I usually tell people my first real concert was Arctic Monkeys for their 2014 AM tour. My mom and I had flown to Toronto and booked a hotel to make a weekend out of the trip. I was only eleven at the time and definitely one of the youngest kids in the crowd, but I was just happy to be there. I unknowingly began my record collecting addiction that day when I bought the AM (2013) album because everyone else was, even though I didn’t have a record player yet. This concert will always be a standout memory when I think of all my favourite music experiences and I’ll even get to relive it this summer when Arctic Monkeys goes back to Toronto. 

For many fans, these moments are incredibly important and long-awaited and I hope that we can keep making these kinds of music memories for many years to come. If our planet keeps using resources and producing harmful emissions at the current rate we are, I fear that the sustainability of music as we know it is unlikely. Being someone who has always held an interest in trying to reduce their own footprint, I became interested in the music industry and their role in the climate crisis. Music is rarely at the forefront of environmental conversations, but it's such a staple in our culture. Turns out there are quite a few changes that need to take place to make music more sustainable, but there are also plenty of tangible solutions.

For myself and many others, the highlight of being a fan of an artist is the moment you finally get to see them perform live. A lot goes into each tour and show, but it's time to start making the process and experience more sustainable so that we can keep seeing the music we love for longer. The primary source of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions within these types of large-scale events is fan and artist travel. I’m sure we’ve all driven more than a few hours to see a show. It’s especially difficult in Canada when we usually get a maximum of three dates that are usually in the same three provinces; Montreal, Ontario, and British Columbia. While changing the location and quantity of shows in Canada is difficult, I would encourage you to look locally. Each town has their own music scene; whether big or small, it can’t hurt to see which artists are playing nearby that might suit your tastes. It definitely beats driving to Toronto every three months. I’ve only begun exploring smaller artists in Kingston these past few months, but I can say I’m seriously blown away by the energy of the local talent. Plus there are shows every weekend within walking distance. Honestly, I could not ask for anything better.

I know watching local artists won’t completely dispel the desire to see your holy grail artist live and in person, but thankfully, there have been sustainable concert companies starting to pop up in the industry. These companies are reimagining the concert experience for the artists and their crews, organizers, venues, and fans. Reverb is one of these companies that artists are beginning to partner with for the North American legs of their tour. Lorde partnered with Reverb for the Northern part of her Solar Power tour and together they ensured there were no single-use plastic bottles on-site; hosted non-profit partners at shows; had an Eco-Village at every show where fans could support issues that are important to them; and so much more. By working with this company for her most recent tour, the amount of carbon that was neutralized thanks to substitutions and donations was equivalent to taking five hundred homes off the grid for a year! Now imagine if this was standard and every artist worked towards providing a sustainable concert experience.

Even in the age of streaming, physical forms of music have seen a resurgence, with vinyl surpassing CDs in production and sale numbers in recent years. This is especially problematic because the most common types of vinyl are made of polyvinyl chloride (PVC), which is essentially plastic derived from fossil fuels and is impossible to recycle. A single record made from this plastic can take up to a thousand years to decompose in a landfill. The process of pressing records uses a lot of chemicals and a lot of energy, so big shifts are necessary in this sector. Luckily, a Dutch vinyl production company created the first ever record made out of polyethylene terephthalate (PET) just last year. PET is a commonly used form of plastic and is easily recyclable. Not only that, but it also sounds just like a classic PVC record. With PVC and PET having some similar properties, sound isn't compromised with a complete switch of materials. Thankfully, eco-friendly PVC alternatives are becoming more common and big labels are switching over to greener pressing plants. There’s even a U.S.-based pressing plant that uses soy-based inks, recycled paper products for the sleeves, and runs completely on wind energy. There is no reason for the entirety of the record and the process itself to not be green.

This increasingly prevalent issue also pairs with the trend of fans purchasing an album on every physical medium that is available on the market. Personally, I have also fallen victim to this mentality. When I was younger and had paychecks that I could spend more freely, I often found myself hypnotized by the many limited-edition vinyl colours, and the Urban Outfitters exclusive covers, that flooded the market after every album release. Getting out of the collector's mindset is tough, but really, what are you going to do with five copies of the same album in five years? I can tell you the four copies of hopeless fountain kingdom (2017) by Halsey that I bought in the eighth grade have been collecting dust in my record bin since about a year after the album was released. Moderation is key, so save buying multiple copies for your top artists if the need to collect can’t be erased! 

Yes, even streaming your music contributes to climate change. Though, digitally consuming your music does reduce the carbon footprint of listening by 40-80%, which is quite promising and has the potential to be reduced further. Streaming is not the most sustainable but downloading your playlists for offline listening can seriously reduce emissions produced by constant online playback. This tactic can really help in reducing GHG emissions, considering 157 million tonnes of carbon have been emitted from digital music streaming in the 2000s alone. 

An even bigger issue with digital media are non-fungible tokens (NFTs). Most people have probably heard about the many issues and controversies surrounding the topic of NFTs, but the environmental impact isn’t talked about nearly as much as the other concerns. A single cryptocurrency transaction uses the same amount of energy that an average American household uses in a working week. Annually, the carbon footprint of these transactions is equal to that of New Zealand's footprint. These are huge environmental stressors that seemingly popped up out of nowhere just a few years ago when NFTs gained global popularity. The steep climb in popularity has led to everyone trying their hand at creating NFT collections, even many musicians. For myself and many others, the biggest shock was when it was announced that Gorillaz were going to have an NFT collection for the 20th anniversary of their debut album. This decision was a very interesting move from their team considering they have an album titled Plastic Beach (2010) that is focused on the climate crisis. Thankfully, fans were very outspoken about what they thought of this project, and it was cancelled before the release date.  

A world where sustainability is a prevalent pillar in every industry really is not too far off, but there are always more steps to take. Right now, progress in the music industry is promising, with huge companies like Sony and Warner Brothers signing climate crisis pacts that promise to reduce the industry's environmental impacts from touring, as well as commit to becoming carbon neutral by 2050. Large pacts and statements like this are important, but what is most important is for these companies to stick to their promises and actually make the necessary substitutions for these goals to be achieved.

At this time, many of the industry solutions I mentioned previously, like Reverb concerts and recyclable records, are new concepts and still considered a bit niche. But with increased awareness and conversation about how much impact music can have in regard to ecological degradation, I have hope that changes are coming soon. In an industry where consumer opinion matters, you vote with your wallet. If an artist is doing a project or working with a company that doesn’t have sustainable practices, or any qualities that you don’t agree with for that matter, don’t buy into them. Voice your opinion instead. Your voice does actually make a difference in the long run, and individual action is just as influential as industry-wide changes.

Header by: Mike Passler