Throughout the years working at Bye Bye Plastic, we noticed that artists had the will to engage in climate issues, but kept encountering some blocks, powered by fear. It’s hard to position yourself as a spokesperson and be taken seriously when you lack the expertise, and this has stopped many artists on their path to eco-activism.
Guitteau: Which is why we created this mentorship program—we want to give artists the necessary tools to power them with the confidence they need to nurture their voice.
We spread the four-week program into four progressive modules: Climate Change 101, In-Power Yourself, Tune Your Voice, Tune Your Creativity. The classes are short and there’s only about two per week, held early on to give you the rest of the week to go about your life. Recordings will be available for those who weren’t able to attend that day.
EDM.com: What are your hopes and goals for the program?
Guitteau : To help grow climate action confidence as part of artists’ careers. We really want to give artists the proper tools to fuel the fire of change. In one word, help them become climate creatives!
By helping spread awareness and helping artists harness the power of their voice and influence, we hope that the music industry will take action as well and that our planet will enjoy festivals as much as we do.
EDM.com: What impact is plastic having on our environment and what can we do to stop it?
Guitteau : We conducted a study last year, and found out that, with festivals and venues shuttered due to the pandemic, we saved more than 570 million pounds of single-use plastic from going to waste—and that’s just counting straws, cups and water bottles.
To put that in perspective, a 2,000-people capacity club’s consumption of plastic equates to the CO2 emission of 74 flights between London to Barcelona. With the same model, a 3-day festival averaging at about 400,000 participants, is equivalent to six times around the world by car in CO2 emissions—talk about a trip!
Bakos: Everyone can play a role in this. As an artist, you can adopt Bye Bye Plastic’s Eco-Rider and as a manager, you can ensure your artists all adopt it. Clubs and festivals can start taking eco-conscious measures, which we’ve seen festivals like Glastonbury and SXM Festival adopt.
And of course fans—you have a voice too! Don’t shy away from telling everyone how much the litter at your favorite concert is a serious buzzkill.
EDM.com: What can you tell us about plastic in the music industry, specifically at festivals?
Guitteau : You know that uninvited guest that tends to kill the vibe? That’s plastic. And we are so ready to help make sure it never shows up again. No more tripping on empty cups at festivals or hearing that crunching noise of a water bottle while vibing to your favorite artist at a festival.
Bakos: The pandemic was our chance to reevaluate our practices and find better ways to #partywithapurpose. Now that festivals are coming back, it’s so important that we put our learnings into actions—especially artists.
EDM.com: Why should people in the music industry specifically care about this cause?
Guitteau: DJs and artists are influencers. They have access to a unique opinion-shifting tool: human emotions. We’re all concerned and part of this climate challenge. At the moment, too few artists are raising their voice on the topic and there is a gap to fill. An opportunity to grab, actually.
Bakos: As artists and especially musicians, we can use the power of music to heal and spread a message of awareness to the world. We have the ability to reach thousands of people in ways most can’t. And when we are on stage, we can change the narrative and help people enter our own reality by using our voice.
Registration for Stay'ge Positive is now open.
