Step 3: Pack It Up, Ship It Out

The tracks are laid down. Now, how to reach your adoring public? It’s true, these days you can distribute music completely digitally and on your own, but, for now, plenty of your fans are still going to want tunage in the form of that spinning piece of plastic. Some of the major labels are taking steps to green their practices — you could try pitching the good, increasingly green people over Sub Pop (home to The Shins, The Postal Service and Flight of the Conchords) with their comittment to offseting energy to make their records — but we suggest you start small. Take a look at Stumptown Records in Portland, Oregon, Tree Sound Records in Norcross, Georgia and Smog Veil Records in Chicago. All of these green-minded labels have taken significant steps toward eco-fying their practices. They’ve ditched jewel cases for new and improved types of packaging, like digipacks and eco-packs, which can be made from recycled paper, or the biodegradable PaperFoam CD trays. They’ve committed to printing liner notes on recycled paper using soy ink. Stumptown has converted their fleet of touring vans to biodiesel and Tree Sound is in the process of doing the same. Smog Veil has converted their live/work space in a self-sustaining entity. Representatives from all these labels can be found talking their walk on discussion panels at festivals and conferences or otherwise advocating to get fellow music biz-types on board.

Step 4: Tread Lightly

All your work would be for naught if you just hung out at home, entertaining your friends in the kitchen, right? Right. No rock fantasy is complete without hitting the open road on tour. The go-to orgs to aid you on your mission are going to be Reverb and Music Matters. Reverb,
started by Adam Gardner, guitarist of  the band Guster, and his wife Lauren Sullivan, makes its mission “to educate and engage musicians and their fans to promote sustainability.” The organization has worked with fellow artists Ben Folds, Barenaked Ladies, Jason Mraz, Jose Gonzalez and Bonnie Ratt. Among other services, both Reverb and Music Matters can show you how to create a carbon neutral concert. They can educate you about converting vans or buses to biodiesel. They can make sure the merch you sell to fans is sustainable, and even set you up with what you need to offer fans offsets for the miles they travel to and from shows. Music Matters, a marketing company out of Minneapolis began its Sustainable Minded Artists and Recording & Touring (SMART) program a few years ago to help support eco-conscious musicians. They offer many of the same services as Reverb, and go the extra green mile by helping artists and venues switch the pizza and booze for local and organic backstage eats. They can also ensure leftovers are donated to folks who can use them.