Coldplay announces net zero world tour

[earthling]

Hi fellow Coldplay fans!

I was reading about Coldplay's commitment to going green in their concerts, which is one the many reasons why I love them so much. However, I ended up reading about how BMW is partnering up with them and sponsoring their net zero world tour, which seems bizarre, as BMW is one of the biggest lobbyists against climate measures. 

I think BMW might be taking advantage of them in order to position themselves as "green" and to cover up their lobbying activities. And Coldplay might not even know about it.... I wonder if we could write a letter or a petition to make them understand how BMW is using them. Any thoughts?

x

[TheLostColdplayer]

Hi earthling,

From what I know (but I might be wrong), BMW is at the forefront in the development of green technology for the automotive industry.

From its Wikipedia page:Since 1999, BMW has been named the world's most sustainable automotive company every year by the Dow Jones Sustainability Index.

The band also explained that BMW is helping them with batteries and means of power production for their live shows. That's why they have a partnership with the company.

[I ran away]

4 hours ago, earthling said:

Hi fellow Coldplay fans!

I was reading about Coldplay's commitment to going green in their concerts, which is one the many reasons why I love them so much. However, I ended up reading about how BMW is partnering up with them and sponsoring their net zero world tour, which seems bizarre, as BMW is one of the biggest lobbyists against climate measures. 

I think BMW might be taking advantage of them in order to position themselves as "green" and to cover up their lobbying activities. And Coldplay might not even know about it.... I wonder if we could write a letter or a petition to make them understand how BMW is using them. Any thoughts?

x

You are absolutely correct, and BMW has a history of anti-climate lobbyism: https://www.edie.net/news/7/BMW--Toyota-and-other-major-carmakers-accused-of-lobbying-against-stronger-climate-policies/

https://www.autoblog.com/2007/12/08/bmw-daimler-and-porsche-win-worst-eu-lobbying-award/

A lot of the greenwashing that car companies do nowadays is 1. forced because the younger generation's awareness of and opinions on climate change are so strong that they have to go with the flow to remain attractive as brands, and 2. there is a lot of money in green technologies at the moment, everyone and their mother (governments, NGOs,...) is throwing funds at sustainability efforts and to miss out on the transition would be a stupidity comparable to former cellphone market leaders like Nokia missing out on the transition to smartphones around 2008 and becoming irrelevant: the future of business and technology is green.

While from a purely economic point of view I understand the partnership with BMW in terms of the band getting a cost-effective solution for powering the tour, I'm not a fan of the fact that it means Coldplay is actively advertising for BMW. I wish they could just have quietly paid the full price for the technology with money instead of (in all likelihood) getting a hefty discount for selling their music and name/image to a company that literally polluted the environment for decades. Interestingly, back when the partnership was announced last year, when me and some other fans said as much on Twitter, we were attacked. But if Guy invests in NFTs worth a small fraction of each of our annual carbon footprint, for which he may even have offset the emissions because as part of the band there is no way he is not aware of the impact, everyone jumps on the bandwagon because hating on NFTs is trendy, and deflects from the fact that what we actually should regulate and are large multinational corporations and the rampant capitalism they thrive in that produce most of the unnecessary, harmful carbon emissions.

[earthling]

Hi I ran away!

Thanks a lot for sharing, so interesting to hear your thoughts on it. Also sorry to hear you've been attacked on Twitter... May I ask what exactly has happened? Did you try to communicate to Coldplay, and other fans attacked you?

Completely agree with you btw, BMW has been polluting the environment for decades, such a shame that Coldplay is basically advertising for them 😢

[lennyrott1]

Yeah this stuff is super complex & I don't feel super comfortable talking about Coldplay's overall carbon footprint and their individual wealth, with all of the weird contradictions.

But since I'm very familiar with the enviro field, I do have some thoughts. 

