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Massive Attack vs. the live music machine

By Ed Whyman  Thursday Sep 19, 2024

Massive Attack’s low-emission festival was a historic success, but will their shining example be followed by the industry? Somehow it seems unlikely.

Last month, Massive Attack returned to their hometown after a five-year hiatus, with their Bristol gig, dubbed ‘Act 1.5 Climate Action Accelerator’, a live show with an agenda. The band’s commitment to progressive causes has been ever-present through their thirty-year career, and with this show, they tackled the live music industry’s apathetic response to the climate emergency.

On 25 August, the band led by example, proving sustainable live music is an achievable goal, with the lowest carbon emitting show of its size in history.

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The live music economy is inherently wasteful, in the UK alone emitting over 400,000 tonnes of greenhouse gases each year, the equivalent of 60,000 households.

The touring system used by most big acts is so universal among record labels, venues and ticketing agencies, that an alternative system would be neither cheap nor convenient.

Transport is the main factor, the need to move the artist, their team, and equipment to cities around the world several times a week. But this is still dwarfed by the emissions from fans travelling to venues, which for large scale tours are seldom local.

In 2019, Massive Attack worked with the University of Manchester’s Tyndall Centre for Climate Change Research, who analysed the band’s recently completed tour and released open advice for reducing carbon emissions in the live music sector. If widely adhered to, this would bring about sustainability in an industry desperately behind the curve.

The show itself, which took place on the Clifton Downs, was a huge success, crossing every bridge to reduce emissions.

34,000 fans attended the Downs concert- photo: Darren Clarke

As per the Tyndall Centre’s guide, the wasteful diesel generators were replaced with rechargeable batteries, all food vendors at the gig were vegan and portions were served from biodegradable cardboard containers, toilets on the site were compostable, the arena had no car park, even the initial ticket release required a local postcode, with the intent of reducing travel from around the country.

Massive Attack have been widely commended for their campaign for sustainability in live music. While the trip-hop duo, along with Coldplay and The 1975 are notable exceptions, many ostensibly green initiatives are denounced as green washing, obviously superficial to audiences that have grown used to corporate pandering.

Reading and Leeds Festivals’ ‘No Music On A Dead Planet’, is a powerful slogan, but one that rings hollow when trudging through a sea of litter and burning tents after you exit the arena.

Robert Del Naja (3D) spoke on the hypocrisy of green washing in the live music sector. In an interview with Novara Media, 3D expressed frustration that the rechargeable batteries would be replaced with generators for another event (Forwards Festival) the following weekend. ‘It seems completely crazy that the batteries aren’t staying on site’.

Band members Robert Del Naja and Grant Marshall – photo: Warren Du Preez

The passionate band members themselves were at the forefront of planning this event, and cut no corners in keeping emissions low, partnering with environmental organisations Race to Zero, Ecotricity and Train Hugger to fully realise their vision.

But many of the measures taken by the band for this one-off show are rarely possible for larger festivals and international tours, administrated by companies whose commitment to maintaining the profitability of the live sector far outweighs commitment to sustainability.

The ‘net-zero by 2030’ promise of the UK live music industry is surely a pipe dream. Events like the 1.5 Climate Action Accelerator will be few and far between as long as the profit incentive for global tours with back to back performing schedules remains.  But I hope to be proven wrong.

This is an opinion piece by Ed Whyman, a third year student at the University of Bristol.

Main photo: Andre Pattenden

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