Environment

LIVE Green clauses to help industry interweave sustainability into artist contracts

Featured Image: Ross Patel and Carol Scott

LIVE has empowered members of the live music industry to include sustainability-focused clauses in artist booking contracts, with the new initiative led by its expert working group, LIVE Green. 

Live music Industry Venues & Entertainment (LIVE) is an organisation that offers a voice to 15 live music organisations in the UK.

The contractual clause template for artists booking contracts has been designed to galvanise industry-wide action and transform the environmental impact of live events. The introduction of these clauses takes inspiration from the inclusion of contractual health and safety policies and practices.

The aim of the clause is to foster widespread, lasting change by accelerating the conversation around sustainability for every stage of the artist booking process. LIVE Green hopes to integrate sustainability into contracts between artist agents, promoters and venues.

“Today marks a significant step forward for the live music industry,” said Carol Scott, principal sustainability advocate at TAIT, a live experience company.

Ross Patel works alongside Scott and is LIVE Green’s Impact Consultant. He added: “LIVE Green’s template for Green Sustainability Clauses represents a true collaborative effort across the entire ecosystem of live events.”

The newly launched clauses focus on areas such as waste, energy, water, food, merchandise and audience travel to make live music more sustainable. Suggestions for action areas were offered by a cross-industry stakeholder group featuring promoters, agents, artists, managers, venues, festivals and more.

Agencies have already indicated to LIVE that they will propose to their clients the adoption of green classes – using the template from LIVE Green to draft their own clauses – as an opt-in. Agencies include the likes of ATC Live and Pure Represents.

“ATC Live are proud and excited to be a part of this long-needed initiative and to have worked with LIVE to create this clause. We hope that its inclusion in contracts will not only raise awareness but also create some impactful change within the industry,” commented Olivia-Jane Ransley, director of operations at ATC Live.

Promoters including SJM and Kilimanjaro have also said they will encourage the inclusion of these sustainability clauses within artist booking contracts.

“At Kilimanjaro Live, we are delighted to be part of such a positive leap forward in tackling the environmental impact that live music can have. It’s thanks to the collaborative set up of LIVE that this has been achieved as it will take all elements of this industry working together to make a change,” said Zac Fox, Kilimanjaro Group chief operating officer.

Additionally, LIVE Green has created a LIVE Green Resource Hub, designed to respond to the content of the clauses. The hub will also include further guidance from sustainability experts to help all stakeholders in the live sector progress their environmental efforts.