The Good: I do think it's great that Coldplay, as one of the highest grossing touring bands of all time, is doing an extremely important/admirable thing by trying to strive for carbon-neutral touring. I also think their PR has been pretty good so far. They aren't saying they have the answers, but they want to start the conversation. This spreads awareness, it reduces emissions (hopefully) and it sets an example. As someone who's followed Coldplay for a long time, I appreciate how they are clearly left on the political spectrum, but they take a softer approach and are quite humble. As a massively successful band, by saying "we're only going to to advertising for electric cars," that does send a message to big corporations (whether we like that they exist or not) that influencers are wanting to push the envelope. 

The Bad: Yeah... BMW, Apple, Warner Music, Tidal/Spotify -- Coldplay like any other artist is going to work corporations that have all sorts of ethical problems, whether it's how they crush unions and labor, or if its their massive profits and carbon emissions. BMW, like any major car company, is 100% complicit in anti-climate work over decades. That said, the transition to electric is necessary. I think where I struggle is Coldplay is massively wealthy dudes, and with that wealth they are always going to be a little bit out of touch. Guy's recent NFT purchase just isn't surprising. This Guy was a millionaire in his early 20's and has collected art, property, cars and clothing. He's a rich Guy. Our current economic system is set up to make people like Coldplay richer and to make as many profits as possible at the expense of poor folks and the planet. We can't expect the band to get this right all of time and sometimes playing by the corporate rules is all you can do. We all may have a different strategy in mind, like abolishing capitalism and the billionaire class, but for now I think we need to see how this plays out... And also we can make fun of Guy's NFT because it's so so dumb. 

[only.your.imagination]

@lennyrott1 yes, it's incredibly difficult to evaluate such a complex matter from an outsider perspective. But I basically share most of what you have written. I'd also like to point out, as you mentioned, that Coldplay as a band are part of a system and so, for obvious reasons, their choices are at least partially shaped by the need to survive in this system. To me this explains the reason why sometimes their positions seem a sort of compromise between supporting a relevant cause (eg the environment) and embracing the current state of things.

Beside this, there are also personal factors which play a different role in collective and in individual choices. When people decide as a group, there is the tendency to balance each other's positions; when you decide alone, your choices are generally more heavily influenced by your personality, experiences and expectations.

[I ran away]

6 hours ago, earthling said:

Did you try to communicate to Coldplay, and other fans attacked you?

No, I would never communicate this directly to Coldplay about this because it's none of my business, and I know their heart is still in the right place even if they contradict themselves or, mostly, their earlier selves a lot these days. But most important really is the first point: I'm just one person having an opinion about something that's not for me to decide.

It's always a triggering subject when you criticize the band though, a lot of people obviously don't like it. Ironically, some of those up in arms about Guy now are the same that supported the BMW ads rather uncritically and refuted all criticism there, lol. I think the fact that NFTs are a trend topic to hate on and BMW's greenwashing is less known among the general publc contributes a lot to the reactions.

[TheLostColdplayer]

Yes,

I agree with most of what has been said. What about their connections with Amazon? I'm not a fan of the company and their behaviour in terms of environment ethics and social justice with workers is at least contradictory.

But, again, as you have said, Coldplay are doing a lot by themselves to help and fund charities and environmental organisations.

[only.your.imagination]

What I hope is that, at the end of the day, their commitment to the causes they have supported throughout these years could give results which are more relevant than the incoherences. As we've already said, compromises are somehow embedded in the system the band is in; however I'm still hoping for a positive outcome of some of their choices, even if, of course, their positions sometimes come across as a bit debatable 

Which type of connection do they have with Amazon exactly? I don't know that much about this...

[I ran away]

50 minutes ago, only.your.imagination said:

What I hope is that, at the end of the day, their commitment to the causes they have supported throughout these years could give results which are more relevant than the incoherences. As we've already said, compromises are somehow embedded in the system the band is in; however I'm still hoping for a positive outcome of some of their choices, even if, of course, their positions sometimes come across as a bit debatable 

Which type of connection do they have with Amazon exactly? I don't know that much about this...

