Fast Company (a publication that fills me with joy every time I find it nestled in my mailbox) did a nice little piece on the most successful greening agents in the music biz. Among the featured were Jack Johnson, Peter Shapiro of Green Apple Music Festival, Adam Garner and Lauren Sullivan of Reverb, Sarah Haynes of Spitfire, and John Esposito of WEA.
I liked the piece because it showed greenings that were happening all across the music industry--not just on the festival circuit--and I learned some new information. From Jack Johnson donating proceeds to non-profits, John Esposito saving millions by doing his homework on sustainable packaging, or the duo behind Reverb taking the guesswork out of green touring--the greening of the music industry's come a long way since we started out a year and a half ago.
Most fans know that Jack Johnson and his label Brushfire Records are big on green business. In fact, I've been asked by his publicist to do a segment on the label, including interviews with G. Love and Special Sauce and others, later this summer. But today CNN is running a pretty good piece that sums things up nicely, so I thought I'd point it out. The CNN piece is here, look for my coverage with even more detail to come in late August.
No, I'm not talking about a new effects pedal that makes you sound like you're jamming in an empty world, I'm referring to the fabulous folks at Reverb who never cease to amaze me. This summer they're out on tours with Dave Matthews Band, John Mayer, Jack Johnson, and about to head out with Maroon 5 and Counting Crows!
Jason will be covering some of those tours soon, but in the meantime, feast your eyes on this beautiful little film that conveys the power we have as fans, musicians, and citizens of Spaceship Earth:
The Bonneville Environmental Foundation, one of my very favorite nonprofits, made an exciting announcement today about one Jack Johnson....they're partnered to green his tour and they want you to get involved! So watch a video and do a good deed for a very worthy cause.
From them: We are excited to announce that Jack Johnson has chosen BEF as a partner for his 2008 World Tour! Here are a few of the benefits:
• Every time you watch our new BEF video on his Web site, the Jack Johnson All At Once charitable foundation will donate $1 to BEF. To watch the video, click here, scroll down, and watch it all the way through. Help us spread the word!
• Any BEF Green Tag orders placed online by September 14 -- and reference Jack Johnson -- will be matched by his foundation. In other words, your purchases will have double the benefit to our environment!
• For those of you who live in the Pacific Northwest, visit our BEF Blog ( blog.b-e-f.org) to learn more about how you can win a free pair of Jack Johnson tickets for the August 20 show in St. Helens, Ore.!
If you've been living under a rock and don't know who Jack Johnson is, check him out on our GreenBase Earth Day mix:
Seems my passion for all things green and musical is rubbing off on Grist editor Sarah van Schagen, who has reported on the greening of Bonnaroo, given us a good comparison chart of the greenest music festivals, and now has posted an interview with Aussie artist Xavier Rudd, following up on last year's heart-to-heart with fellow down-under heartthrob John Butler. What is it about the Aussies that they keep popping up on the green-music radar?
But Sarah's got more than just a passing fancy for musical men at work--she's got a long and growing list of green music stories, as well as a smattering of Hollywood (ick) coverage and an oh-so-cute affection for alliteration.
So since I've been unable to line up my own interview with the Beastie Boys, I'll point you to her interview with Mike D for another big green concert last year.
How do we compare as green-music bloggers? Like me, Sarah was disappointed in Sasquatch for its halfhearted greening efforts at last year's festival, but unlike me, Sarah was actually there. And while Sarah posted way, way more about Bonnaroo than I did, and got to have interviews with musicians thanks to her all-access press pass, I still think my post on the big bash was pretty good. More recently, we'veboth commented in passing on surfer-boy Jack Johnson. And while we have also both covered BioWillie, she picked up on his book while I picked on him (but just a little) for the questionably sustainable concept of BioDiesel. And neither ofus could make heads or tails of the Virgin Music Festival's decision to use Darryl Hannah as an official spokesflack. But while she gets interviews with fun musicians like Michael Franti and covers important, erm, news like the greening of Maroon 5 (only comment to that story: "such a shame they're terrible"), I dig out the real movers and shakers behind the green music scene with interviews likethese. But I totally whiffed it on the Grammys. Sorry, kids!
Bottom line? It's not a competition, obviously, although I bet I could drink her under the table (a table at Bonnaroo covered in organic beer served in compostable cups, natch). Instead, I'll just continue to clue you folks in whenever she posts another exceptional article, and be glad that someone else out there cares about getting to listen to music without having to feel all guilty about it. And Sarah, I expect to see you at a music festival or 10 this summer. Until then, I'll be watching you!
