When you’ve got art you’ve got voice. And when you’ve got voice you’ve got freedom, and with freedom comes responsibility.
– Richard Frankland, Gunditjmara filmmaker, musician and activist
Our cultural influence as musicians is our most powerful force, and one we must use for good.
We need to green our own act for many reasons — it’s the right thing to do, it feels good, it’s what our fans expect and it better aligns us with the forces of life on Country. But we’re not individuals. We’re profoundly connected to each other and to land, water and sky. And we’re not simply powerless ‘consumers’ of culture; we are living, breathing creators of it, with the potential to shift the way our society feels, thinks and acts. You’ve got fans who look to you, so what you say, do and sing about matters. Competing stories of ecological crisis and a hopeful future are told by each of us in a thousand ways every day. What stories are you telling?
Be a role model
Probably the most beneficial action you can take to care for our planet is modelling your care and commitment and getting others involved. Whether you realise it or not, you’re a cultural role model. Let your fans, the industry, media and government know how you feel about the climate emergency and the extinction crisis. Let them know what’s special to you about the Country you were born on and the places you live amongst and love now. Behaviour change research tells us that positive reinforcement and inspiration tend to work better than shaming. But sometimes things need to be called out, too. You’ll be the best judge of the right tone for your community.
There is nowhere else I would rather play. The next generation are demanding a rapid shift to renewables, a just transition for all workers and for the government to stop investing in coal. The young people of Australia made it clear the future they want, which relies on rapid action in the present.
– Jack River
Social causes need anthems to carry them, and there’s a special place for Jack River’s 2021 single We Are the Youth.
The song draws inspiration from the 2019 September School Strike 4 Climate rally in Sydney. River explains, “I played to 80,000 young people, and I realised that I didn’t have an anthem for them, and myself, to express how we felt about the times.”
The song was released alongside a powerful music video directed by Nyikina Warrwa and Wangkumara Barkindji filmmaker Marlikka Perdrisat that included media coverage of natural disasters and impotent political leaders contrasted with the energetic worldwide climate rallies.
With lyrics like, “We’re gonna run through the streets tonight, we’re gonna run to the riot, we are the youth,” the song creatively articulates the anger, frustration, and disappointment of those working to solve the climate crisis, and also offers a place of safety and collective hope for the future. It’s a brilliant example of an artist using their stage to call for action.
Jack River has continued to be a strong advocate for the living planet. In 2024, she partnered with the Australian Conservation Foundation to release a new song ‘Nature’s Cry.’ The song, inspired by research which found plants make tiny ‘popping’ sounds when in distress, samples the very same recordings from researchers to bring attention to the destruction of native forests across the country.
She says of the song, “Music and advocacy go hand in hand for me. I wanted to create a song that speaks to the fact that Australian forests, wildlife and bushland are in crisis, and our nature laws are failing to protect them. I wanted to inspire others to take notice, to take action and speak up for the natural world that keeps our human environment liveable.”
Use your platform to draw attention to current issues and events, or to challenge existing cultural ideas – like the fact that we are somehow separate from nature. Share the ways Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander groups are showing leadership, and boost the voices and needs of their communities, artists and activists. It may sound simple, but it helps to make it normal for the rest of us to talk about it, especially for those who look up to you. As you go, try to be inclusive and consider the needs of the most vulnerable in our community.
Talking about issues is great, but taking action is even better. Use your platform to lead by example. Talk about what you’re doing and encourage your audience to join in. The changes you make will be amplified a thousand fold if you bring others along for the ride.
Share your favourite actions with your fans. Start an online conversation about food, divestment, waste, fast fashion, what you’re learning about First Nations leadership in healing Country, and about organisations and movements that are working to directly solve those problems. Make sure you always bring it back to the collective, the systemic – because the challenges we face are not ones that ‘green consumption’ or individual choices can fix. We need people to join together and exercise their democratic power. You can inspire them to do that. When you lead by example you not only influence your fans, but your peers too.
Consider adding a page to your website which talks about your sustainability plan and journey. Don’t be afraid to be transparent about the challenges you face too. Billie Eilish says it well on her Sustainability Webpage: “Recognising sustainable design as an imperfect journey of efforts, Billie is using a range of solutions as she works with her team towards constant improvement.”
Eliza Hull is a singer-songwriter, performer, and advocate for people with disabilities.
In 2022, Eliza penned an article on the intersection between music, accessibility and climate.
