Music Declares Emergency

Music Declares Emergency (MDE)[1][2] is an environmental pressure group with no commercial or political affiliations whose purpose is to create a vehicle for musicians and the music industry to bring their influence to bear on climate breakdown mitigation.

MDE was launched in July 2019,[3] by a working group of UK musicians and music industry executives in conjunction with Julie's Bicycle,[4] a non-profit environmental charity for the creative industries. Signatories to its declaration of intent include artists across pop, classical and folk genres as well as organisations such as Abbey Road Studios, Universal Music, Warner Music and Sony.

Its stated aims are to encourage the music industry to innovate new practices to reduce, and ultimately remove, the carbon footprint of the music industry and to work with artists to engage all communities in the debate while calling on the government to target a 2030 date for net-zero emissions.[5]

In 2019, MDE was awarded IMPALA's Outstanding Contribution award.[6] In 2020, MDE was nominated as the charity partner of the Scottish Album of the Year Awards[7] and curated announcements on zero carbon commitments in conjunction with labels Ninja Tune and the Beggars Group.[8]

In 2020, an MDE delegation including Fay Milton (from the band Savages), Edwin Congreave (from the band Foals), Peter Quicke (Co-CEO Ninja Tune) and Alison Tickell (CEO of Julie's Bicycle[9]) met with Frans Timmermans,[10] Vice-President of the European Commission, to discuss the role that music can play in supporting the EU Green Deal and contribute to Europe's green recovery strategy.[6]

In 2020, singer Billie Eilish[11] signified her support by wearing and projecting their slogan, 'No Music on a Dead Planet', during her global live stream event.

In 2021 it collaborated in the launch of Earth Percent[12] with the aim of raising funding from the industry itself to subsidise organisations working on the climate emergency, including those focused on the music industry.

Around Earth Day[13] on 22 April 2021, composer Errollyn Wallen launched MDE's 'Turn Up The Volume'[14] campaign on BBC Radio 4's Loose Ends, a series of interviews and seminars which involved artists such as Melanie C, Declan McKenna, Peter Hook and Annie Mac.

Active MDE groups exist in Germany, France, Switzerland, Chile, Canada, and the USA.

References
  1. "Music industry supports climate emergency declaration". www.prsformusic.com. Retrieved 5 January 2022.
  2. "'We Must Act Quickly': British Music Biz Declares Climate Emergency". Billboard. 12 July 2019. Retrieved 30 July 2021.
  3. "Music Declares Emergency: Artists and executives demand drastic climate action". www.businessgreen.com. 12 July 2019. Retrieved 19 July 2021.
  4. Tickell, Alison (25 October 2012). "Sustainability should be at the heart of our collective artistic vision". the Guardian. Retrieved 19 July 2021.
  5. "UK music industry declares climate and ecological emergency". www.musicweek.com. Retrieved 14 July 2021.
  6. "Music Declares Emergency Wins Impala Outstanding Contribution Award - Impala". Retrieved 14 July 2021.
  7. Stephen, Phyllis (30 June 2021). "The Scottish Album of the Year Award 2021 – submissions open on Thursday". The Edinburgh Reporter. Retrieved 14 July 2021.
  8. "Beggars Group & Ninja Tune unveil plans to go carbon negative". www.musicweek.com. Retrieved 19 July 2021.
  9. "Home". Julie's Bicycle. Retrieved 14 July 2021.
  10. "Music Declares Emergency und Timmermans sprachen über Klimaziele". beta.musikwoche.de. Retrieved 14 July 2021.
  11. "Billie Eilish shows her support for 'Music Declares Emergency' at the American Music Awards". NME. 25 November 2019. Retrieved 14 July 2021.
  12. "'Time to shake things up': music industry confronts climate crisis as gigs resume". the Guardian. 27 April 2021. Retrieved 14 July 2021.
  13. "How rock'n'roll found a new purpose by rallying around the climate crisis". The Independent. 26 April 2021. Archived from the original on 18 June 2022. Retrieved 14 July 2021.
  14. "BBC Radio 4 - Loose Ends, Emma Kennedy, Kate Humble, Errollyn Wallen, Katy Wix, Billie Marten, Evans McRae, Athena Kugblenu, Clive Anderson". BBC. Retrieved 19 July 2021.
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