Many artists have spoken out in favor of sustainability in the music industry and some are already working on it.

Every year, our planet is assigned a day on which industries, politicians and society reflect upon their impact on nature – Earth Day. Ever since Fridays for Future and Extinction Rebellion made waves in Germany, this day has also reached us.

Earth Day also affects the music industry in Germany. However, there is still a lot of uncertainty here. One reason for this is that the industry’s impact is not transparent – for example, there are no figures on plastic consumption and CO₂ emissions from the industry in Germany. Our understanding of sustainability is therefore shaped by data from the US and UK music industry. The issue of sustainability in the music industry therefore appears, in addition to the existential nature of the problem, to be a complex mountain of problems due to the lack of transparency and the resulting obvious lack of commitment from industry leaders.

Pacts, initiatives and the Paris Agreement

The Paris Agreement of 2015 is often cited in connection with sustainability. It aims to prevent global warming of more than 1.5 degrees, among other things. As part of this, plans were implemented to reduce EU countries’ emissions by 55% by 2030 to achieve climate neutrality by 2050. In order to comply with the Paris Agreement, industries must find sustainable solutions. This also applies to the music industry. In the following years, after 2015, initiatives were set up to reshape the music industry and put sustainability at its core. In 2019, Music Declares Emergency was launched to record the commitment of artists, organizations and music professionals to a sustainable music industry. Through the ‘NO MUSIC ON A DEAD PLANET’ campaign, the organization received international support from well-known artists such as Billie Eilish, who even wore a shirt with the slogan to the AMAs.

UK major labels such as Sony, Warner and Universal also wanted to express their commitment to sustainability and signed the Music Climate Pact, which was founded in 2021.

The impact of streaming and physical music

According to a study by the Environmental Change Institute at the University of Oxford, the UK music industry’s annual CO₂ emissions in 2007 were already at 540,000 tons. A large proportion of the emissions produced by the music industry come from streaming services. According to estimates, emissions from the digital storage and transmission of music in the US were expected to rise to between 200 and over 350 million tons in 2016, up from 157 million tons at the beginning of the 21st century. However, according to the same study, the success of streaming services has greatly reduced the music industry’s use of plastic. At the beginning of the 21st century, the use of plastic for the production of CDs, vinyl and cassettes was over 60 million kilograms; in 2016, it was only around 8 million kilograms.

Sustainability in production

These figures should have risen again thanks to the ‘vinyl revival’. That’s why, alongside the Near-Mint initiative by Republic of Music and the AIM Climate Action Group, with support from PIAS and Music Declares Emergency, there are now a number of companies committed to sustainability in the production of records. Green Vinyl Records have developed more energy-efficient pressing machines and switched from PVC to PET (a plastic that is easier degradable) and ReVinyl uses edge trimmings from records to produce new ones in order to make 100% recycled vinyls.

Artist commitment to green tours

Artists themselves are also committed to promoting sustainability in the music industry. Pearl Jam has therefore been offsetting the CO₂ emissions of their tours since 2003. They also use part of their tour profits for environmental projects. After Billie Eilish’s second studio album ‘Happier Than Ever’ was released, she started her world tour with the aim of making it sustainable. Together with Reverb, she implemented numerous sustainable initiatives, such as completely vegan catering for herself and her crew and at least three vegan options for audience members. In 2019, British trip hop pioneers Massive Attack commissioned a study on carbon emissions in the UK concert and festival sector. The result: a roadmap for promoters, venue operators, managers and artists to incorporate sustainability. For this year, they have planned a one-day festival powered by 100% renewable energy. The aim is to create a prototype for the music industry and show festival and concert organizers that live music can also be sustainable.