With the 2025 Federal Election fast approaching, Australian musicians are joining an active, growing and passionate group of international artists to put their voices behind the return of Green Music Australia’s NO MUSIC ON A DEAD PLANET campaign — a call for music fans to vote climate.
‘Voting climate’ simply means considering whether candidates and parties will make the climate crisis a priority by supporting 100% renewable energy, saying no to nuclear, and ending government support for fossil fuels.
Climate change is already having a huge impact on live music, with over 50 music festivals cancelled in Australia due to extreme weather since 2015. That’s from floods, heat, rain, fires and storms. Without urgent action, outdoor events and festivals face more extreme weather, impacting viability, insurance, and safety. This has rarely been more evident than this past week with extreme weather events associated with Cyclone Alfred in Queensland and NSW seeing more than 26 gigs and festivals, including Green Day, AFI, Ruby Fields, Brad Cox, Alexisonfire, MeatStock, and New Bloom Festival cancelled or postponed.
Music festivals are a key economic driver, attracting over two million attendees in 2023 and generating $355.1 million in revenue. Beyond outdoor events and festivals — climate inaction will affect energy costs, insurance premiums, and transport — making it much more difficult for musicians and the music sector to operate. This will continue pushing up ticket prices, with festival tickets already up 12.4 per cent year over year and non-festival events now averaging $128.21 in 2023, a 47.4% increase from 2022.
Australian artists already behind the campaign include Missy Higgins, Angie McMahon, Lime Cordiale, King Stingray, Amyl & the Sniffers, Teen Jesus and the Jean Teasers, Midnight Oil, Montaigne, Tame Impala, Anna Lunoe, Jimmy Barnes, In Hearts Wake, Budjerah, The Rubens, Regurgitator, Deborah Cheetham, Allysha Joy, Sumner, Seaside and many more.
“We’re proud to be elevating and supporting the voices of artists who are demanding strong climate action. Without a healthy planet, we can’t have a healthy and thriving music scene. Musicians, as powerful storytellers, are uniquely placed to connect with people and shift public consciousness, creating a groundswell that politicians can’t ignore,” said Green Music Australia CEO, Berish Bilander.
This year’s NO MUSIC ON A DEAD PLANET campaign has already begun, with a renewed push into media & PR, conversations & advocacy taking place on artists’ social media platforms, and a series of site activations at gigs and major music festivals. In the last month alone, Green Music Australia has talked to over 1,600 music fans at Party In the Paddock, St Kilda Festival, and at every show on Billie Eilish’s just-wrapped national stadium tour. At these shows GMA has collected valuable data on how extreme weather is impacting their experience of live music and purchase behaviour, and a full report based on this will be released in the coming weeks.
Green Music Australia has also launched a series of custom tees redesigning the classic NMOADP logo, working with Australian artists including Missy Higgins, Midnight Oil, Lime Cordiale & Teen Jesus and the Jean Teasers – with more artists soon to be announced.
“The NO MUSIC ON A DEAD PLANET message is a powerful reminder that without a healthy planet, there’s no future for any of us – or for music. For us, it’s about ensuring that the art we create isn’t at the expense of the world we all share,” said Teen Jesus and the Jean Teasers.
“The climate crisis must be in our minds with every choice we make. There’s a lot of shit going on in this world but at the end of the day we’d still like to be living on it!” said Lime Cordiale.
“With climate change leadership set to fail in the USA, it’s even more urgent for the rest of the world to step up. I’m proud to be a patron of this progressive and positive organisation,” said Midnight Oil’s Rob Hirst.
The launch of the campaign comes off the back of Green Music Australia announcing in February a new program to boost the sustainability of live music venues. The program involves a Green Venue Certification scheme, new Green Venue Guide, and the launch of six sustainability training workshops across NSW, to help live music venues improve their environmental footprint.
