AJR’s Adam Met On A Future In Sustainable Touring (Guest Post)

Short of powering our tours with screams, claps and stomps, in the midst of a global pandemic we have an unprecedented opportunity to build a new industry architecture, a clean design. Each of the partners, from artists, to agents, promoters, venues, fans, and more all have a role to play. It requires a buy-in from every one of these partners for it to run smoothly. Below, I outline a sustainable proposal for the touring industry, including the ways in which everyone can participate in technological, agricultural, and psychological solutions.

Step 1: Artists. Billie Eilish, Shawn Mendes, The Lumineers and many other artists took significant steps toward carbon neutral touring, in tandem with fan education about climate. REVERB, an organization founded by Adam Gardner (of Guster) and Lauren Sullivan focuses on uniting the music community for positive impacts on both people and planet. In partnership with The Lumineers, they launched the first-ever climate positive tour, offsetting 150% of the tour’s Co2 emissions. Billie Eilish educated her fans through REVERB’s Eco-Village and incentivized reusable water bottles through their #RocknRefill campaign. Above and beyond his touring initiatives, Shawn Mendes invested in Flow, a water bottle company that uses cardboard instead of single-use plastic. AJR (my band) has started to implement a promoter carbon fee to offset the emissions from our one-off shows, in addition to touring. Gardner says, “We have seen and been part of promising progress to make music more sustainable and harness its cultural power to create large-scale change.  Now REVERB is focusing on spreading these best practices industry-wide to fight the climate crisis with our forthcoming campaign, the Music Climate Revolution. There is much to be done, but science mandates that we make massive systemic changes right away.”

Step 2: Agents. When we (AJR) asked to add a carbon fee to our contracts, our agency didn’t know what to make of it. Understandably so. This was not a common practice in the industry. If artists cared about the environment, then they were supposed to be on the hook. This is not a realistic path forward.

The burden must be shared. This carbon fee, at the moment, gets paid out to us, the artist, and we direct the funds to offset  our carbon emissions. This needs to become a standard practice across agencies. This is a simple and easy change that can be made; however, the more significant difference is changing the philosophy of agencies when planning and routing shows. Just as much as the paycheck, the environmental effect of a tour must be top of mind. This could include connecting flydates in ways  that permit less travel, encouraging less private plane usage, and choosing the most direct bus routes. Again, any one of these actions is not enough, but individually, they are part of a larger, industry-wide approach to sustainability.

Step 3: Venues. These buildings have an incredible opportunity on their hands: no tours. The empty amphitheaters, arenas, and even parking lots can be refitted to drastically reduce their carbon footprint. On the construction side, mid-level projects are relatively cost effective such as elevators that utilize regenerative braking (a system that generates electricity as they stop on each floor) and energy efficient windows that can keep in both hot and cold air when necessary. Transitioning to electricity from renewable sources is as simple as a conversation with the energy provider. Standardizing the requirements for food and drink vendors to use local farms and move away from single-use plastics. In parking lots, installing EV charging stations is cost effective as well. If all of these changes were made in every large-scale venue in the US, it would go a long way toward reducing the touring industry’s dependency on fossil fuels.

Step 5: Fans. There is power in numbers. The opportunity to educate a fanbase through music is endless. REVERB’s Eco-Village is a great model for teaching fans about the climate movement and how they can get involved. The next step is for them to take this information and apply it in their homes, schools and communities. Street teams and fan clubs can create programs that encourage the spread of climate action, instigated by artists. Even off of the road, artists can continue to educate and inspire their fans to take action through digital campaigns, merchandise drops, and even new music.

This multi-pronged approach is not exhaustive. It’s also not nearly enough to end the climate crisis. The artist-centered approach to climate change mitigation in the music industry is at an end. It is time for these other partners to participate in ways that they never have before. Now is the opportune time: the pandemic allows the music industry to build a new touring architecture before shows resume, and the climate crisis requires immediate action. There will only be widespread change if every one of these partners can step up at the same time and act to ensure the future of the music industry, and the planet.

Adam Met is the Executive Director of Sustainable Partners, an interdisciplinary nonprofit that creates engagement around sustainability through media, research, and incentive-based initiatives. He is also a member of the six-time-certified Platinum band AJR and host of the new podcast, Planet Reimagined. Met is also a Ph.D candidate at the University of Birmingham, focusing on sustainability and social justice. He is also executive director of the non-profit Sustainable Partners, Inc. 

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