嘅人會俾多啲

Meanwhile, Netflix seems to increase its pricing every week.

9.99 美元好容易 就會變成 11.99 美元

甚至係 12.99 美元

Research shows that subscribers will pay more;

第三：係就係麻煩啲 但係必須要註冊

9.99 could quite easily become 11.99,

perhaps even 12.99.

無論嗰八萬首新歌 係喺邊度打入咗音樂市場

And thirdly: the tedious but absolutely necessary registration.

都應該要有簡單易用嘅註冊網站

Wherever the 80,000 new songs per day make their entry into the music industry,

確保盡早記低嗰個作品嘅相關資料

there should be user-friendly registration portals

噉樣就會減低 黑盒問題同矛盾喇

to make sure that relevant information about the work is captured early.

我認為呢樣係集體管理組織嘅義務

This would diminish the problem with black boxes and conflicts.

佢哋係負責收取創作人嘅版權費

要做到與時並進 及科技現代化嘅系統

In my view, it is an obligation for collecting societies,

who collect creators' royalties at source,

我知道我喺度一口氣講咁多

to modernize and to adapt their technology to the digital age.

關於音樂界嘅建議係好容易——

I know it's easy for me to stand here in front of you

點都會容易過去做呢啲建議

and reel off a list of suggestions for the industry --

不過我哋的確要改變

越快越好

much easier than making these changes happen.

最重要係成個音樂產業嘅改變

But change does need to happen,

and soon.

需要各部分嘅共同努力

Crucially, this change needs to be brought about

首歌同詞曲創作人扮演最重要嘅角色

by the music industry as a whole,

由錄音到現場表演都係

each part working together.

The song and the songwriter fuel everything,

如果隊樂隊冇好歌 T恤都唔會賣得出

from the recording through to live performances,

其中有啲歌 創造咗我嘅回憶

even a T-shirt would not sell if the band hadn't good songs.

係 Everly Brothers

I have created memories to some of those songs,

係 Beatles

Elton John 等等

from the Everly Brothers

有陣時會有讓我感到驚訝 而刺耳嘅歌曲結尾

and then the Beatles,

Elton John and many more,

但好快就會被佢哋純粹嘅美妙調子

songs that sometimes would surprise me with a stab of ending,

同激發起嘅靈感所沖淡

我知道佢哋咩意思

quickly washed away by their sheer beauty

同埋佢哋對我有咩意義

and the inspiration that they gave me.

我成日都喺度諗： 如果我哋冇咗音樂會係點呢？

I know what they mean

and what they meant to me.

我相信係冇咁有人性

I've often wondered: What would we be without music?

如果我哋聽唔到音樂 噉樣仲會對乜嘢充耳不聞呢？

Less human, I'm convinced of that.

不過睇嚟我哋從來都冇諗過

If we couldn't hear music, then what else would we be deaf to?

就算音樂成日都圍繞住我哋

But we never seem to think about that,

依家正係成個樂壇要支持

even though music is all around us all of the time.

呢個無疑係最有價值嘅資產

This is the moment for the entire music industry to invest in supporting

呢個有問題嘅系統 困擾住太多詞曲創作人

what is, without a doubt, its most valuable asset.

我頭先講過嘅解決方法 可以平衡返音樂嘅經濟

Far too many songwriters out there are suffering in this creaking system.

令更多詞曲創作人對聽眾

Solutions like those that I have outlined could help rebalance the song economy

能夠退後一步講

首歌就係我一開始要講嘅嘢

so that more songwriters and their listeners

will be able to lean back and say, in all honesty,

「多謝你嘅音樂。」

exactly what I said in the song that I was talking about in the beginning:

"Thank you for the music."