韓國造星產(chǎn)業(yè)化 一條龍"生產(chǎn)線"
周六晚上，在首爾的一個租來的劇院里，20個年輕選手有些局促地站在臺上，一些人眼里還有淚水，臺下是數(shù)百名為他們加油的朋友和家人。
All have been working towards this moment foryears, before passing through preliminary auditionsstaged by JYP Entertainment, one of South Korea’sbiggest music production companies. Then came sixweeks of intensive training for this climactic performance, after which only three are handedthe bouquets that signify the offer of a training contract.
所有人都為這一刻努力了多年，他們先是通過JYP Entertainment公司的初選，之后接受了6個星期的密集培訓(xùn)，而這次表演就是培訓(xùn)后最終的高潮部分。在表演結(jié)束后，只有3人能拿到花束，代表簽訂培訓(xùn)合同的邀約。JYP是韓國最大的音樂制作公司之一。
“I’ve been working so hard for five years, and now I’ve finally made it,” Kim Byung-kwan tellsthe audience, clutching the flowers and visibly overwhelmed after being named champion of theevening.
“我已經(jīng)辛苦努力了5年，現(xiàn)在我終于做到了，”Kim Byung-kwan向觀眾們說，手里緊握著花束，顯然已被成為當晚冠軍帶來的巨大喜悅壓倒。
The stakes are high for these young hopefuls, who have the opportunity to becomesuperstars not only in South Korea but across Asia, and increasingly beyond. Psy’s 2012 rap hitGangnam Style — so popular that it recently forced YouTube to recalibrate its counting systemfor video views — is only one example of the growing clout of South Korean popular music,which hauled in revenues of Won4.4tn ($4.1bn) in 2013, according to the Korea CreativeContent Agency.
對這些渴望成功的年輕人來說，獎賞是豐厚的。他們將有機會成為韓國、乃至整個亞洲的超級明星，甚至越來越有可能在更多地方揚名。樸載相(Psy)2012年的熱門Rap單曲《江南Style》(Gangnam Style)太過流行，以至于YouTube最近不得不為其重新校準視頻播放次數(shù)計數(shù)系統(tǒng)。這只是韓國流行音樂日益增長的影響力的一個例子而已。根據(jù)韓國文化產(chǎn)業(yè)振興院(Korea Creative Content Agency)統(tǒng)計，2013年韓國流行音樂產(chǎn)業(yè)共實現(xiàn)4.4萬億韓元(合41億美元)的收入。
With its slickly choreographed videos and addictively energetic sound, K-pop commandsobsessive followings across Southeast Asia, China and Japan, and has established firmbeachheads in Europe, the US and Latin America. Its international success, along with that ofthe country’s melodramatic soap operas, reflects the glamorous image of a country that hasgone from one of Asia’s poorest states to one of its richest in two generations.
韓國流行音樂(K-pop)以舞蹈動作精美的視頻和令人著迷的動感音樂贏得了來自東南亞、中國和日本的大批癡迷的追隨者，并在歐洲、美國和拉美建立了堅固的灘頭陣地。在兩代人的時間里，韓國從亞洲最貧窮國家之一一躍成為亞洲最富裕的國家之一。韓國的流行音樂以及情節(jié)夸張的肥皂劇在國際上的成功，正展現(xiàn)了這個國家富于魅力的一面。
Most of the music profits from what has come to be known as the “Korean wave” are taken by ahandful of huge production companies, often named after the initials of their former pop starfounders. JYP, for example, was founded by Park Jin-young, a popular singer in 1990s SouthKorea.
在所謂的“韓流”文化中，大部分音樂方面的盈利都流入了少數(shù)大制作公司的囊中。這些公司通常以它們曾經(jīng)身為流行歌星的創(chuàng)始人的名字縮寫命名，比如，JYP的創(chuàng)始人樸軫泳(Park Jin-young)就是韓國上世紀90年代的流行歌手。
The companies manage every step of the music-making process — recruiting singers as youngas their early teens, and grooming and training them before forming groups from the mosttalented and marketing them around the world.
這些公司控制了音樂制作流程的每一個步驟——在歌手們還在青少年初期的時候就招募他們，對他們進行栽培和訓(xùn)練，然后挑選最有才能的人成立組合，并推向全世界。
A browse through a JYP investor presentation shows how the industry has taken theconcept of the manufactured band to a new level. One slide breaks down planned releases forthe year ahead: one quarter will bring a single from the as yet unannounced “boy band I”, whilethe next will herald releases from “girl band” and “boy band II”.
