Spotify and Apple Music users can now support global conservation efforts while listening to some tunes. NATURE has recently become a verified artist on Spotify and Apple Music, courtesy of Sounds Right, a project initiated by the Museum for the United Nations.
According to its website, “Sounds Right is a music initiative to recognise the value of NATURE and inspire millions of fans to take environmental action. For the first time, NATURE can generate royalties from its own sounds to support its own conservation.”
Music royalties are the payments given by industry intermediaries, like streaming platforms, to musical artists, record labels, or songwriters when their music is played. Sounds Right hopes to raise $40 million in royalties and donations over the next four years. While the group does not specify which specific projects or organizations will be the beneficiaries of the royalties, they do share criteria for selecting projects, including placing priority on key biodiversity areas like Madagascar, India, and the Atlantic Forest.
Sounds Right’s website displays creative and amusing text to hype up the world’s oldest new artist:
It’s not every day a rock becomes a star.
4.6 billion years ago a star was born.
The greatest artist of all time has never been credited for her work. Until now.
The Sounds Right website has a list of (human) musical artists who have featured NATURE on a track, including Ellie Goulding and the late David Bowie. The site also provides visitors a list of podcasts associated with actions they can take if they are fans of NATURE: reducing food waste, supporting sustainable food systems, ditching fast fashion, and sustainable investing.
A playlist of songs you can listen to on Spotify that feature NATURE can be found here.
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