Charis McGowan asks three musicians how the music industry can be an important asset during the current climate crisis

The music sector tends to fly under the radar as a polluter, yet it is still an industry that operates under capitalism, prioritising profit over sustainability.

According to PRS for Music, the UK’s music industry alone releases 540,000 tonnes of CO2e (carbon dioxide equivalent, meaning all greenhouse gases) per year; from printing vinyl to hosting festivals.

Yet musicians can create change by changing touring habits, educating through song and demanding greater accountability from event promoters. Action also extends to music journalists and listeners: we have the power to change small habits – from buying an eco-friendly vinyl to boycotting a high-polluter event.

For advice on positive change in the face of the climate crisis, we’ve spoken to artists who place the environment at the heart of what they do; from the music they create to how they share it.

Soema Montenegro

Montenegro is an Argentine folk experimentalist whose music is driven by a connection to nature. With dexterous vocal ability and inventive sonic gestures, she replicates landscape through sound, guided by an ancestral, ritualistic approach to channel song to bestow respect to the land.

“If I think about the music industry as part of this capitalist system, I have little hope for it. To me, anything connected to capitalism is inherently tied to a patriarchal mindset – subjugating nature, just as women’s bodies. Everything alive has to be controlled, packaged, measured and made for consumption.”

“If we consider art solely as a commodity we will never be in harmony with humanity’s natural order… Art has the potential to create new content or foster meaningful messages that inspire reflection and a new connection with our environment. This includes every space, community, locale and ecosystem we inhabit.”

“When we are in harmony with ourselves, we can achieve harmony with the planet. We can move outward, creating or adopting new ways of listening and consuming music sustainably – not just for the musicians and listeners, but also for the spaces where music is shared, whether in physical locations or the communities we gather in.”

“The current consumerist, capitalist, patriarchal system is in decline. There are likely people already envisioning or even practising new ways of being. The potential for change is immense, and by fostering reflection and intentional action, the music community can be part of that shift.”

Daniel Bachman

Bachman is an American guitarist whose work is intrinsically tied to the musical heritage of his home state, Virginia. Deeply preoccupied by the climate crisis, Bachman integrates field recordings into his music, capturing the state’s changing climate and devastating impact on local livelihoods.

He stresses that his comments come “from a place of general frustration”, rather than blame.

“Everyone should be making work about the climate breakdown. Not only is it one of the most impactful moments in our human and Earth histories, I’d bet that by 2025, most artists have experienced some localised effects of [it].”

“There’s a tendency for artists to feel like they are not qualified to speak on it… If you are experiencing extreme weather and changes to your region’s climatological norms, you are an expert.”

“Working on climate material has been a powerful motivator and the first step towards larger action in my own life. There’s no better antidote to despair than action.”

“I’d love to see music journalism that engages more with climate issues. One of the recurring themes in journalism about my last few pieces has been whether or not my music had a ‘hopeful’ tone, which I find misguided at best, and escapist at worst.”

“I see a lot of missed opportunities. Take the devastating flooding from Hurricane Helene in the southern Appalachians this year, where thousands of artists live. There could have been interview pieces with artists, venue owners and community members on recovery efforts but I saw little engagement from the music press.”

Simón Mejía

Founding member of Bomba Estereo, Mejía’s latest work contemplates nature’s growing vulnerability. His ambient solo project, Monte, incorporates birdsong and sounds of Colombian wilderness to highlight nature’s importance. He also co-directed the documentary Yuma, which spotlights the threats facing Colombia’s Magdalena River. Last year, Yuma was presented at COP16 in Colombia.

“We have an imaginary idea around music: that it’s an art, not an industry. But it is an industry with a footprint on different levels: touring, booking, streaming… First of all, we have to be aware of that.”

“The conversation has to start with the artists. Making decisions like saying no to concerts, as Massive Attack did to Coachella [due to the festival’s environmental impact], is interesting. We can change the mentality of touring. Make it more efficient, tour less, fly less and let local talent emerge.”

