What inspired the Earthfest team to launch a music-focused sustainability summit—and why is 2025 the right moment?
Earthfest launched in 2024 with a strong music presence—especially at King’s Cross, where a live stage sparked great energy around using music to drive climate conversations. The festival is part of the London Clean Air Initiative, co-founded by Jeffrey Young and Georgina McGivern.
When I joined as Partnerships Director, it was clear we could go further. Music cuts across audiences and industries—it’s a powerful tool for climate action. That’s why in 2025, we’re launching a full-day Music Summit with curated panels and speakers from across the sector.
This year, we’re teaming up with Climate Live and Frances Fox, who champions young artists and is bringing her iconic vegetable-oil-powered bus to King’s Cross as a performance stage. They’ve already received over 700 artist applications—proof of the growing appetite for climate-conscious music platforms.
The music industry isn’t exactly known for being green. What are the biggest challenges it faces in trying to decarbonise—and what will it take to truly lead the way
It’s a complex sector, but there are 3 key areas we’ll be focusing on at the Music Summit:
- Physical products (vinyl, CDs, packaging)
- Live events (venues, festivals, touring)
- Streaming and digital infrastructure
Physical products gets lots of attention. There have been some great moves by the record companies including Sony, Warner, Universal but we still have a way to go, especially with the fast-growing vinyl market.
Live music is more complex. Our live industry panels will touch on best practice, some new exciting initiatives and a discussion on how the future looks.
Streaming is probably the least understood. It’s seen as “clean,” but the data centres behind it consume huge amounts of electricity and water to stay cool. The panel at the Music Summit will explore this with contributions from representatives from the Greening Of Streaming, Music Declares Emergency and EarthPercent.
How is London uniquely positioned to lead the green transformation of the music industry?
London is a global leader in both music and climate action. You’ve got organisations like Julie’s Bicycle, EarthPercent, and Music Declares Emergency based here—and they’re setting the pace internationally.
The UK music industry as a whole is respected worldwide. If we can get things right here, there’s a real chance to shape best practices globally. That’s why Earthfest Music Summit is such an important platform—it’s a showcase of what’s possible.
The summit brings together major players—from Radiohead and Sony Music to sustainability-focused labels and organisations. What’s the biggest challenge in getting everyone aligned?
Honestly, I’ve been amazed by how open and willing the sector is to collaborate. There are some very clever operators running inspiring organisations and they are already collaborating.
We’ve designed the Summit to be a platform where everyone can come together to share ideas, experiences, and action plans. It’s not about blame—it’s about building on the existing momentum.
A lot of the people coming are already doing brilliant work. The goal now is to connect those dots, amplify what’s working, and make it easier for others to get on board.
Streaming has transformed how we listen to music—but with 125,000 tracks uploaded to Spotify every day, the digital infrastructure must have a hidden cost. What’s the Summit’s take on that?
Absolutely—and we’re asking those hard questions.
Remember Chris Anderson’s Long Tail theory? In the digital age, we moved from blockbuster hits and limited choice to an almost infinite catalogue of niche tracks and artists. It transformed the music industry—giving listeners endless choice and empowering creators at every level.
But that shift comes with an environmental cost. Every one of those 125,000 tracks uploaded daily has to be stored, managed, and delivered—relying on data centres that consume huge amounts of energy and water for cooling. The infrastructure behind this “infinite library” is largely invisible to fans, but its footprint is growing fast.
One of the key challenges is that responsibility for streaming’s environmental impact remains unclear. Streaming platforms rarely disclose their energy usage, record labels often stay removed from the conversation, and data centres operate largely out of sight. At the Summit, we’ll be exploring this with experts from Greening of Streaming and others—asking what the true cost of unlimited choice really is, and how we can work together to make digital music more sustainable.
One of the Summit’s goals is to empower artists as climate spokespeople. But we still see few big names consistently using their platforms for climate advocacy. Why is that—and how can it change?
It’s a big issue. There are plenty of artists that have taken action, but they often face criticism—especially around touring. That puts others off.
Our panel on supporting artists will highlight the new Murmur programme that offers media training and practical guidance for artists who want to engage without getting criticised by the media. It’s about helping them find their voice—and use it well.
We’ll also hear from Philip Selway of Radiohead at the Summit—he’ll be sharing his frustrations and hopes about being an artist trying to speak up on climate.
If Earthfest were a song—or even just a sound—what would its title be?
Choosing a song might come across as a bit cheesy so I’ll go with a sound, the sound of the waves crashing and the bird singing. Nature has given us such an amazing array of sounds that in turn have inspired so many artists.
And finally, how can Londoners get involved—not just during the Summit, but in the months that follow?
There are so many ways to plug in.
First, come along to Earthfest over the weekend—it’s open to everyone, with free live music, inspiring talks, and hands-on workshops. (We’ll be sharing more on the main Earthfest event soon over at The Green Londoner.)
You can also get behind initiatives like Music Declares Emergency—whether that’s buying a “No Music on a Dead Planet” t-shirt or supporting their campaigns.
And then there’s EarthPercent’s latest project, Sounds Right, which is something really special. They’ve actually registered nature as an artist. That means if you use nature sounds in a track, nature gets paid. It’s the first time a non-human has been credited—and it’s brilliant.
The most important thing is to support artists, events, and movements that are trying to change the game.
Earthfest 2025
5 June – Earthfest Music Summit: A day dedicated to industry professionals, artists, and musicians
6 June – Earthfest Industry Day: Panels, networking, and collaborative sessions across sectors
7–8 June – Earthfest Weekend: Open to all, featuring live music, inspiring talks, and community-led events
