Acousticity is green

I’m inspired by Bas’ MUSIC x GREEN project.

Greta Thunberg would not approve of your vinyl fetish.

How to be a more environmentally-friendly vinyl collector?

Well, the very first thing to do would be to cut back on vinyl purchases.

https://www.normanrecords.com/features/environmentally-friendly-vinyl-collecting

Not that streaming will make everything green again.

The vinyl vs. streaming comparison isn’t easy, as the infrastructure required for each is quite different, and information is scarce. However, our calculations suggest that the key factors are how many times vinyl gets played and the equipment it’s played on. As energy continues to decarbonise, streaming’s environmental performance will improve. But for now it seems that vinyl and streaming are pretty much neck and neck.

https://theecologist.org/2018/mar/16/setting-record-straight-streaming-greener-vinyl

But wait, you don’t have to give up. Do not abandon hope. There is a way to have your music and not heat it too. ()

Acoustic instruments and voice. No amps. No plugs or batteries.

Seriously. No electricity at all. A completely acoustic show is the greenest you can get.

Hikes Without Mics was doing this back in the day.

These have to be for small crowds, but so what? A living room or back yard concert can be pretty great.

I predict some band will make this happen in a reasonably big way because the politics are so compelling. The genre doesn’t have to be campfire songs. It doesn’t have to be retro. It can be original music with great players in a space full of happy listeners.

The economics are tough, but that’s a secondary problem. Bands can play more shows. Venues can have better natural acoustics. Players can gravitate towards louder instruments. Instead of one inaudible acoustic guitarist, there can be ten making a loud sound together. All of this can be solved more easily than global warming.