Green your Playlist
The music industry—from artists to venues to recording labels—has the power to make positive changes for the environment.
These days, GRAMMY-winning singer-songwriter Sheryl Crow is as likely to garner headlines for her eco-consciousness as she is for her chart-topping music.
The Power of Eco-Touring
Earlier this summer, as Crow was embarking on her 100 Miles From Memphis tour, a copy of her tour rider (detailed instructions on the supplies and services Crow, her band and her support team require while on the road) leaked to the press. In addition to the standard items—ice, sandwich makings and cold drinks—Crow requested that each venue put out only biodegradable cutlery, cups and plates, provide recycling bins in each area where the band and crew would congregate and asked that only organic, locally sourced produce be used in all food preparation.
To help ensure her summer tour was as green as possible, Crow enlisted the help of Reverb, a non-profit organization founded in 2004 by environmentalist Lauren Sullivan and her musician husband, Guster’s Adam Gardner, who describes the inspiration behind Reverb’s creation:
“After nine years of touring, I realized that life on the road (and its inherent impact on the environment) didn't need to look so different from my life at home in Portland, Maine. And yet it did. Dramatically.”
To date, Reverb has greened over 85 major music tours—including Dave Matthews Band, Coldplay and John Legend—while conducting grassroots educational outreach to over 10 million music fans. Tour greening efforts include local organic foods straight from the farm, recycling, composting, using reusable water bottles and silverware, purchasing power from renewable energy sources, and fueling tour busses with sustainably produced biodiesel.
Music as a Force for Eco Good
As artists’ eco-consciousness grew, so did their desire to continue to support environmentally friendly causes, and the Green Music Group was born.
The idea, according to the group’s website, is to bring the collective power of musicians, music industry leaders and music fans together to promote “widespread environmental change within the music industry and around the globe.”
The list of founding members reads like a compendium of the world’s most talented musicians and spans virtually every musical genre: Maroon 5, Bonnie Raitt, Barenaked Ladies, Willie Nelson and Linkin Park, to name a few.
Members don’t just green their own acts, they challenge fans, colleagues and their communities to do the same through the Green Music Group Challenge contest. Willie Nelson invited fans to travel light; the Roots asked followers to donate unwanted items to charity, and Sheryl Crow challenged her listeners to get involved in the political process by supporting environmentally friendly legislation, for example. Participants are invited to submit photos, videos or other documentation of their efforts, with one lucky participant in line to win a brand new 2010 Honda Insight Hybrid.
Green Music Group also partners with like-minded organizations—from the Sierra Club to the Union of Concerned Scientists to the Hip Hop Caucus—to serve as green information and outreach resources.
Artists Who Make a Difference
But Green Music Group members aren’t the only musicians on the frontlines of the eco movement.
In 2006, deeply concerned about the amount of fuel required to get to and from gigs while on tour to support of their second album, “Moon Over the Freeway,” the Los Angeles-based country/swing duo the Ditty Bops opted to travel by bicycle instead.
To support environmental education in his native state of Hawaii, Jack Johnson founded the Kokua Hawaii Foundation, a non-profit organization dedicated to enhancing Hawaiian school kids’ understanding of, and appreciation for, their home’s fragile and beautiful ecosystem.
Electronica pioneer Moby is an avid PETA supporter, and pop/country artist KT Tunstall works closely with the The CarbonNeutral Company to plant over 5,000 trees in an effort to offset her own carbon emissions.
How You Can Help
If your favorite artists aren’t supporting environmental causes, you might want to use your influence as a fan to ask them to consider the eco implications of their musical careers—from touring to CD production. If your musical heroes are already going green, congratulations! In a small way, your iPod playlist is helping to save the planet.