瀏覽一下JYP的一份投資者介紹，就會發(fā)現(xiàn)這個行業(yè)已經(jīng)把“打造樂隊”的理念提升到了一個新高度。一張幻燈片分條說明了下一年的發(fā)布計劃：一個季度將推出一個尚未宣布的“男孩樂隊一”的一首單曲，下一個季度將預(yù)告“女孩樂隊”和“男孩樂隊二”的新唱片發(fā)布。
The largest production company, SM Entertainment, alone made overseas revenues of about$100m last year, up from $8m in 2008, according to analyst estimates at KDB DaewooSecurities.
根據(jù)KDB大宇證券(KDB Daewoo Securities)的分析師估計，僅最大的制作公司SM Entertainment一家，去年就創(chuàng)下了約1億美元的海外收入，而2008年這個數(shù)字僅為800萬美元。
It has produced two iterations of one of its most popular boy bands: the six members of EXO-K sing in Korean, while their counterparts in EXO-M perform the same songs in Mandarin forthe huge Chinese market.
SM公司為旗下最火的男孩樂隊之一打造了兩個版本：成員共6人的EXO-K以韓語演唱，而對應(yīng)的EXO-M的6名成員則瞄準巨大的中國市場，用中文演唱同樣的歌曲。
The aspiring performers can be subject to tough training regimes and strict labour contracts,says Stella Kim, an early member of what has become South Korea’s most popular pop group,Girls’ Generation. In the days before a performance, dance and singing training would runfrom 10am till well after midnight.
金賢京(Stella Kim)說，這些雄心勃勃的藝人可能必須服從嚴格的訓(xùn)練制度和苛刻的勞動合同。在表演前的日子里，舞蹈和歌唱訓(xùn)練會從上午10點持續(xù)到午夜以后。金賢京曾是少女時代(Girls' Generation)的早期成員，這個組合后來成為韓國最當紅的流行樂團。
When the time came for Ms Kim to turn professional at SM, her parents baulked at the 13-year contract she was offered in her teens, which would have banned her from working forany other entertainment company during that time and given SM all rights to her name andimage, while placing swingeing limits on her share of the band’s earnings. “They said, ‘We can’tsign our daughter up to slavery,’” she recalls.
金賢京即將轉(zhuǎn)為SM公司的職業(yè)藝人時，當時僅有十幾歲的她接到了一紙為期13年的合約。這份合約禁止她在合約期間接受任何其他娛樂公司的工作，要求她將有關(guān)名字和形象的所有權(quán)利移交給SM公司，還將她對樂隊收入的分成壓到低得不能再低的程度。對著這份合約，金賢京的父母猶豫了。金賢京回憶著說：“他們說，‘我們不能讓女兒簽訂奴隸條約’。”
Despite changes aimed at boosting artists’ rights, controversy over restrictive contractscontinues. In November, the six members of boy band BAP sued its agency over their seven-year “slave contracts”, claiming each member had been paid only Won18m over two years,despite generating about Won10bn in revenue for the company.
盡管已經(jīng)有一些旨在提高藝人權(quán)利的改變，圍繞限制性合同的爭議仍然存在。去年11月，男子樂隊BAP的六名成員因為一份7年的“奴隸合約”將所屬經(jīng)紀公司告上法庭，聲稱他們?yōu)楣緞?chuàng)造了高達100億韓元的收入，但每個樂隊成員在兩年間的薪資僅為1800萬韓元。
“The whole training process becomes a kind of debt that you owe to the company,” says MarkRussell, author of two books on the industry, K-pop Now and Pop Goes Korea.
“整個培訓(xùn)過程變成了你欠公司的一種債，”馬克•羅素(Mark Russell)說。他著有兩本關(guān)于韓國娛樂業(yè)的書，《韓流正當時》(K-pop Now)和《韓流襲來》(Pop Goes Korea)。
Meanwhile, one of the country’s most prominent plastic surgeons estimates privately thatmore than 90 per cent of K-pop hopefuls undergo cosmetic surgery, further claiming thattrainees may be obliged to reimburse their agency for the cost if they are not chosen for aprofessional group.
