2019年经济学人 6500亿美元的狂欢--美国娱乐业投资热潮(1)

（单词翻译）

来源于《社论》版块

The $650bn binge

6500亿美元的狂欢

Creative

创造力

Creative destruction in the entertainment business has had blockbuster results

娱乐业的“创造性破坏”取得了惊人的成果

America has seen some spectacular investment booms: think of the railways in the 1860s, Detroit’s car industry in the 1940s or the fracking frenzy¹ in this century. Today the latest bonanza² is in full swing, but instead of steel and sand it involves scripts, sounds, screens and celebrities³. This week Disney launched a streaming service which offers “Star Wars” and other hits from its vast catalogue for $6.99 a month, less than the cost of a DVD. As the business model pioneered by Netflix is copied by dozens of rivals, over 700m subscribers are now streaming video across the planet. Roughly as much cash—over $100bn this year—is being invested in content as it is in America’s oil industry. In total the entertainment business has spent at least $650bn on acquisitions and programming in the past five years.

美国出现了一些引人注目的投资热潮：想想19世纪60年代的铁路，20世纪40年代的底特律汽车工业，或者本世纪对水力压裂的狂热。如今，最新的热潮正如火如荼地进行着，但涉及的不是钢铁和沙子，而是剧本、声音、屏幕和名人。本周，迪士尼推出了一项流媒体服务，以每月6.99美元的价格提供《星球大战》和其他热门影片，这比一张DVD的价格还低。随着Netflix开创的商业模式被数十家竞争对手模仿，目前全球有超过7亿用户在观看流媒体视频。今年大约有超过1000亿美元的现金被投资在内容上，可以对投资在美国石油工业的投资比肩。过去5年，娱乐业在收购和节目制作方面总共花费了至少6500亿美元。

This binge is the culmination⁴ of 20 years of creative destruction. New technologies and ideas have shaken up music, gaming and now television. Today many people associate economic change with deteriorating⁵ living standards: job losses, being ripped-off, or living under virtual monopolies in search and social networks. But this business blockbuster is a reminder⁶ that dynamic markets can benefit consumers with lower prices and better quality. Government has so far had little to do with the boom, but when it inevitably⁷ peaks the state will have a part to play, by ensuring that the market stays open and vibrant⁸.

这场狂欢是20年创造性破坏的高潮。新技术和新思想撼动了音乐、游戏和电视。如今，许多人将经济变化与生活水平的下降联系在一起：失业、被敲竹杠，或生活在搜索和社交网络的虚拟垄断之下。但这部商业大片提醒我们，充满活力的市场能够以更低的价格和更好的质量造福消费者。到目前为止，政府与经济繁荣几乎没有任何关系，但当经济不可避免地达到顶峰时，政府将通过确保市场保持开放和活力而发挥作用。