National Geographic is now broadening its music initiative considerably, and pushing into recording, publishing, television, touring, and digital arenas. The fresh division, dubbed National Geographic Music and Radio, is launching with the support of distribution partners like Clear Channel, Salem Communications and NPR. "National Geographic Music and Radio will engage listeners with great talk and sound, and also offer artists and experts who care about global culture and the environment an outlet to create awareness for important issues," said Tim Kelly, president and chief executive of National Geographic Ventures.
The undertaking follows a move by National Geographic into digital music last summer, one that rallied a number of world music content distributors. That offering, available at worldmusic.nationalgeographic.com, is now part of a far broader push. According to the team, Music and Radio will encompass music supervision for films and the National Geographic channel, as well as a suite of internet radio stations. It also involves live concerts, a record label, and the management of roughly 12,000 publishing assets.
The company also stressed that the initiative would help to address societal and environmental issues, and pointed to the support of concerned artists like Jack Johnson, Ben Harper and Peter Gabriel. "Through our various units, we will be able to create an emotional connection for our listeners with the planet," said David Beal, head of publishing, label and radio aspects.
NUGS.NET ENLISTS DAVE MATTHEWS BAND, JACK JOHNSON PHISH, GRATEFUL DEAD & OTHERS FOR A LIVE DOWNLOAD COMPILATION TO BENEFIT ROCK THE EARTH MUSIC FOR THE PLANET: a nugs.net BENEFIT ALBUM FOR ROCK THE EARTH TO SUPPORT ENVIRONMENTAL CONSERVATION IN THE UNITED STATES
Nugs. net and all the artists involved will donate 100% of all profits from the sales of this environmental resources compilation to Rock the Earth, a registered 501 (c)(3) non-profit charity. Director Marc Ross proudly claims, "Rock the Earth champions environmental and public health issues, and all the artists on Music for the Planet and nugs. net wanted to help these worthy causes for Earth Day 2007. We work closely with the music industry and its fans, many of whom are concerned with the fate of our public lands, air and water. We act as advocates to ensure the existence of a sustainable and healthy environment for all. Further, we aim to represent those individuals and communities whose environment or natural surroundings are directly and adversely affected by the actions of others." Nugs. net founder Brad Serling adds, "We feel extremely fortunate to have the unwavering support of our artist clients for this fundraiser." This two CD benefit compilation album will be available for $10.95 as MP3 downloads and $15.95 as CD-quality FLAC downloads. It is also available in a two-CD format for $25 which includes a one-year membership in Rock the Earth. To purchase, go to LiveDownloads.com and help support nugs.net's efforts to defend our natural resources.
Music For The Planet: a nugs.net benefit for Rock the Earth
DISC ONE 1) Widespread Panic: From The Cradle 04:43 11/3/06 Austin, TX 2) moe.: Blue Jeans Pizza 07:59 2/9/07 Boston, MA 3) Phish: Tube 10:44 12/29/97 New York, NY 4) Zero: Ermaline 11:00 2/2/07 San Francisco, CA 5) Jack Johnson: Banana Pancakes 03:10 4/22/06 Waikiki, HI 6) STS9: Hi-Key 05:31 12/29/06 Atlanta, GA 7) Gov't Mule: Unring The Bell 09:20 10/22/06 Portland, OR 8) The Radiators: River Run 10:17 2/16/07 New Orleans, LA
DISC TWO 1) The String Cheese Incident: Piece of Mine 06:55 3/24/07 Denver, CO 2) Grateful Dead: Eyes of the World 12:20 12/31/76 San Francisco, CA 3) Umphrey's McGee: Morning Song 07:35 12/30/06 Chicago, IL 4) Trey Anastasio: Simple Twist Up Dave 12:03 10/27/06 Las Vegas, NV 5) The Disco Biscuits: Helicopters 09:56 12/31/06 Camden, NJ 6) ALO: Plastic Bubble 05:29 6/1/05 Berkeley, CA 7) Dave Matthews Band: Warehouse 09:58 8/7/04 Alpine Valley, WI
The Bonneville Environmental Foundation, one of my very favorite nonprofits, made an exciting announcement today about one Jack Johnson....they're partnered to green his tour and they want you to get involved! So watch a video and do a good deed for a very worthy cause.
Los Angeles, CA Nugs.net, the leader in live music downloads, has assembled another all-star compilation of exclusive live tracks to raise money for several Rock the Earth campaigns to defend environmental resources in the US. Nugs.net artist partners donated the recordings for this compilation, including an exclusive release from Jack Johnson. Other artists contributing to the benefit compilation include Dave Matthews Band, Grateful Dead, Phish, Widespread Panic, The String Cheese Incident, The Disco Biscuits, The Radiators, Trey Anastasio, Gov't Mule, STS9 (Sound Tribe Sector 9), Zero, Umphrey's McGee, moe. and ALO. Nugs.net and the 15 artists featured on the benefit release organized this compilation out of their dedication to providing continued support for the worldwide environmental community. 