“I remember the first time I heard someone talk about how climate change was going to negatively and disproportionately affect disabled people.” Eliza says. “To be honest, at the time I didn’t take much notice.”
“Fast forward to 2020, as bushfires and floods raged, and it was the only thing I could think about. I heard story after story of how disabled people were being tragically left behind when towns had to evacuate; of how support workers didn’t have time to reach disabled people in their community or were too busy to look, frantically protecting their own homes and families. I repeatedly witnessed emergency public messages being broadcast without Auslan interpreters present.”
“Twenty percent of the population in Australia are disabled, but often we are not given a seat at the table and are silenced, even, as in the case of climate change, when it’s a matter of life and death.”
“While there’s no silver bullet when it comes to tackling big issues like accessibility or climate change, listening to disabled voices, especially First Nations voices, is essential. Living in an inaccessible world and facing systemic barriers everyday, we’ve adapted to become incredible problem solvers and ingenious creative thinkers - important qualities which are needed at a time of crisis like now.”
Imagine if every conversation included green ideas. Imagine if it was the norm and leaving sustainability out felt weird. That’s where we want to get to. So speak to venues, suppliers, and service providers. Ask how you can help them make your show, event or product as green as possible. Ask what their sustainability policy is or what actions they’re taking. Tell them you want to promote this stuff to your fans. Tell them what you’re after, or simply ask: “How could we make this greener?” Encourage your team to vocalise these questions, too. Remember, as an artist, you have the power to ask for better. To read more on building your team, explore our Business, Office & Studio chapter. Planning a tour, but don’t know what questions to ask? Our Green Venue Checklist can help you on your way.
Give a shout out to your fans who bring their own water bottles to shows or who use greener travel (see our transport section for more on that). Ask your followers to share what they’re doing or the places and issues they care about. What we pay attention to grows. So help draw attention to the good stuff in the world, and the stuff that matters most.
Was the venue welcoming of sustainability measures? Let your audience know. Do they have an awesome recycling/composting system, invest in renewable energy, or do great work in the community? Mention it.
One of the most valuable things you can contribute is your presence at protests and events and your music to the movement. Some ways you can use your cultural power:
Let’s fight climate change side by side.
– Missy Higgins
In 2022, Green Music Australia brought popular artists, record labels, festivals, and venues together in a united call ahead of the federal election to implore fans to ‘vote for the planet’.
Working in partnership with Music Declares Emergency, we galvanised the music community to advocate for strong climate action and created change at the ballot box. Key achievements of the campaign included:
Link up with local regeneration projects, tree plantings and beach clean ups when you’re in town. Tim Minchin’s Greening page has a great list of active local groups to connect with across Australia and Aotearoa. And make it visible, letting your fans know what you’re doing and why. If you can, invite them along!
The problems we face are hundreds, if not thousands, of years in the making. They are rooted in the story we tell ourselves about being separate from, rather than belonging to, Country. Consider how your work reinforces or counters that story. Make the link between ecology and humanity and help the dominant culture let go of the need to perpetually exploit, compete and divide.
When speaking out about the natural world, consider the words and phrases you use. Language has an inherent power to tell a story. As Journalist George Monbiot says, we need to “talk about the living world with words that engage people, reveal rather than disguise realities, and honour what we seek to protect.” We’ve pulled a couple of his suggestions out from his article in The Guardian below.
Musicians are generational storytellers - with the ability to connect with audiences at a deep visceral level. That’s a cultural influence other leaders can only dream of. If it feels creatively true for you, consider the content of your music and explore ways to write to the truth of our times. There’s no limit to the ways that can be done.
To prove that point, we’ve pulled together an epic playlist of ‘Green Music’ for inspiration. Search Green Music Australia on Spotify to check it out. It’s chock full of new and old music, with all genres from hip hop and folk to ambient, metal, reggae, pop, country, soul and everything in between. There are as many ways to respond or integrate this stuff into your work as there are artists in the world.
So dig in and explore. Go to your favourite spot, listen to see what sounds Country is calling for, and then chart your own creative path. Nature is inspiring — harness the awe you have for our incredible planet in your songwriting.
Green Music Australia worked closely with Bluesfest — Australia’s Premier Contemporary Blues and Roots Festival — and 11 performing artists, to bring a strong Stop Adani presence to the festival. Most notably, our strengthened relationship with John Butler and his amazing team helped to deliver a fantastic finale.