同時，據(jù)韓國最知名的一位整形醫(yī)師私下估計，在韓國流行音樂界，超過90%的年輕藝人都接受過整容手術(shù)。此外，這位醫(yī)師還稱，培訓(xùn)生如果未被選中進入職業(yè)樂團，或許必須向所屬經(jīng)紀公司償還整容手術(shù)的費用。
The process of bringing new singers to the market has become ever more systematic, saysKim Hyung-kyu, head of talent at Cube Entertainment, an agency behind some bands withhuge followings across Asia, which has started holding shows in Brazil and Europe.
Cube Entertainment的藝人負責人Kim Hyung-kyu說，把新歌手推向市場的流程已經(jīng)變得越來越系統(tǒng)化。該公司旗下有幾支在亞洲有大批擁躉的樂隊，已經(jīng)開始在巴西和歐洲舉辦演出。
“Companies used to just select artists who were good, improve them a bit, and go to debut.Now we consider the demand first, which market to target, before we start working on thebands.”
“過去音樂公司往往先挑選優(yōu)秀的藝人，稍微提升一下他們的才藝，然后就出道?，F(xiàn)在，在開始組建樂隊前，我們先考慮需求，考慮要瞄準哪個市場。”
In a five-strong band, Mr Kim says, one member should be fluent in English, with two Chinese-speakers and two Japanese speakers. One of Cube’s new bands includes a Thai singer, which itexpects to help the group crack that country’s lucrative music market. To motivate thetrainees, seven hopefuls might be made to compete for five positions in a new band.
他說，在5人樂隊里，一個成員應(yīng)該能說流利的英語，兩名成員會說中文，還有兩名會說日語。Cube公司旗下的一支新樂隊里有一名泰國歌手，該公司希望這有助于樂隊打入泰國利潤豐厚的音樂市場。為了激勵培訓(xùn)生，公司可能要求7名年輕人角逐新樂隊的5個位置。
“Out of 10,000 people who audition, only 100 will become trainees, and out of 100, only 10can become a popular singer. And out of those 10, only one will really be a star,” he says.
“在10000個參加選拔的人中，只有100人能成為培訓(xùn)生，在這100人中，只有10人能成為流行歌手。而在這10人中，只有1人能真正成為明星。”
Competition is equally fierce among the agencies themselves, with a steady stream offledgling companies springing up to challenge established names. Hwang Hyung-chang, aformer advertising consultant, set up Chrome Entertainment in 2012 with an idea for a quirkyfive-piece girl group and just Won10m in the bank.
經(jīng)紀公司之間的競爭同樣非常激烈，不斷有新公司涌現(xiàn)出來，挑戰(zhàn)老牌公司的地位。當過廣告咨詢師的HwangHyung-chang在2012年成立了Chrome Entertainment。當時銀行賬戶里只有1000萬韓元的他想要打造一支風格古怪的5人女子樂隊。
“I did as much as I could by myself — styling, shooting photos, cover designs,” Mr Hwang saysin the recording studio of his agency, its name tattooed on his forearm.
“我做了自己力所能及的一切事情——造型、攝影和封面設(shè)計，”Hwang Hyung-chang在他的公司里的一間錄音棚里說。他的小臂上紋了公司的名字。
The resultant band — Crayon Pop — shot to fame in 2013 with its debut single “Bar Bar Bar”,catching attention with their matching crash helmets and dance routine modelled on a pistonengine. The band was invited to open concerts for Lady Gaga and Mr Hwang says Crayon Pop’shit earned Chrome $2m in the year after its release, helping to fund recruitment of several newacts.
他組建了一支叫做Crayon Pop的樂隊。2013年，Crayon Pop以出道單曲“Bar Bar Bar”一炮而紅，MV中的女孩子戴著一樣的安全帽，編舞動作像活塞式發(fā)動機一樣，吸引了人們的眼球。該樂隊曾受邀作為Lady Gaga演唱會的開場嘉賓。Hwang Hyung-chang說，在Crayon Pop出道的那一年，樂隊的成功為Chrome公司創(chuàng)造了200萬美元的收入，給公司招募新藝人提供了資金。
“In this industry, it’s not really about how much you have in the bank,” says Mr Hwang. “It’sabout how long you’re able to survive.”
他說：“在這個行業(yè)，重要的不是你的銀行賬戶里有多少錢，而是你能存活多久。”
