The music industry is a widely under-mentioned space when it comes to the climate change conversation... but it shouldn’t be. Activities like touring, vinyl manufacturing, and even music streaming are unsustainable at their current levels, and change needs to happen. Some indie labels have recently recognized this, with notable ventures Beggars Group, Warp, Ninja Tune, Secretly Group committing to the cause by signing the Music Climate Pact, which sets commitments to stand against climate change. Today, a monumental step occurred in this movement, with the major three record labels, Sony, Universal, and Warner committing to the Pact, promising halved carbon emissions by 2030, and net zero emissions in 2050.

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The Music Climate Pact promises to measure carbon emissions, encourage conversation and climate consciousness, and to work with streaming services to reduce emissions related to listening. (Side note, the most climate-sensitive way to listen to music is to download it and listen offline). The pact is inspired by the COP26 music summit and is being led by the UN Environment Programme. It also works with Science Based Targets Initiative and the Race to Zero SME Climate Commitment, two organizations that work to hold labels accountable for their climate goals. Each label will have until February 2022 to choose which scheme to work with.  

Learn more about the agreement here.

P.S. If you’re in the industry and would like to get involved in the fight against climate change, I recommend checking out Music Declares Emergency. The “group of artists, music industry professionals and organisations that stand together to declare a climate and ecological emergency and call for an immediate governmental response to protect all life on Earth.” The team at Music Declares is awesome, and they have great insight on how to change small parts of everyday lifestyle to help make a difference.