2006年VOA标准英语-Festivalink.net: Live Music From the Stage to Y

By Katherine Cole
Washington
05 August 2006

For years, music lovers have faced a quandary¹. How to enjoy live concert recordings³ at home? Festivalink.net is a new company that lets music lovers capture the magic of their favorite festivals legally.

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David Bromberg doesn't currently have a record label, and hasn't released an official album since 1989. But that doesn't mean his fans aren't enjoying new material, such as this April 2006 performance of "Don't Let Your Deal Go Down."

Until recently, there were only two ways to obtain live music: By purchasing commercially released live albums or concerts taped by fans and distributed through illegal downloads or trades. But now fans of David Bromberg, Tim and Mollie O'Brien, Doc Watson and other top acoustic⁴ music performers have another option. They can purchase from concerts from Festivalink.net.

Festivalink.net is a legal music download service, one that compensates⁵ both performers and songwriters by paying them the royalties⁶ they do not receive from illegal copying and distribution. They are paid per download, just as a record label pays an artist per each CD sold.

But providing fair compensation to all involved in making the music is not the only way in which Festivalink.net downloads differ from the illegal recordings that are often available after a concert or music festival.

Festivalink.net sets are produced by professional recording² engineers, and are of the same standard as their studio work. As General Manager Ann Blonston explains, that's not usually the case with fan-made recordings. "Typically, if you see those microphones sticking up out of the sea of people (at a festival), it is usually just a couple of stereo microphones pointed⁷ at the (public address) system. They're picking up the guy sitting in front of them clapping, just as much as they're picking up what is coming from the stage, whereas our recordings are actually recorded by audio professionals on-site, so it's a direct audio feed. And then it is post-produced in a recording studio, so, hopefully, what we have done is captured the best of the live experience with a good recording, and then we've post-produced it to get rid of the annoying things, like the guy clapping in front of the microphone," she says.

Jefferson Airplane founder⁸ and current member of Hot Tuna, Jorma Kaukonen, was one of the first artists to sign up with Festivalink.net. "We're just getting started with that, and we're really curious to see how it's going to work out. It's really nice to make the music available to people in a legitimate⁹ way, and we're going to see how it works. I think it's going to work pretty good," he says.

Jorma Kaukonen's prediction was correct. His two Hot Tuna sets from Merlefest are among Festivalink.net's top sellers. As for the sound quality, judge for yourself. This is Hot Tuna performing "Praying On The Old Campground," recorded on April 28th, 2006.

Downloads from Festivalink.net are available in a variety of formats¹¹. MP3s at 128 kilobits per second resolution are the least-expensive and the quickest, with a 45-minute concert set downloaded in as little as 15 minutes.

Festivalink.net also offers a higher quality FLAC "lossless" format¹⁰ that is decoded¹² on your computer. While it sounds better, FLACs cost more, and take longer to download. A FLAC file is 10 times the size of an MP3 file. For that reason, FLAC is not for the downloader without a high-speed Internet connection.

And for fans without dependable Internet connections, Festivalink.net sells fully-produced concert CDs. The company's Ann Blonston says living outside the United States doesn't mean you're out of luck, when it comes to purchasing live recordings. "The Web is worldwide. And so are we," she says.

Festivalink.net has only been in business a few months, but users can already choose from a library of more than 20 live performances. Recordings from the famed Newport Folk Festival will soon be added to that list. You find out more by visiting their website: Festivalink.net.

1 quandary   

n.困惑，进迟两难之境

参考例句：

• I was in a quandary about whether to go.我当时正犹豫到底去不去。
• I was put in a great quandary.我陷于进退两难的窘境。

2 recording   

n.录音，记录

参考例句：

• How long will the recording of the song take?录下这首歌得花多少时间？
• I want to play you a recording of the rehearsal.我想给你放一下彩排的录像。

3 recordings   

n.记录( recording的名词复数 )；录音；录像；唱片

参考例句：

• a boxed set of original recordings 一套盒装原声录音带
• old jazz recordings reissued on CD 以激光唱片重新发行的老爵士乐

4 acoustic   

adj.听觉的，声音的；(乐器)原声的

参考例句：

• The hall has a fine acoustic.这个大厅的传音效果很好。
• Animals use a whole rang of acoustic, visual,and chemical signals in their systems of communication.动物利用各种各样的听觉、视觉和化学信号来进行交流。

5 compensates   

补偿，报酬( compensate的第三人称单数 )； 给（某人）赔偿（或赔款）

参考例句：

• The company compensates her for extra work. 公司因她的额外工作而给她报酬。
• A vertical spring compensates for the weight of the sensing element. 用一根垂直弹簧补偿敏感元件的负荷。

6 royalties   

特许权使用费

参考例句：

• I lived on about £3,000 a year from the royalties on my book. 我靠着写书得来的每年约3，000英镑的版税生活。 来自辞典例句
• Payments shall generally be made in the form of royalties. 一般应采取提成方式支付。 来自经济法规部分

7 pointed   

adj.尖的，直截了当的

参考例句：

• He gave me a very sharp pointed pencil.他给我一支削得非常尖的铅笔。
• She wished to show Mrs.John Dashwood by this pointed invitation to her brother.她想通过对达茨伍德夫人提出直截了当的邀请向她的哥哥表示出来。

8 Founder   

n.创始者，缔造者

参考例句：

• He was extolled as the founder of their Florentine school.他被称颂为佛罗伦萨画派的鼻祖。
• According to the old tradition,Romulus was the founder of Rome.按照古老的传说，罗穆卢斯是古罗马的建国者。

9 legitimate   

adj.合法的，合理的，合乎逻辑的；v.使合法

参考例句：

• Sickness is a legitimate reason for asking for leave.生病是请假的一个正当的理由。
• That's a perfectly legitimate fear.怀有这种恐惧完全在情理之中。

10 format   

n.设计，版式；[计算机]格式，DOS命令:格式化(磁盘)，用于空盘或使用过的磁盘建立新空盘来存储数据；v.使格式化，设计，安排

参考例句：

• Please format this floppy disc.请将这张软盘格式化。
• The format of the figure is very tasteful.该图表的格式很雅致。

11 formats   

n.（出版物的）版式( format的名词复数 )；[电视]电视节目的总安排（或计划）

参考例句：

• They are producing books in all kinds of different formats. 他们出版各种不同开本的书籍。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• A true GUI includes standard formats for representing text and graphics. 真正的图形用户界面包括表示文字和图形的标准格式。 来自互联网

12 decoded   

v.译（码），解（码）( decode的过去式和过去分词 )；分析及译解电子信号

参考例句：

• The control unit decoded the 18 bits. 控制器对这18位字进行了译码。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Scientists have decoded the dog genome. 科学家已经译解了狗的基因组。 来自辞典例句