“I personally went off touring. I’m not saying musicians should not tour – I did my touring, and I understand emerging bands must keep going, but we are in an urgent situation. Bands don’t have to tour as much, we can set ourselves a limit of travel in the year… Maybe if you’ve been somewhere twice in the last couple of years, you don’t have to go back and visit the same territory.”

“The show itself doesn’t need a thousand lights, lasers and screens. It all has a cost and it takes a lot of energy to put on a single show. Let’s make it about the music, and bring it back to the minimalistic.”

“I’m also working with organisations like EarthPercent and Sounds Right, which give royalties to nature. It’s an interesting way artists can take direct action. Every artist could do one track – who knows if it will reach a thousand streams or a billion, but if they sacrifice the royalties from just one track it can make a change. If this becomes a huge movement, it will create a lot of resources.”

Soliphilia

Erin Cobby chats to a sustainability champion using festivals as a laboratory for structures made out of mushrooms

“The most sustainable way to have a festival is just not to have one.” This is a sentiment that sustainability coordinator, lecturer and consultant Pauline Bourdon has heard countless times over. However, through her interconnected roles, she’s proving that the opposite can be true.

For Pauline, this starts with education, something she implements through her role at BIMM University. To her more sceptical students, Pauline asks: “Why is it easier to accept climate breakdown than it is to think that the system we exist in can be changed?” She then breaks this question down by highlighting solutions which already exist, and by helping her students understand that the climate crisis does not exist in a silo. “Even if they’re not particularly interested in the climate, usually there’s an injustice that they care about”, she explains. “I just help them connect the dots.”

It’s this idea of reframing which also bleeds into the work that Pauline does with festivals and outdoor events. “The surrounding system is really hard to penetrate as it’s all geared towards productivity and economic growth”, she explains. “The challenge is trying to get people to slow down and realise that while things may seem more expensive immediately, the long-term benefits are overwhelming.” She outlines some simple and cost-effective solutions, including partnering with existing organisations like Music Declares Emergency, A Greener Future and Vision 2025 to ensure that a green transition is as easy as possible. “You can also evaluate your finances to ensure you’re banking ethically, and reach out to everyone involved in the business, from stakeholders to suppliers, to ensure that everyone is on the same page”, she explains. Pauline reaffirms that spending initially isn’t essential as its first best to record current usage to establish a benchmark to grow from. Underpinning all of this action is an emphasis on awareness. Pauline points to the essential reading provided by No Climate Action Without Us which looks at accessibility and sustainability, stating, “We need to be vigilant about that and make sure solutions are intersectional.”

“There are also solutions which are a little more creative.” We discuss Massive Attack’s implementation of the Super-Low Carbon Live Music road map, and EarthPercent and Sounds Right’s moves to raise money for climate projects by making nature a recording artist on streaming platforms. However, what drew me to Pauline initially was her involvement with Team Love and their work with mycelium. “Mushrooms and fungi are great for biodiversity”, she tells me. “They can eat plastic, absorb oil spills and help trees speak to each other. It’s absolutely insane what they can do.” With this in mind, Team Love & re:right design got together with a company called Biohm and embarked on an Arts Council-funded project to see whether mycelium could act like polystyrene when engineering a creative festival build.

What they created was the project Six Degrees, a stunning structure shaped like the number six. This was placed right in the middle of the Silver Hayes area at Glastonbury, creating a great learning opportunity for audiences. “We had so many people going to see their favourite DJs, looking for a place to rest, finding the structure, realising what it was, and really getting into it!” explains Pauline.

Underpinning all of this work is the concept of ‘Soliphilia’, which is also the name of Pauline’s consultancy company. This is a word created by the environmental philosopher Glenn Albrecht, by which he means our love and responsibility for a place, bioregion or planet and the unity of interrelated interests within it translated into political solidarity. “This is something I really carry with me”, she explains, “of taking actions for everyone and being a good ancestor for generations to come.”

We finish off our call with my asking Pauline whether she’s hopeful concerning the role events can play in combating the climate crisis. “Yeah definitely”, she answers immediately. “Festivals provide transformative experiences and for me, they go hand in hand in showcasing new technologies. Festivals are little cities, so why wouldn’t we use them as testing labs to create collective joy?”

