Coldplay take on environmental stance by pausing world touring in wake of the their new album Everyday Life. The band joins a camaraderie of notable artists like Radiohead, Billie Eilish and The 1975 that are taking pivotal actions in decreasing carbon input while on tour.
In a recent announcement to BBC News, Coldplay front man Chris Martin, said, ‘We’re not touring this album. We’re taking time over the next year or two, to work out how our tour can not only be sustainable but how can it be actively beneficial.’
According to the BBC, by putting their concerts on hold, Coldplay are giving up a huge pay day: The Head Full of Dream tour made $523m.
In the past, Coldplay have been vocal about protecting the natural environment:
Tomorrow, WWF hopes a billion people will switch off their lights for Earth Hour – http://bit.ly/9ivfx3 #earthhour A
— Coldplay?☀️ (@coldplay) March 26, 2010
Given by the above Twitter tweet, why has it taken about a decade to persuade the band to reduce their carbon input?
After over 10 years of flying by private jet, Coldplay's Chris Martin says his band will not tour for their newest album because it would be harmful to the environment.
Better late than never I suppose, Chris. ? pic.twitter.com/tkL5xYXHJF
— Paul Joseph Watson (@PrisonPlanet) November 22, 2019
Non fans can rejoice that Coldplay will be taking a break. Perhaps Coldplay’s decision to personally act on the issue could be contributed to the recent global awareness on the pressing dangers of climate change. Whether it is a question about boosting their own publicity or not, it is still a positive note to draw upon that another world famous artist is joining the ranks of preaching environmentalism. World renowned artists need to be more proactive about world touring and its factors effecting the environment because it sets the stage for a wider audience to follow.
“Our next tour will be the best possible version of a tour like that environmentally. We would be disappointed if it’s not carbon neutral. The hardest thing is the flying side of things. But, for example, our dream is to have a show with no single use plastic, to have it largely solar powered. We’ve done a lot of big tours at this point. How do we turn it around so it’s not so much taking as giving?” Chris Martin told Rolling Stone.
The big environmental issues to tackle when artists are touring
Staging a world tour is not as easy as a starting out band gigging the Sydney south coast in a mini van.
The big environmental issues that artists’ and management have to face whilst planning a massive world tour is costs, travel, fan’s demands/needs, venue location, and stage theatrics and equipment.
Emma Banks who is the co-creator of one of the world’s biggest music tour agents: Creative Artists Agency, (with clients such as Florence + The Machine, Katy Perry, Kylie Minogue, the Red Hot Chili Peppers and Muse) had something to say to BBC News on the pressing matter of world touring:
“Do we really need 27 scene changes? Do we need cars hanging from the ceiling? Your favourite artist’s tours can have up to 60 trucks moving equipment all over the world. If everyone that’s doing a huge tour cut five trucks, that would make an impact.”
World famous artists are reliant on flying as live shows are one of their main sources of income. In a context where people are becoming more socially aware of carbon emissions, the idea of posing by your private jet doesn’t seem to be cool anymore. The concept of flying to shows being possibly the hardest hurdle to cross over has not stop artists to try and counter their carbon footprint.
Artists who are going green and taking environmental action
Other contemporary artists have already shown the initiative for Earth’s plight.
Billie Eilish
Gen Z, 17 year old Billie Eillish who has taken the music world this year by storm, has pledged that her 2020 tour will be ‘as green as possible’ with a ban on plastic straws and encouraging fans to bring their own water bottles. Eillish also plans to install an “Eco-Village” at each venue where it will be a place for fans to discover ways on doing their own part in protecting the environment. The video below, with guest actor Woody Harrelson, proclaims her environmentalist stance, “our earth is warming up and our oceans are rising. We cannot let this happen on our watch.”
The 1975
The 1975 and Front man Matt Healy have been doing their bit in increasing awareness about climate change and tackling their own carbon imprint. The band have collaborated with environmental activist Greta Thunberg who has appeared on the band’s upcoming 2020 album Notes On A Conditional Form, where their opening song ‘The 1975’ has Thunberg giving a speech on the current ecological and climate crisis.
In countering their own carbon input, The 1975 have pledged to plant a tree for every ticket sold to their shows and have stopped producing new merchandise T-shirts, instead screen-printing new designs on recycled shirts.
With their fans encouraged to plan trees on their own:
Fans of @the1975 unite! Let’s plant trees to honor our favorite band and what they stand for. Let’s plant a future! Join us Nov 26 in New Orleans or sponsor a tree if you can’t be there in person! —> https://t.co/T1m0ceUQgM pic.twitter.com/S5LdJCOl1N
— Natalie Corwin (@natcorwin) November 13, 2019
Front man Matt Healy also expressed his defense and acceptance of being labeled as a ‘Eco-hypocrite’
Healy stated to NME,
“I’d rather not be 100 percent sorted and be accused of being a hypocrite than do fuck all. I’d much rather be called a champagne socialist than be an artist that isn’t talking about the most pressing issue on the planet. Everyone’s going, ‘Well, what about your car?’ Well, funnily enough, I don’t have any cars anymore. I’ve got an electric scooter and electric bike in London. And on a personal level, I am doing my thing. But also: fuck off. Like, go and fuck yourself.”
He continued: “I think The 1975 getting on a commercial plane to go to a country to try and spread a positive message is not going to be the reason that the world sets on fire. What’s hard with The 1975 is fetishisation of woke culture – it’s difficult for me to tell everybody what we’ve done without trying to sound like we’re showing off, but we have carbon offsets, we have no plastic on tour, no plastic in the office, no plastic in any of our packaging and every guest list is paid for and [the money] goes to reforestation for charities.”
Radiohead
Apart from the younger generation of artists doing their part for a noble cause. Renowned rock band Radiohead have been pro environmentalist early in their career.
In being partnered with global environmentalist protective agency Friends of the Earth, vocalist Thom Yorke has been green about the planet since his awareness of mankind’s modern implications affecting the environment as early as the year 2000.
In an 2008 article by The Guardian, Yorke said:
“I got involved with Friends of the Earth after the UN report on climate change was published in 2003 and decided to support their Big Ask campaign for a strong climate change law. At first I told Friends of the Earth that I was absolutely the wrong person to be associated with their campaign. I’ve based my life on touring, and the rock industry is a high energy-consuming industry. But they persuaded me that that was exactly why it was a good idea for me to be involved; that they didn’t want to present a holier-than-thou message.”
In an 2008 article published by NME, the band have established that all tour buses and trucks used on tour run on biofuel, and that air freight is banned.
Fans know that Radiohead’s best-known songs provide observations and criticism towards the current socio-political context. One of their most recognised songs ‘Fake Plastic Trees‘ is one of their most activist compositions and most brilliantly musically output that speaks about the environment.
The music world is keen to see what these innovative artists are now trying to achieve.
Coldplay’s last tour, A Head Full of Dreams Tour spanned 122 shows across five continents in 2016 and 2017. Coldplay who are still pushing the limits musically in a social environment that is rapidly changing, are going one step further musically and politically. Ambitiously sticking to their stance in becoming “actively beneficial” to the planet, their new album Everyday Life hopes to reflect this. Fans and audiences can only speculate what will be expected of them when they return.
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