线上演唱会（上）

Culture.

文化。

Live music.

现场音乐。

The new ventriloquists.

新口技艺人。

The profitable rise of the work-from-home rock star.

居家摇滚明星有利可图的崛起。

Thursday night and the lights are low, as the four members of ABBA, one of the most successful musical acts in history, take to the stage for the first time in nearly 40 years.

周四晚上，灯光昏暗，史上最成功的音乐团体之一--阿巴乐队的四名成员近40年来首次登上舞台。

Or do they?

真的吗？

To the crowd at a purpose-built arena in east London, ABBA's quartet--Agnetha, Bjorn, Benny and Anni-Frid--look authentic, their sequinned dresses and feathered mullets swaying to the beat provided by a live band.

在伦敦东部一个专门建造的剧场内，阿巴乐队的四名成员--阿格妮莎、比约恩、本尼和安妮-弗里德--在人群面前看起来很逼真，他们的亮片裙和羽毛感胭脂鱼发型随着现场乐队的节拍摇摆。

Yet the singers are computer-generated illusions, captured as they looked in 1979, and their voices a blend of recordings from nearly half a century ago.

然而，这些歌手都是电脑合成的影像，用的是他们1979年的样子，声音混合了他们近50年前的录音。

The virtual “Abbatars”, who played their first concert on May 26th, will perform seven shows a week while the human band members stay at home and collect the royalties.

这个虚拟乐队“Abbatars”于5月26日举行了他们的第一场演唱会，他们将每周演出7场，与此同时，真人乐队的成员则待在家里收取版税。

Concertgoers got used to digital performances during the lockdowns of 2020-21, when in-person gigs were not possible.

在2020-2021年的封锁期间，现场演出是不可能的事情，演唱会观众已经习惯了数字表演。

Since the relaxation of covid rules, people have returned to shows in person.

自从新冠规定放宽后，人们重新回归现场演出。

But even as live music roars back, some digital innovations are here to stay.

但是，即使现场音乐卷土重来，一些数字创新仍将继续存在。

Selling tickets to online video-streams of live gigs has become standard.

销售现场演出的线上视频直播门票已经得到广泛认可。

Online gaming platforms are experimenting with hybrid music-gaming experiences.

线上游戏平台正在尝试混合音乐游戏的体验。

Musicians are realising that, pandemic or not, there is money to be made in performing gigs without being physically in front of the audience.

音乐家们意识到，无论有没有疫情，在不出现在观众面前的情况下表演都有钱赚。

ABBA's extraordinary new show, “Voyage”, goes even further.

阿巴乐队不同凡响的新演出《航海》走得更远。

It demonstrates the potential for a new category of event that is at once in-person and virtual.

它展示了一种新型活动的潜力，这种活动既是面对面的，也是虚拟的。

ABBA's reanimation took six years and cost 140m pounds ($175m), a third of which went on the high-tech London stadium.

阿巴乐队的回归花了六年时间，花费了1.4亿英镑(1.75亿美元)，其中三分之一花在了高科技的伦敦体育场。

The band members spent five weeks performing on a stage in Stockholm, in front of 160 cameras operated by Industrial Light and Magic, a visual-effects company that has previously brought to life Jedi knights and Avengers.

在斯德哥尔摩的一个舞台上，乐队成员花了五个星期的时间在工业光魔公司操作的160台摄像机前表演，工业光魔公司是一家视觉效果公司，此前曾让绝地武士和复仇者联盟栩栩如生。

Their rejuvenated virtual selves are eerily real: dancing, jiving and, between songs, joshing with the crowd (virtual Benny insisting that he is the real thing: “I just look very good for my age”).

他们焕发活力的虚拟影像真实得可怕：他们会跳舞、摇摆、在歌曲之间与观众开玩笑(虚拟的本尼坚称自己是真实的：“我只是保养得好而已”)。

On the opening night the audience, which included the king and queen of Sweden, suspended their disbelief, unselfconsciously cheering and applauding what was, strictly speaking, an empty stage.

在首演当晚，包括瑞典国王和王后在内的观众放下了他们的怀疑，不自觉地为这个严格来说空荡荡的舞台欢呼和鼓掌。

Most high-tech concerts are nothing like as sophisticated as the ABBA show.

大多数高科技演唱会完全没有阿巴乐队演唱会那样复杂。

But basic digital services are changing the economics of even ordinary gigs.

但基础数字服务甚至正在改变普通演唱会的经济状况。

In the early days of lockdown, singers live-streamed impromptu concerts from their bedrooms on online video platforms such as Twitch.

在封锁初期，歌手们通过Twitch等线上视频平台，在卧室里直播即兴演唱会。

They soon realised that, when competing for screen time with the likes of Netflix, “you need it to look as cinematic and as spectacular as the latest blockbuster,” says Ric Salmon of Driift, one of several firms that sprang up in 2020 to help musicians stream professional-looking gigs.

他们很快意识到，与网飞这样的公司争夺屏幕时间时，“你需要让它看起来像最新的大片一样壮观、让观众感觉像在看电影”Driift的里克·萨尔蒙说。Driift是2020年涌现的几家帮助音乐人展现专业演出的公司之一。

As shows got slicker they charged more: whereas in April 2020 only about 1% of live-streamed concerts were ticketed, 18 months later nearly half were, at an average price of $16, says Tatiana Cirisano of MIDiA Research, a firm of analysts.

分析公司MIDiA Research的塔蒂亚娜·西里萨诺表示，随着演出越来越娴熟，他们的收费也越来越高：2020年4月，只有约1%的现场直播演唱会有票，18个月后，将近一半的演唱会有票，平均票价为16美元。

The number of live streams fell by about half last year, as life got back to normal.

随着生活恢复正常，去年的视频直播数量减少了一半左右。

But acts have continued to make money from online gigs—and they expect to make more.

但艺人们继续通过线上演唱会赚钱--他们还希望赚得更多。

In March BTS, a Korean pop sensation, streamed a concert for 2.4m paying viewers online and in cinemas.

今年3月，韩国流行乐坛轰动一时的防弹少年团在网上和电影院为240万付费观众直播了一场演唱会。

By 2028, according to MIDiA, live-streamed concerts will generate $4bn-5bn a year, more than at the height of the pandemic.

MIDiA的数据显示，到2028年，现场直播演唱会每年将产生40亿至50亿美元的收入，高于疫情最严重的时期。

Last year Live Nation, the biggest live-entertainment company, acquired Veeps, a live-streaming startup.

去年，最大的直播娱乐公司Live Nation收购了直播初创公司Veeps。

Spotify and Deezer, subscription music services, have both done deals with Driift.

订阅音乐服务平台Spotify和Deezer都与Driift达成了交易。