They have deals for exclusives with Amazon. Three live songs from the AHFOD Tour in 2017 on Amazon Music, the AHFOD Film by Mat Whitecross streams exclusively on Amazon Prime Video, as did the Climate Pledge Arena concert from last year.

But then I also have to tell you they have deals with Spotify - not only their music being there, but also exclusives: the Spotify Live EP in 2016, the Spotify Single they just dropped and of which they said it would only be the first release, so more of the same to come in the future...which sucks more than you may think. The Spotify CEO actively invests his fortune into the military-industrial complex and Spotify recently made a 100M dollar deal with Joe Rogan, a white podcaster from the US who actively spreads Covid misinformation and has used the N-word/racist language in his podcast. The deal upset many musicians and some famous ones (Neil Young, Joni Mitchell,..) even removed their music entirely to protest. Chris talked about the absurdity of conferences where businessmen discuss the latest technology for humans to kill each other in Dubai, but ironically, listening to Coldplay on Spotify will make a part of your money go exactly to that industry:  https://www.vice.com/en/article/epxxkn/musicians-are-dragging-spotifys-ceo-for-funding-a-military-ai-company

Sometimes the messed up system we live in makes me so, so angry. And the truth is that our favourite band lives in, and profits off that system.

[TheLostColdplayer]

That's really interesting! I did not know that much about the band. At the time GS came out, if I well remember, they decided not to release it on Spotify for several months. It's a bit sad, but the time they released a full live album for free as a sign of gratitude to fans or decided to include multiple songs within the same track to add more value to the record seems long gone...

This said, they are still doing a lot, and maybe even more, for humanitarian organisations and research institutes, so we should not forget about this as I sometimes do.

[The Jordanator]

Idk if this is the main chat thread for MOTS tour talk but I just wanted to ask, do you guys think Coldplay will postpone or even cancel the tour due to the threat of world war? 

[only.your.imagination]

@The Jordanator who knows, really.

The last thing humanity needs is a war. I'm sick to death of living in a state of permanent anxiety due to what happens in the world. The pandemic was unpredictable, but still it happened, and now we have a war in Europe. 

Yesterday I felt devastaded by the news. I'd like to tell you "Tomorrow everything will be ok (or at least better than today)", but I fear the situation is a bit more complex than I can understand. 

Chris will forgive me for stealing one of his favourite sentences. I don't know if there is on this forum someone who is directly affected by the war (on both sides), but I send you all my love. Unfortunately there is not much more I and millions of people can do at the moment, but praying for you💛

As for the band (and in general, for the whole music industry), I obviously hope that the upcoming tour will be regular. Probably in some weeks we will have a more defined idea about this. I'm trying to be positive about this aspect

[I ran away]

21 hours ago, The Jordanator said:

Idk if this is the main chat thread for MOTS tour talk but I just wanted to ask, do you guys think Coldplay will postpone or even cancel the tour due to the threat of world war? 

At the moment there might not be a significant danger of world war, unless one side (Russia or NATO - because let's face it, it's ultimately those two pulling the strings and conducting a proxy war on the backs of innocent Ukrainians) does something rash like directly attacking each other's armed forces or mounting nuclear weapons close to each other's borderlines, then we would have a dire situation like the Cuba Crisis in 1962. I think we all just have to hope for the best. And so i hope this war will be over long before Coldplay starts their tour, and that through diplomacy long-term peace is established in Ukraine (something that hasn't been the case since 2014).

But I have been wrong in my assessments before, I didn't think Russia would actually invade. So take my thoughts with a grain of salt.

