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In the music industry’s latest effort to make money from China, the Warner Music Group has signed an extensive licensing deal with Tencent, one of China’s biggest Internet businesses, the companies announced on Thursday.
华纳音乐集团(Warner Music Group)和中国最大的互联网企业之一腾讯在周四宣布，双方签署了一项广泛的授权协议。这是音乐产业为从中国赚钱而做出的最新动作。
Not long ago, Western record companies viewed China as a market largely ruined by piracy. But, in recent years, labels have struck several deals with Chinese Internet companies and mobile carriers to reduce piracy and license music legitimately, most prominently with the search giant Baidu in 2011.
不久前，西方唱片公司认为，中国市场基本上被盗版毁了。但最近几年，唱片公司与中国互联网企业和移动运营商签署了多项协议，以减少盗版，合法地对音乐进行授权，其中最著名的是2011年与搜索巨头百度签订的协议。
Still, those efforts have yielded little revenue. According to the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry, a trade group, recorded music sales in China brought just $83 million in wholesale revenue last year, making the nation the 21st most valuable market in the world, below India and Denmark. By comparison, South Korea yielded $211 million last year and Japan $3 billion, according to the federation.
然而，这些举措产生的收益微乎其微。行业组织国际唱片业协会(International Federation of the Phonographic Industry)称，去年唱片业在中国取得的批发销售收入仅有8300万美元（约合5亿元人民币）。根据这个数字，中国在全世界最具价值市场的排名中居于第21位，名列印度和丹麦之后。与其形成对比的是，该协会的数据显示，韩国去年的音乐批发销售收入为2.11亿美元，日本为30亿美元。
With its new deal, Warner — whose roster includes stars like Bruno Mars, the Red Hot Chili Peppers and Linkin Park — will grant licenses for Tencent to use its music through Tencent’s various outlets online. Those include the QQ Music streaming service but may also lead to innovative uses like Warner’s music in Tencent’s hugely popular gaming and mobile messaging platforms, the companies said.
根据新签订的协议，华纳将授权腾讯在各个在线平台使用自己的音乐。华纳旗下艺人包括布鲁诺·马尔斯(Bruno Mars)、红辣椒(Red Hot Chili Peppers)和林肯公园(Linkin Park)等明星。两家公司称，许可的平台包括流媒体服务QQ音乐，但也可能会进行一些创新性的使用，如在腾讯广受欢迎的游戏和移动即时通讯平台上使用华纳的音乐。
China, which has a population of 1.36 billion, has some 632 million Internet users, according to one recent study. Tencent says that its mobile messaging platform has 820 million active users in China.
最近的一项调查显示，中国拥有13.6亿人口，互联网用户达6.32亿人。腾讯称，该公司的移动通讯平台在中国拥有8.2亿活跃用户。
“In the end, China isn’t defined by the fact it’s currently an $80 million market,” said Stu Bergen, the president of international recorded music at Warner. “It’s defined by the potential of having over 800 million people — more than twice the size of the U.S.— using Tencent’s Messenger platform and creating a legitimate, long-term, rational music ecosystem that encourages artistry and entrepreneurial investment.”
“最终，中国的定位不会局限于目前价值8000万美元的市场规模，”华纳唱片国际业务总裁斯图·伯根(Stu Bergen)说。“而是在于它的潜力，这里有超过8亿人——美国人口的两倍多——使用腾讯的通讯平台，可以创造一个合法的、长期的、合理的音乐生态系统，鼓励艺术创作和企业投资。”
The deal includes an unusual provision giving Tencent the right to distribute Warner’s catalog to “all legitimate local Chinese audio services,” the companies said, with the exception of mobile carriers, which are licensed by Warner Music China.
两家公司透露，协议中一条罕有的条款授权腾讯向“中国所有合法的音频服务”发行华纳的音乐，但移动运营商除外，后者获得了华纳音乐中国的授权。
The licensing deal includes some revenue guarantees for Warner, which is controlled by the Russian-born billionaire Leonard Blavatnik. Other terms were not disclosed.
该授权协议对华纳提供了一些收入保障，华纳公司目前归俄罗斯亿万富翁列昂纳德·布拉瓦特尼克(Leonard Blavatnik)所有。其他条款没有对外公布。
Tencent, based in Shenzhen, China, is considered a major power in mobile gaming and messaging. Its parent company, Tencent Holdings, had $9.9 billion in revenue in 2013, and is listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange with a market capitalization of $150 billion.
总部位于深圳的腾讯公司被认为是移动游戏及通讯方面的主导公司。其母公司腾讯控股2013年的收入达到了99亿美元，该公司在香港交易所(Hong Kong Stock Exchange)上市，市值达到1500亿美元。
Warner’s deal with Tencent follows its purchase this year of Gold Typhoon, a Hong Kong-based label with popular acts throughout China, Hong Kong and Taiwan, including the singers Kay Tse, David Tao and Khalil Fong.
今年，华纳在与腾讯达成交易之前，收购了香港唱片公司金牌大风(Gold Typhoon)，该公司的音乐作品在中国内地、香港和台湾非常受欢迎，比如歌手谢安琪(Kay Tse)、陶喆(David Tao)和方大同(Khalil Fong)。
