安迪·科平 (Andy Copping) 為 Sleep Token 的“下載節”頭條廣告辯護：“這是一支值得提升的樂隊”

在接受 NME 採訪時，科平談到了導致他做出這一有爭議選擇的原因：“看到他們在過去兩年中的迅速崛起讓我想，‘這是一支值得提升的樂隊。’”

Despite Sleep Token‘s recent rise to fame, their status as one of the three headliners for next year’s ‘Download Festival‘ has left some scratching their heads. The band’s rapid ascent began with the viral success of singles from their third studio album “Take Me Back To Eden” on TikTok.

儘管 Sleep Token 最近聲名鵲起，但他們作為明年「下載節」三大頭條人物之一的地位卻讓一些人摸不著頭腦。樂團的迅速崛起始於他們的第三張錄音室專輯《帶我回到伊甸園》中的單曲在 TikTok 上的病毒式成功。

However, while the group have enjoyed a meteoric rise in popularity over the past year, complete with a sold-out arena tour and a move to RCA Records, some fans believe other bands are more deserving of the coveted headlining slot.

然而，儘管樂團在過去一年人氣迅速上升，演出門票全部售完，並轉戰 RCA 唱片公司，但一些歌迷認為其他樂團更值得獲得令人垂涎的頭條新聞位置。

Those individuals made their voices heard on social media following the announcement yesterday (November 12th). Now ‘Download Festival‘ founder Andy Copping has addressed the decision.

昨天（11 月 12 日）宣布這一消息後，這些人在社群媒體上發表了自己的聲音。現在，「下載節」創始人安迪·科平 (Andy Copping) 已就這一決定做出了回應。

Speaking with NME, Copping explained what led him to make the controversial choice.

科平在接受 NME 採訪時解釋了是什麼導致他做出了這一有爭議的選擇。

“It was seeing their meteoric rise over the last two years that made me think, ‘This is a band that deserves to be elevated. They’ve got a sold-out arena tour in a couple of weeks’ time, which we already know will be a sight to behold.”

「看到他們在過去兩年中的迅速崛起讓我想，『這是一支值得提升的樂團。他們將在幾週後舉辦一場門票全部售完的競技場巡演，我們已經知道這將是一個值得一看的景點。

He continued:

他繼續說：

“I think it’s important for the festival to bring new bands through to headline. Back in the day, I did it with Slipknot. I did it with Avenged Sevenfold and Biffy Clyro. In 2023 we did it with Bring Me The Horizon. Now, every one of those bands across the world is perceived as a festival headliner.

「我認為讓新樂團登上新聞頭條對於音樂節來說很重要。以前，我用活結做到了這一點。我和《七重復仇》和比菲·克萊羅一起做過。 2023 年，我們透過《Bring Me The Horizo​​n》做到了這一點。現在，世界各地的每個樂團都被視為音樂節的頭條新聞。

That’s what I felt this time with Sleep Token. It feels like we’re the first major festival that’s taken the bull by the horns and gone, ‘OK, it’s time. Its Sleep Token’s moment’. I know it’s going to be amazing for them, amazing for the festival and amazing for the fans.”

這就是我這次使用睡眠令牌的感受。感覺就像我們是第一個不畏艱險的重大節日，然後就走了，’好吧，是時候了。這是睡眠令牌的時刻」。我知道這對他們、對音樂節、對粉絲來說都將是令人驚奇的。

He later added of the pressures of running a festival of this scale in the modern age:

他後來補充道，在現代舉辦如此規模的節日所面臨的壓力：

“The festival has to evolve because people’s tastes and people’s expectations evolve all the time. The festival will die if we don’t move with the times, so we have to be innovative. We have to see what’s going on across social media and analyze the way people are consuming music in the TikTok age.

「這個節日必須不斷發展，因為人們的品味和期望一直在變化。不與時俱進，節日就會消亡，所以我們必須創新。我們必須了解社群媒體上正在發生的事情，並分析人們在 TikTok 時代消費音樂的方式。

All of that is super important. Luckily, we’ve put together a very wide and varied young team who are giving input into what they feel the festival should be. We also talk to the fans all the time and ask them what they want to see. We seek out feedback on what we’re doing right and what we’re doing wrong. From that, we’ve found a formula that’s been working for us.”

所有這些都非常重要。幸運的是，我們組建了一支非常廣泛且多樣化的年輕團隊，他們正在為他們認為的節日應該是什麼樣子提供意見。我們也一直與粉絲交談，詢問他們想看到什麼。我們尋求有關我們做對和做錯的事情的回饋。由此，我們找到了一個對我們有效的公式。

Last year’s ‘Download Festival‘ felt the impact of social media due to a campaign waged by several bands that were booked to play the fest. Various artists, including the likes of Scowl, SPEED, Pest Control, Dying Wish and more all took to protesting the event and withdrawing from the bill in light of the involvement of Barclayscard being a primary sponsor for the event.

去年的“下載音樂節”受到了社交媒體的影響，因為幾支樂隊發起了一場活動，並預訂了音樂節的演出。鑑於巴克萊銀行是該活動的主要贊助商，包括 Scowl、SPEED、Pest Control、Dying Wish 等在內的眾多藝術家都紛紛抗議該活動並退出該法案。

Those artists above took issue with Barclays‘ financial involvements in the facilitation of weapons used by Israel in the ongoing Israel-Hamas war. In response, ‘Download Festival‘ parted ways with Barclayscard.

上述藝術家對巴克萊銀行在以色列與哈馬斯戰爭中為以色列使用武器提供資金支持提出了質疑。作為回應，「下載節」與巴克萊銀行分道揚鑣。

As for Copping‘s stance on the growing need to elevate younger artists to headlining status, he’s certainly not wrong. Metal and rock have experienced a general decline in mainstream interest over the past two decades, with festivals now often being left to lean on tried and true evergreen artists to anchor their bills.

至於科平認為日益需要將年輕藝術家提升到頭條的立場，他當然沒有錯。在過去的二十年裡，金屬和搖滾樂的主流興趣普遍下降，音樂節現在往往只能依靠久經考驗的真正常青藝術家來維持他們的收入。

However, with the generation of guaranteed headlining artists slowly beginning to age out, there’s been a growing concern of the lack of suitable replacements to eventually take their place. It’s a worrying situation that Iron Maiden vocalist Bruce Dickinson publicly lamented earlier this year.

然而，隨著一代有保證的頭條藝術家慢慢開始老化，人們越來越擔心缺乏合適的替代者最終取代他們的位置。鐵娘子歌手布魯斯·迪金森今年早些時候公開哀嘆這種情況令人擔憂。

He cited several reasons as being potential factors in the situation, including the financial risks promoters face in taking a gamble on newer artists, the overall greed of the music industry, and a shrinking amount of smaller venues that allow artists the chance to build themselves up.

他列舉了造成這種情況的潛在因素有幾個原因，包括發起人在押注新藝術家時面臨的財務風險、音樂產業的整體貪婪，以及允許藝術家有機會發展自己的小型場館數量的減少。

Next year’s ‘Download Festival‘ will take place at June 13th-15th at Donington Park in Derby, UK. The initial lineup announcement also includes sets from Weezer, Bullet For My Valentine and many more.

明年的「下載節」將於 6 月 13 日至 15 日在英國德比的多寧頓公園舉行。最初公佈的陣容還包括《Weezer》、《Bullet For My Valentine》等的套裝。