Last night Wilco played at a venue in downtown St. Pete. Friends hosted a pre-party at their new home. From there, 5 or 6 people walked to the show. Several others had driven to their place, and then drove to the show. A few more hitched rides with them, while planning on using Lyft/them to get home. The ratio of those sustainably getting to the show vs those using a more consumptive way was actually higher than most concerts, with about a third walking, and another third carpooling.
REVERB is a nonprofit working with musicians and venues to make live music less harmful to the planet. Huge stars’ tours are great for building community, and devastating to the environment, no matter how many carbon offsets the tour manager buys. REVERB just released their Concert Travel Study. The fan element of live music creates an average of 38 times more carbon emissions than the actual tour (and the actual tours create A LOT).
One of the biggest pieces of the puzzle is how to reduce the climate footprint attendees leave. Is there public transportation and do the artists and venues encourage fans to use it? Do people car pool? And how does selecting a venue fit in?
REVERB surveyed 35,000 music fans through more than 400 events. Fan travel is the biggest, most polluting part of live music. The fans and the industry knows it as well.
The results were clear: concert travel is live music’s biggest climate challenge – and its greatest opportunity…89% of Fans are Ready for Action. Fans said they would be more interested in climate-friendly travel options if expanded infrastructure, incentives, and information were more readily available
A super-majority of live music fans would like better options and incentives for shows. Most fans drive to shows. Priority parking for car pools would be an incentive. Safe nighttime bike lanes to and from a venue would be an incentive. The tour or venue having a dedicated trolley or bus from a transportation hub would help tremendously.
You can read a snapshot of the study here, and submit your email to receive the full report.
