碧昂斯iTunes發新專輯 或問鼎最吸金歌手

For Beyoncé fans who happened to be awake in the wee hours of Friday the 13th, Christmas came early this year–in the form of a surprise album by the superstar singer.

對那些恰巧在12月13日（週五）凌晨還清醒着的碧昂斯粉絲來說，今年的聖誕節來得特別早——這位超級巨星歌手出人意料地發佈了一張新專輯。

The self-titled visual album was released exclusively via iTunes as a complete download for $15.99; individual songs will be available starting December 20th. The list of collaborators on Beyoncé features a who’s-who of the music business, including Pharrell Williams, Justin Timberlake, Drake, Timbaland, Frank Ocean, Michelle Williams, Kelly Rowland and, of course, Jay Z.

《碧昂斯》（Beyoncé）這張專輯的合作者名單可謂星光熠熠，都是音樂界的大人物，包括法雷爾?威廉姆斯（Pharrell Williams）、賈斯汀?廷伯雷克（Justin Timberlake）、德雷克（Drake）、提姆巴蘭（Timbaland）、弗蘭克?歐辛（Frank Ocean）、米歇爾?威廉姆斯（Michelle Williams）、凱莉?羅蘭德（Kelly Rowland），當然了，還有Jay-Z。

With so many high-profile names attached to the project, it’s a small miracle that nothing leaked in advance of the launch, but Beyoncé runs a tight ship.

鑑於有這麼多大牌和這個項目掛鉤，專輯推出之前沒有消息泄漏，這倒是個小小的奇蹟。不過碧昂斯是個要求嚴格的人。

“I’m never satisfied, ” she told FORBES in a 2009 cover story, adding: “I’m sure sometimes it’s not easy working for me … I’ve never met anyone that works harder than me in my industry.”

“我從不滿足，”她在2009年一期《福布斯》封面故事中表示，“我肯定，有些時候事情對我來說並不容易……在我所在的這個行業，我還沒有碰到過哪個人工作比我更努力的。”

Indeed, she’s already played 97 shows on her Mrs. Carter World Tour this year–and, in combination with the buzz for her new album, that could catapult her to the most lucrative year of her already storied career. FORBES calculates earnings on the half-year, meaning that the scoring period for 2014 will run from June 2013 to June 2014.

是的，今年迄今爲止，她已經出演了97場“卡特夫人世界巡演”（Mrs. Carter World Tour）演唱會——加上新專輯爲其所造的聲勢，碧昂斯可能大跨步進入其業已功成名就的職業生涯中最爲賺錢的一年。《福布斯》在計算藝人收入時是以年中爲界限，也就是說，計算2014年收入的起訖時間是從2013年6月至2014年6月。

Beyoncé is already scheduled for 83 shows during that span, and that’s not counting additional bookings that could fill up April and May. She’s currently grossing over $2 million per city, according to Pollstar. Factoring in merchandise sales at her sold-out shows, that means she’s likely taking home somewhere around $1 million per night–if not more–before paying out agents, managers and Uncle Sam.

在此期間，碧昂斯已經定下有83場演唱會的計劃，這還沒有算入四、五兩個月份中的額外門票訂購。據票房統計機構Pollstar數據，目前她在每個城市的總收入超過200萬美元。門票銷售一空的演唱會，再加上相關商品的銷售，意味着她每個晚上可將100萬美元收入囊中——在扣除支付給經紀人、經理人及稅收費用之前。

Those sorts of touring numbers alone should be enough to equal Beyoncé’s best years to date, her twin peaks of $87 million in both 2009 and 2010. Factor in endorsements with Pepsi and H&M, in addition to her other ventures and record sales, and she should easily double the $53 million she made this year. She’ll also challenge for music’s earnings crown, which went to Madonna at $125 million for 2013.

光是這些巡演數字，就足以讓碧昂斯收穫從藝以來的第三大豐收年——前兩大豐收年分別是2009年和2010年，收入均爲8,700萬美元。加上她爲百事可樂和H&M的代言收入，還有其他投資和唱片銷售，她或可輕鬆將今年所賺得的5,300萬美元進行翻番。她還將衝擊樂壇收入之王的稱號，2013年這一桂冠被麥當娜以1.25億美元摘得。

As for the new album, it’s too early for sales numbers. But there’s at least one indicator that points to success: in 12 hours, Beyoncé has already garnered half as many reviews on iTunes as Katy Perry’s PRISM and one-third as many as Lady Gaga’s ARTPOP. Both albums sold about a quarter of a million copies in their opening weeks.

至於新專輯的銷量數字，目前進行預測還爲時尚早。不過至少有一個指向成功的信號：發售12個小時之內，碧昂斯已經在iTunes上收穫了凱蒂?佩裏（Katy Perry）的新專輯《PRISM》一半的評論數和Lady Gaga新專輯《ARTPOP》三分之一的評論數。後兩張專輯均在開售首周售出了25萬張左右。

Furthermore, Beyoncé’s strategy of selling her album as a whole for the first week–rather than allowing fans to buy songs a la carte–could prove incredibly valuable. Before the digital revolution in music, that was the status quo, and it led to platinum opening weeks for scores of artists who’d now be lucky to sell a third of that over the life of an entire album.

另外，碧昂斯對於新專輯首周銷售的策略——讓粉絲整張專輯進行購買，而不是一首歌一首歌地購買——可能是相當具有價值的。在音樂行業的數字化革命開始之前，這一直都是慣例做法，併爲幾十位藝術家創造了首周白金銷量，而如果放在現在，這些歌手若是能在整個專輯上市期間售出之前三分之一的銷量就已經算是幸運了。

Her idea also hearkens back to the example of another top-earning superstar: Michael Jackson. In a video explaining why she decided to release a video for every song on her album, Beyoncé recalls watching the short film for “Thriller” with her family and being inspired.

碧昂斯的想法還令人想起了另一位高收入超級巨星：邁克爾?傑克遜（Michael Jackson）。在一段解釋自己爲何決定爲專輯中的每一首歌都拍攝音樂錄影帶時，碧昂斯回憶起了自己和家人一起觀看的《戰慄》（Thriller，傑克遜的一首歌曲）幕後故事短片，並從中受到了啓發。

“I see music, ” she says. “It’s more than just what I hear.”

“我看到了音樂，”她說，“而不僅僅是聽到”。

She’ll be seeing a lot more cash, too.

當然了，她還將看到更多現金。