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Music industry gets eco overhaul

Mark Prigg, Science and Technology Editor
1 Jun 2009


The music industry's biggest names have sparked a "green revolution" to cut carbon emissions.

They have formed a not-for-profit firm called Julie's Bicycle, which aims to give the industry an eco overhaul.

London's music industry is said to be responsible for emitting 465,000 tonnes of greenhouse gas a year but Julie's Bicycle aims to cut this by about 60 per cent.

Plastic CD cases will be replaced with biodegradable cardboard and festival-goers will be encouraged to use public transport and car-share.

The group was set up over dinner at Julie's Restaurant in Notting Hill, when its founder Alison Tickell joined music industry friends and arrived on a bicycle. Ms Tickell, a musician who previously advised the Government on community music, said: "We are incredibly lucky because almost everyone in the industry has signed up to what we want to do. We realised that the only way to actually make a change was to work at the highest level."

The group is backed by AEG and Live Nation, which run most of the capital's venues. Board members include Melvin Benn of Festival Republic, which organises festivals including Glastonbury and Reading, David Joseph, chairman of Universal Music UK, and Martin Talbot, managing director of the Official UK Charts Company.

Board member Tony Wadsworth, who was chief executive of EMI UK, and is chairman of the BPI, said: "We have almost every record label on board, and while it is a slow job, I think we've found that the music industry's heart is in the right place. Everyone knows they have to do something and we are all prepared to work together to do it."

 

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