November 6, 2008

Small Music Labels Going Green, Are Major Labels Lagging Behind?

While major labels such as EMI, Sony BMG, Warner Music Group, and Universal Music Group have been slow to implement green initiatives, according to Plenty Magazine, some smaller labels have began to green up their acts.

Some of the initiatives these smaller labels are taking include packaging CDs in recycled material; powering their offices and studios with renewable energy; touring in veggie oil-powered buses; buying renewable energy credits and donating a portion of their profits to environmental groups.

But not everyone thinks the big labels are sitting on the sidelines. Bill Werde, deputy editor of Billboard, has said that every major label is on board in one way or another in corporate-wide greening efforts. WEA, the U.S. sales and distribution company of Warner Music Group, has said that it would begin using ecologically-enhanced paper packaging for its standard CD and DVD products in the U.S.

Here are three of the smaller labels greening up their acts, more can be found on Plenty Magazine’s site.

Brushfire Records, founded by singer Jack Johnson, powers its office and studio with solar panels and distributes its CDs in recyclable plastic trays.

Earthology Recordings is housed inside a Minnesota organic farm and powered by geothermal and wind. The company packages its CDs in a combination of recycled, soy-ink paper and 100 percent recycled/reclaimed jewel cases. The recording studio itself is made from reused materials such as chicken coop wire.

Green Owl Records recently took three of its bands to Austin’s South by Southwest in a tour bus powered by vegetable oil. The recording company is also donating 100 percent of profits raised from a compilation released this April to the Energy Action Coalition.

The movie industry has also been greening its act. April Third Studios offset the entire carbon footprint of its DVD, Elusion. In March, Lionsgate announced it plans to package many of the Company’s DVD releases in “environmentally friendly” materials.

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