Green Music Alliance [Sustainability, Environmentalism, Green, Music, Business, Fans, Musicians, Artists, Education, Awareness, Resources] » Reverb

Green Artist Spotlight: John Legend

Armando — Sat, 29 Aug 2009 21:40:44 +0000

With his 2009 release “Evolver” and his green summer tour, John Legend climbed to the top of the Billboard Green 10 list for 2009. By working with Reverb and the Show Me Campaign to make his tour green as possible, John has done his part this summer in both taking action and raising awareness among his music fans. Visit the Projects page on Reverb for more green artists.

You can preview and buy songs from John Legend’s album “Evolver” using the player below.

Reverb and Idolator Music Blog Examine CO2 in Weekly CD Submissions

Armando — Sun, 23 Aug 2009 03:45:45 +0000

Promotion. Reviews. Promotion. Artist and Record Labels spend much of their time promoting to radio, magazines and blogs. Many blogs receive piles of plastic CDs packaged in bubble-wrap padded envelopes each week. In late July, the music blog Idolator decided to figure out how much that pile of CDs and packaging adds up to in terms of CO2. In their post, “Are Music Writers Slowly Destroying The Planet,” they enlisted the pros over at Reverb to assist in the CO2 calculations and posted the results along with a lengthy chat between Reverb (Green Music Alliance Member) and Idolator about the topic. The calculations certainly added up:

He calculated the weekly carbon footprint of all the music-biz mail filling my office, and what follows are his estimates as how to how much carbon dioxide (CO2) was released in order for these materials to make it my door:

Paper: 20 lbs (approx.) of CO2
Plastic: 30 lbs (approx.) of CO2
Shipping: 27.7 lbs of CO2

In total, 77.7 lbs of CO2 were released just so I could get my CDs every week. “On an annual basis,” Allenby wrote, “you’re receiving about 4,004 lbs of CO2, or just over two tons. This is equal to about 4,000 miles of driving, or electrifying your home for three months.”

Also, check out the comments on the post…. one of the biggest perceived challenges with digital submissions over CD submissions is getting noticed. Will reviewers give just as much attention to an emailed link as a shiny CD with beautiful cover art sitting on their desks?

It is great to see a top music blog like Idolator taking a look at this issue. One thing for certain is that music blogs are already a “greener” alternative to printed magazines… so that is a start. And for all the bloggers out there… please at least recycle the jewel cases! Visit our resources page for recycling options.

Many thanks to Idolator for exposing this green topic.

Reverb

Armando — Fri, 14 Aug 2009 14:35:00 +0000

Deeply rooted within the music and environmental communities, Reverb educates and engages musicians and their fans to take action toward a more sustainable future.

Reverb is a 501(c)(3) non-profit environmental organization founded by Guster guitarist/vocalist Adam Gardner and his environmentalist wife, Lauren Sullivan.

Reverb has coordinated greening programs for the likes of Dave Matthews Band, Coldplay, John Mayer, Jack Johnson, Bonnie Raitt, Phish, Sheryl Crow, Guster and many more. In addition, Reverb has been very pleased to work with Warner Music Group, Live Nation and other industry organizations.

Reverb has worked on over 70 major tours and 1,100 events, helped artists and fans reduce or eliminate over 60,000 tons of CO2, fueled trucks and busses with over 370,000 gallons of biodiesel fuel, hosted over 1,700 environmental groups in their interactive Eco-Village, and reached over 8 million fans.

Member Since: 08/14/2009
Member Type: Non-Profit Environmentalist Organization
Member Website: www.reverbrock.org

Unlocking Sustainability in the Music Business

Armando — Mon, 10 Aug 2009 19:19:41 +0000

Article courtesy of Planetwize.

What do steel, rubber factories, mechanics, gas pumps, freeways, and Detroit have in common? They all play a part in the ‘technological lock-in’ – as the academics say – of a less-than-green American car culture.

The music business, it seems, is locked in to huge stages, bright lights, semi-trucks, tour busses, jewel cases, power-hungry analog equipment and, perhaps most challenging, millions and millions of miles driven by fans to catch the show.

The notoriously resistant-to-change industry, however, is greening up, as more bands and fans take action to reduce their impact.

On The Road Again

Driven by economics and environmentalism, many bands are converting their tour vans to run on vegetable oil. For bands that can’t afford their own veggie rig, GreenVans, a greasy green venture started by musicians, outfits touring bands with rental Ford E-350 vans converted to run on vegetable oil, and claims to help bands save both money and the planet.

“The nature of a band is to travel— touring is the major part of our business. This is a great way to reduce the carbon footprint from our bus, as well as help our business survive in a time of skyrocketing gas prices,” said Shaun Dolan, manager for neo-jamgrass-gypsy rockers, Blue Turtle Seduction, who travel in a veggie van. Other indy bands burning the grease include Pictures and Sound, The Ragbirds, and Mojave, just to name a few.

Willie Nelson, FarmAid President of the Board and American musical treasure, so enjoyed filling his tour buses with biodiesel that he started his own brand, BioWillie, which we covered here. These efforts by bands – both big and small - help to take a little petroleum out of the national tour.

Toward a Greener Music Collection

There is also progress on the consumer side of music. Claims that digital music is greener than CDs are somewhat dubious, given the coal-powered servers that deliver digital content; the toxicity of MP3 players; and the fact that people buy more blank CDs to burn digital music. For greener CD production, Earthology Records and Oasis are just two manufactures using recycled paper and plastic, soy-based inks, and local production to minimize the environmental impact of physical CDs.

Studios, labels, and managers are also pushing the green agenda. Jack Johnson’s Brushfire Records is a solar-powered studio built with reclaimed lumber, and Green Owl Records, part of Warner Music Group, was founded on the idea that “great music can be sustainable—both economically and environmentally.” The Rosebud Agency in San Francisco, which manages acts including JJ Cale, Bill Frisell, and the Refugee Allstars, bills itself as the music industry’s first solar-powered facility. Even instrument makers are taking steps toward sustainability, a movement led by guitar maker Gibson, which we wrote about here.

Festivals and the Carbon Equation

The big U.S. music festivals of 2009: Bonnaroo, Rothbury, Outside Lands, Bumbershoot - all featured numerous greening initiatives, from carbon offsets and compostable utensils, to rideshare networks, solar stages, and biodiesel generators. While these efforts help to spread awareness and reduce waste, it’s the music-lovers driving across the country in search of the ultimate set that present the biggest challenge to promoters’ aspirations for sustainable festivals.

Reverb, a non-profit outfit founded by Guster guitarist/vocalist Adam Gardner, estimates that 80% of a concert’s CO2 footprint is from the fans’ commute. In addition to helping green the summer tours of Phish, Coldplay, and John Legend, Reverb is working with the Dave Matthews Band to educate fans on environmental sustainability, and has coordinated an ‘Eco Ridshare’ program to reduce concert miles driven.

At the recent Wanderlust Festival in the mountains of California, Reverb was onsite selling raffle tickets, with proceeds helping to purchase carbon offsets through Native Energy, a wind power provider working on Native American lands. This was Reverb’s way of giving fans an optional way to neutralize their travel. According to Steffan Lesard, bassist for the Dave Matthews Band, the band and Reverb offset over 3 million pounds of CO2 during DMB’s 2008 tour. That’s the equivalent of one year’s emissions from over a half-a-million cars, and a good start down the road toward sustainability.