Coldplay will not tour until they can find a way to make it carbon neutral. It’s a bold move — and one smaller artists can’t afford to copy
Everybody’s favourite pop rock normcore do-gooders are back – Coldplay have a new album out.
“We’re taking time over the next year or two, to work out how our tour can not only be sustainable [but] how it can be actively beneficial,” lead singer Chris Martin told the BBC.
News of the silence will be music to their many detractors’ ears, and though perhaps an astute stroke of on-brand, typically worthy PR, the announcement is bold: the last time Coldplay travelled the world was on their A Head Full of Dreams tour in 2016 and 2017, where they played 122 shows and made more than £400m. It is currently the fourth highest-grossing tour of all time.
When you consider the environmental impact of flying across four continents the equipment and personnel – musicians, technicians, dancers – demanded to stage high-production spectacles, like Coldplay’s the carbon footprint is staggering. At most shows, recycling is hardly a priority on the night and we barely factor in the long miles driven by fans to get to the concerts themselves.
In short, awful for the climate. At a time when the environmental impact of the pastimes we take for granted weighs heavier on our consciences than ever, it’s encouraging that one of the biggest bands in the world should take such a stand – joining artists like Billie Eilish, The 1975 and Radiohead in trying to go green.
But don’t expect it to catch on. Coldplay can afford to step back from touring to make a statement, most musicians cannot.
Streaming makes pitiful revenue and people don’t buy CDs anymore: the soaring price of tickets is what launches and sustain musicians’ careers.
Could touring become taboo? Unlikely, but it’s the smaller artists who’ll perish if it does. Let’s hope Coldplay find a way to make touring “beneficial” soon – not because we should be desperate to stand in a mob bobbing our heads to “Viva La Vida”, but because until they do, either the music or the planet will inevitably suffer.
