Published
Tue, Mar 30, 2021, 15:45
- The environmental project used data pooled from RA's top 1000 DJs in 2019.
RA's top 1000 DJs took 51,000 flights in 2019, according to a new report by environmental project Clean Scene.
Published today, March 30th, the 20-page document raises alarms about the dance music industry's current touring model, while also suggesting ways to build a greener industry. The report makes the important disclaimer that "the numbers in our research are an estimate, and have been collated from publicly available data producing estimated touring schedules, which we cannot independently verify."
Using data pooled from RA's now-archived list of its top 1000 DJs, the report calculated that, in 2019, these DJs took 51,000 flights, flew 117,000,000 KM, burned 3,200,000 litres of fuel and emitted 35,000,000 Kg of CO2 into the air. That's equivalent to the electricity used by 20,000 households in one year.
The report also points to a huge disparity between the busiest and least-busy DJs: the ten most frequent travellers emitted as much carbon as the bottom 207. Overall, the average artist's footprint was 35 tonnes, which is 17 times higher than the IPCC's recommended personal footprint needed to curb runaway climate change, according to the report.
So what can the scene do? The report lays out several next steps for promoters, agents, artists and ravers, such as rethinking gig exclusivity, championing local talent and choosing a green rider. The report also urges promoters to book more BIPOC artists—especially when flying in acts from abroad—to ensure these marginalised communities aren't further disadvantaged.
The report ends with the list of the top 1000 DJs, ranked from largest carbon footprint to smallest. Richy Ahmed is #1, followed by Rebekah and Steve Lawler. Duos appear twice.
Clean Scene is a volunteer organisation run by Eilidh McLaughlin, Eva Fineberg (AKA Evalyn) and Fallon MacWilliams (AKA Darwin). Read the report and the list of top 1000 DJs.
You can also revisit Chal Raven's feature on dance music and climate change from 2019, as well as this film about festivals and sustainability.
Correction: A previous version of this article noted that Trikk had the largest carbon footprint of the top 1000 DJs on RA. Clean Scene has since revised its list and placed Trikk at #107. Richy Ahmed is now #1.