[I ran away]

Ngl the fact that a large nuclear power plant in Ukraine was hit by artillery yesterday had me think about the question by @TheJordanator in this thread again. Fortunately the resulting fire was only in a non-reactor building and quickly contained, but I guess it was a chilling reminder that we're all just one mistake, stupidity or sheer irresponsibility/recklessness away from a major catastrophe. The catastrophe doesn't need to be a world war. Of course the current situation is already a catastrophe for the people of Ukraine.

When will the human species finally learn to get rid of assaults, invasions, wars as a means of securing power, influence or economic assets? How did we learn that violence IS an option to get what we want, and how can we globally unlearn this? Fuck the military and fuck the global military-industrial complex that thrives on the death and suffering of other human beings, and the politicians who do their bidding. Do you think we don't see the blood on your hands?

[CP-EST]

3 hours ago, I ran away said:

Ngl the fact that a large nuclear power plant in Ukraine was hit by artillery yesterday had me think about the question by @TheJordanator in this thread again. Fortunately the resulting fire was only in a non-reactor building and quickly contained, but I guess it was a chilling reminder that we're all just one mistake, stupidity or sheer irresponsibility/recklessness away from a major catastrophe. The catastrophe doesn't need to be a world war. Of course the current situation is already a catastrophe for the people of Ukraine.

When will the human species finally learn to get rid of assaults, invasions, wars as a means of securing power, influence or economic assets? How did we learn that violence IS an option to get what we want, and how can we globally unlearn this? Fuck the military and fuck the global military-industrial complex that thrives on the death and suffering of other human beings, and the politicians who do their bidding. Do you think we don't see the blood on your hands?

It's difficult to understand and explain the mindset behind the violence what's happening, but you put it beautifully "how can we unlearn this?". I've been asking the same question and all the other questions for the past week, because living close to Russia, having history of being occupied by their Soviet regime, this situation is touching me and my nation very closely and it's been quite an intense week.

This right now in Ukraine is basically just another unprovoked attack against humankind - destroying, occupying freedom of another country and then lying about it and manipulating people that this was needed and an ok thing to do. I really hope it can be finished smartly without escalating into something big and we get more and more examples of peaceful solutions in future as well. Because this is the only way we are able to change that. We can have different views about the world, but we can't continue forever like animals fighting without choosing weapons.

And to make it more like a post in Coldplay forum, everyone should ask "am I the future or the history?" - are we forever stuck with barbaric manners or are we able to unlearn them. Are the historians forever being able to say this stupid sentence "History tends to repeat itself"?

Feeling lucky that we have the band Coldplay standing for the worldview I and we, Coldplay fans, share (hopefully most parts of it). This world tour hopefully can help to spread the kindness and peace around the world once again, because after all this is the foundation for all the "net zero and green" part of it.

There is no way to peace, peace is the way.

[TheLostColdplayer]

Hi everybody,

I'm thinking about the war a lot these days and it's something that is causing me deep sorrow and a feeling of helplessness. I find it so hard to listen to what's happening in Ukraine these days and, though things are getting worse and worse, the world seems like it is slowly accepting the fact as normal and the widespread condemnation of the attack of the first days is giving way to a cynic perspective over the war. And I hear more and more people wishing that Ukraine is sacrificed in order to end the war.

If this is the world we created, I don't know what to say. If there is anyone among you who is suffering because of this meaningless war, I sincerely send you all my love.

[I ran away]

Oh look, other people have picked up on the irony of working with companies like BMW and Neste too:

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2022/may/11/coldplay-labelled-useful-idiots-for-greenwashing-after-deal-with-oil-company

[TealAppeal]

They played Coldplay like a fiddle. That was a difficult article to accept.

[Jekka777]

Hi, about the environmental concerns - I agree. I respect them a lot for that too.

[TheLostColdplayer]

Re-reading some of the messages in this thread I noticed multiple references to Guy investing on NFTs. I know nothing about it, so is there anyone that can update me on the issue? 

[I ran away]

Basically, here you can see everything he bought and/or sold:

https://opensea.io/GuyBlue?tab=activity