Brad Fielder

Russ Slater Johnson interviews an artist raising funds after Hurricane Helene

Hurricane Helene caused over 200 deaths and immeasurable damage when it hit Florida, US, in September 2024. Researchers at World Weather Attribution stated that climate change made the disaster’s severity worse. We spoke to Brad Fielder – who released the compilation The Hell of Helene: Songs for Appalachian Relief (reviewed on p51) to support those affected by the hurricane – about how the compilation came about and how musicians can play their part in the relief effort.

What was the impulse for The Hell of Helene?

The devastation and complete loss of livelihood in the region was overwhelming, but also familiar. Living in central Oklahoma, in the heart of Tornado Alley, I’ve seen massive destruction from a natural disaster firsthand. The cultural and historical significance of Appalachia cannot be overstated; especially in the areas of my interest as an American folk musician. Finding a way to contribute to the recovery effort of the region and its people who have contributed so much to my livelihood was second nature. More than anything, funds were needed, and so raising money became my cause.

Aside from the compilation, how was the music community involved in the relief effort?

In the midst of scrambling to put this all together, I was happy to see other compilations by other groups had taken shape. Relief benefit concerts with donation collections were being organised. I know personally many musicians who were affected in the areas but still able to help were out doing so every day, doing all they could. The American Songcatcher project conceived ReString Appalachia (bit.ly/restringappalachia), organising donations and distribution of instruments to musicians who lost theirs to Helene.

Are you able to share what the compilation has raised since it was released?

In the 11 days that donations were actively collected, $1,636 was raised. That’s the 100% gross total on Bandcamp, with all proceeds going to the relief effort. All the musicians agreed to contribute their music for free, with no compensation; and I took no cut as well. After the funds started processing and being deposited to the connected PayPal account, the extent of the transaction fees being levied by both Bandcamp and PayPal became apparent. After all donations were processed, $1,380.38 was netted. $690.19 went to the United Way of Asheville and Buncombe County’s Hurricane Helene Relief fund, plus a $27.82 processing fee. $662.37 went to the Old Fort Strong Fund, a relief org in the Boone, NC region that was made on condition to Tucker Deal for use of his photograph for the cover. Links to make direct donations remain on the album’s Bandcamp page.

In light of a disaster such as the fires in Los Angeles right now, do you have any practical advice for how musicians and the music industry can be effective as part of a relief effort?

Take initiative. Organise and jump to action. People are willing and ready to help and contribute, they just need to know what to do and how. Be honest, selfless and transparent in your efforts. Whatever kind of help is needed, do that. Music is a powerful medicine. Use the tools and know-how we have as music makers and distributors to contribute positively, however that may be.

+ More information about The Hell of Helene at bit.ly/thehellofhelene

Simon Lynge

Devon Léger speaks to the Inuk musician to find out how climate change has affected Greenland and its people

Born in the town of Holstebro, Denmark, Inuk singer-songwriter Simon Lynge splits his time between performances in Copenhagen, home life in the Pacific Northwestern US, and visits to family in Greenland. He’s become a world-travelling voice for the Inuit of Greenland, where the effects of climate change in the Arctic are viscerally felt. Lynge was recently visiting tiny Uummannaq Island and heard about hunters dying by falling through ice in recent years since the ice is now uncommonly thin in the winter and sometimes doesn’t come at all. “Very few things are like they used to be”, he says. “Every year is so different and that’s what makes it difficult for our culture, because our hunting culture is based on things being predictable in terms of climate. It means that the animals we hunt show up in particular areas because of very reliable weather patterns.” Now summer arrives late, or winter arrives late or early, or maybe it lasts into June. The animals get confused by the unpredictable seasons and don’t show up where the Inuit expect them to be. In Qaqortoq, a slightly larger town in southern Greenland where Lynge’s father lives, he saw videos this year of a polar bear strolling through town, something Lynge had never seen or heard of before in that part of the country. The polar bears come down Greenland’s east coast from the north on ice floes and end up in the southern part of the country which is not their natural habitat. They get hungry and go into human habitations.