Highlights included:
triple j’s Like A Version is one of the biggest promotional opportunities for any musician in Australia.
In 2024, Angie McMahon used her performance slot to criticise climate inaction through a reimagining of Australian Crawl’s 1983 classic “Reckless.”
By repurposing and rewriting song lyrics to reflect today’s planetary crisis, Angie delivered a powerful and compelling call to action which placed the urgency of climate action centre stage on national radio.
“Meet me down by the jetty landing, where the scientists all say / Oceans rising where we’re standing / A new coal mine opens to cook the living land away.”
“Another natural disaster fries the Great Barrier Reef / Woodside are burning up the Pilbara / Greenwash public statements, they’re still turning up the heat.
Climate change is the biggest challenge we have ever faced. The Earth and the natural systems that protect us all are at breaking point, we all need to do our part to collectively change.
– Parkway Drive
Launched during the U.N. Climate Summit, the Environmental Music Prize is a $20,000 cash prize which recognises and rewards artists who create exceptional music that celebrate nature, or remind us to protect it.
In 2022 and 2023, the prize inspired thousands to listen, watch, and vote for their favourite environmental song — raising the profile of climate music across the globe. Outcomes from the prize include:
Hundreds of submissions from artists of all genres across Australia
Thousands of votes across 59 countries over 2 years
A range of finalists including Emily Wurramara, Flume, Midnight Oil, Paul Kelly, Tash Sultana, Woodes, Ziggy Alberts & more
258 media stories in 2023 with a reach of 40.9 million people
Winners of the 2022 and 2023 award, King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard and Xavier Rudd, both chose to further their impact by donating their $20,000 prize to support local environmental organisations.
Together, $40,000 in donations were given to organisations supporting threatened ecosystems and wildlife including The Wilderness Society, Environs Kimberley, Australian Seabird and Turtle Rescue, The Forever Reef Project, and Save Sunrise Glossies.
Support organisations creating change and encourage your fans to do the same. There are many different ways you can support your favourite organisation. To support Green Music Australia (for example!) you could get involved with our campaigns, join as a volunteer, donate directly via our website, or donate a portion of your ticket sales. There are so many groups doing wonderful work worthy of your support:
Classical outfit The Bowerbird Collective create music which tells conservation stories, with the aim of strengthening our emotional connections to the natural world.
Founded by classical musicians Simone Slattery and Anthony Albrecht, the group has gained international attention for their multimedia performance projects, as well as their albums of threatened species calls, “Songs of Disappearance”.
Reaching over 50+ million people around the world and receiving global news coverage from the likes of Forbes, the NY Times and the BBC, all three “Songs of Disappearance” albums, on birds, frogs (ARIA-nominated for Best World Music Album!) and mammals, debuted near the top of the ARIA albums chart, beating the likes of Adele, ABBA and even Taylor Swift to the coveted #2 or #3 spots.
Through “Songs of Disappearance” and their live performance projects, the Bowerbird Collective has raised over $120,000 for partner conservation organisations, including BirdLife Australia, the Australian Museum’s FrogID project, the Australian Conservation Foundation and Landcare, to boost important ongoing work in protecting and advocating for threatened species.
Header: Jake Taylor, In Hearts Wake at Full Tilt Festival. Photo: thirdeyevisualsau
Jack River performing at the 2019 School Climate Strike on September 20. Photo: Kathryn Farmer
Montaigne advocating to #StopAdani at the 2018 ARIA Awards. Photo: Getty Images
Eliza Hull. Photo: Simon Browne
Missy Higgins protesting fracking in the Kimberley in 2018. Photo: Artist
From top to bottom, left to right: Deborah Cheetham AO, Something For Kate, Kevin Parker (Tame Impala),
NIDALA, Sally Seltmann, Pinch Points, Rob Hirst (Midnight Oil), Bobby Alu, Holy Holy, Little Green, Alex The
Astronaut, Angie McMahon, Gretta Ray, Berish Bilander (GMA) and Georgie Martin (Corner Hotel)
Stop Adani campaign at John Butler Bluesfest Set. Photo: James Garrahy
Angie McMahon. Photo: Bridgette Winten
Parkway Drive drummer, Ben Gordon, repping his #BYOBottle, USA. Photo: Artist
Environmental Music Prize. Photo: Supplied
The Bowerbird Collective Songs of Disappearance Album Covers. Photo: The Bowerbird
Collective, Mervyn Street, Grace (11)
