Coldplay and Billie Eilish Tune Up Sustainable Concerts

Together with

Coldplay’s and Billie Eilish’s new tours are putting on a masterclass in how to organize a global tour in a way that cuts down on the emissions that have become increasingly associated with the music industry.

The Big Picture: While the music industry isn’t one of the biggest contributors to worldwide pollution, its public nature has put it in the spotlight, especially as tours become bigger and longer. By putting an emphasis on making them sustainable, the two superstar acts are putting together a blueprint for others to follow.

Between the Setlists: So, what does an eco-friendly tour actually look like?

  • Eilish’s Hit Me Hard and Soft tour partnered with music-industry-focused nonprofit Reverb for its sustainability goals. It also constructs an “Eco-Action Village” at venues where fans can learn about local environmental and sustainability-focused organizations.
  • The tour instituted “plant-based food options, allowing reusable water bottles, a ‘no idling’ policy for trucks, enhanced recycling measures, donating excess catered food, hotel toiletries, and camping gear left behind by fans,” according to Variety.
  • Coldplay’s Music of the Spheres tour — now the best-selling rock tour ever — is working to cut its carbon footprint in half compared to its last tour in 2016-2017. It keeps fans updated on its progress through its website (currently standing at 49%).
  • The band has been trying to do that through flying commercial instead of private, giving fans compostable LED wristbands, planting a tree for every ticket purchased, and installing kinetic floors that create energy when people dance on them.

Encore: While these changes are clearly making an impact on the band’s carbon footprint, the one thing that’s almost impossible to control is how fans get to shows. Both artists are incentivizing people to use public transit or more sustainable forms of transport to get to shows… which is actually working (45% of Coldplay fans arrived at shows by foot, bike, train, subway, or bus). If all of these measures lead to a cheaper net cost for people to see their favorite acts, expect music labels to make them boilerplate for future tours.

David Vendrell

Born and raised a stone’s-throw away from the Everglades, David left the Florida swamp for the California desert. Over-caffeinated, he stares at his computer too long either writing the TFP newsletter or screenplays. He is repped by Anonymous Content.

TOGETHER WITH CANVA

No design skills needed! 🪄✨

Canva Pro is the design software that makes design simple, convenient, and reliable. Create what you need in no time! Jam-packed with time-saving tools that make anyone look like a professional designer.

Create amazing content quickly with Canva