Of course, some changes benefit Greenland, like the new international airport opened in the capital of Nuuk. Direct flights from New York are expected soon, which will be a large boon for the country of just over 50,000 people in total. Though groceries used to be brought in from Denmark by ship, and heavy ice on the East Coast could delay shipments, Lynge points out that food is readily available, though often expensive in Greenland. For millennia, Inuit have lived off the land there, hunting whales and seals, fishing for Arctic char and gathering crowberries, just as they do today.

For the Inuit, Lynge says, there’s no differentiation between humans and the natural environment. “Ninety-nine per cent of Greenlandic songs are about nature,” he says, “about how grateful we are for our country and how beautiful it is. The visual arts in Greenland are all about nature. Our whole culture is based around the unique ecosystem that we live in. There’s a really profound love for the land that we live on, still to this day.” Lynge’s advice for the rest of the world is simple. “We have a way of life that’s so based on consumption and finding satisfaction through attaining things. It’s really a kind of spiritual change, I think, where we need to reconnect with being creatures on the planet instead of consumers of the planet.”

We asked Music Declares Emergency – whose project NO MUSIC ON A DEAD PLANET is bringing together musicians and the music industry at large to put pressure on the government to respond immediately to the climate emergency – to offer some practical guidelines on things that musicians and listeners can do to play their part.

Five Things Artists Can Do

1 - Use your voice

As an artist, you have a unique relationship with your fans. By calling for urgent climate action and by talking about how the climate emergency affects you and your music, you increase the level of awareness and inspire people to get involved. We know it’s not an easy step and there is advice and support available from Music Declares Emergency and others to help you navigate the conversation.

2 - Tell Your Team

Whether you are self-releasing with help from freelancers or signed to a contract with management and a full support team, letting your people know that the climate emergency is at the centre of your concerns ensures that whoever acts in your name can represent your concerns effectively.

3 - Get better merch. And explain to fans why

We know merch is a key part of income. Making better merch, certified as sustainable, is possible but can add a few pounds to items. Telling your fans why you have made that choice and explaining the benefits at the merch stall is shown to increase sales. Music Declares Emergency can help with sourcing suppliers.

4 - Use a green rider when touring

Green riders are pretty common now but if you aren’t already using one, download the template from bit.ly/juliesgreenrider and join the winning team.

5 - Change your bank, stop funding the bad guys

Some high street banks continue to fund fossil fuel exploration with your money. Switch your bank and ensure your money isn’t contributing to the problem. It’s easy to switch, start at https://switchit.green.

Five Things Fans Can Do

1 - Speak up with like minds

The NO MUSIC ON A DEAD PLANET Movement is the fan community of Music Declares Emergency which launched in March 2024. Over 12,000 UK music fans are already taking part in climate action together and using their collective voice to drive change. Join up at nomusiconadeadplanet.org.

2 - Use public transport for gigging (or shout if you can’t)

The majority of the emissions (around 80% on average) for any live show are generated by the audience. Where you can, use public transport to get to and from shows. If your area doesn’t provide suitable transport, connect with other fans and talk to your local council and MP to ask why and demand better.

3 - Buy better

Showing your support for your favourite artists by buying their albums and wearing their t-shirts is part of fandom and essential to enabling them to continue making music. Don’t buy multiple formats of the same release, be content with one copy and look for eco-certified merch. If it isn’t available, email the artist or their team to ask why.

4 - Get involved with your local venue

The most climate-friendly shows are local. Less travel = less emissions. Supporting and maintaining local venues does more than just that: it helps secure a sustainable future for live music. Support your local venue and show that support publicly. For a great local venue listings service, go to the Music Venue Trust guide: musicvenuetrust.com/gig-guide.

5 - Change your bank, stop funding the bad guys

Some high street banks continue to fund fossil fuel exploration with your money. Switch your bank and ensure your money isn’t contributing to the problem. To switch, go to https://switchit.green.