Music has always been an important part of my identity, serving as an outlet for expression. Recently, I started on a journey to diversify my music taste and explore alternative ways to listen. In the last couple of years, I have started to explore other ways of listening to music. This led me to buy a vinyl player and increase my vinyl collection, buying used vinyl. My mom also showed me some of her old CDs and cassettes from my sibling’s childhood. As much as I like vinyl, it’s not practical. Like most, I use Spotify and have created over 20 playlists from music I have found online, or through recommendations. One day, while scrolling on TikTok, I stumbled upon a thought-provoking video. The creator, addressing Billie Eilish’s critique of vinyl production, highlighted the industry’s wasteful practices and then gave a haul of the vinyl she bought. Billie’s candid revelation regarding the excessive production of multiple versions of the same vinyl to increase profits struck a chord with me. Growing up, sustainability has been a core value instilled in me, and it continues to shape my perspectives.
As I read her interview there was a quote that stood out when she was asked about her career and sustainability. ” It’s a never-ending f–king fight. As we all know, it’s pretty impossible to force someone to care… but a lot of people don’t understand the severity of the climate [crisis]. And if they do, they’re like, “Well, what’s the point? We’re all going to die anyway.” … But “what’s the point” goes both ways: “What’s the point? I can do whatever I want. We’re all going to die anyway.” Or, “What’s the point? I might as well do the right thing while I’m here.” That’s my view.”
There are so many ways that we can help the environment and make the music industry more sustainable. Especially with the number of music festivals and tours coming up. It’s responsible for a significant amount of the music industry’s carbon footprint. Billie isn’t the only one, Coldplay is also starting to set new standards for the industry. In their most recent tour, they installed kinetic dance floors and power bikes to generate power for the stage and planted about 5 million trees for each concertgoer.
If every artist were to adopt this perspective and prioritize sustainability over profits, the collective impact could be massive. By reducing the production of excessive vinyl variants and embracing eco-friendly practices throughout the music creation and distribution process, we could significantly decrease the carbon footprint of the industry. As well as promoting sustainable initiatives within the music community could inspire fans and fellow artists alike to engage in environmentally responsible behaviors. From reducing plastic packaging to utilizing renewable energy sources for production, there are numerous avenues through which the music industry can contribute to global sustainability efforts
At the end of the day, it’s not just on the artist to improve their carbon footprint but also up to us. It’s not about what we can do to save the earth because, to be honest earth doesn’t need us it can survive on its own, we are saving ourselves and the future generations to come.
Interview:
I love Billie Eilish so I was super excited when saw her mentioned in your post and I was not disappointed. This was such a fascinating discussion into music and sustainability, two entities that I think most people do not believe overlap at all. I personally do not own any vinyls currently but my brother and mom both do. My mom’s are from decades ago and my brother similarly tries to buy old vinyls already in circulation so they are not contributing to the current scene. However, I totally agree with you that while it always feels like individual people are powerless in the fight for sustainability, if the music industry all followed in Billie’s footsteps, the effect could be huge.
I have never really thought about how music and concerts could impact the environment. That was a very powerful message from Billie Eilish. I agree that even if we will not be alive to deal with the consequences, we should still do our best to be environmentally friendly. I absolutely love what you said Coldplay is doing Hopefully more bands follow in their footsteps.
This is a great topic to talk about, and I have heard about it primarily in the negative lens, as I have seen critics of Taylor Swift and other musicians using extremely unsustainable methods of transportation including private jets. From concerts to packaging, I think that the music industry is one where people or groups like you mentioned can have a big impact on the views of their fans, potentially making real, large-scale change for the environment.