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Many songs from across the musical canon feature the sound of ocean waves, wind, rain, thunder, lightning, bird calls and other sounds of nature. Now, nature itself is being recognized as an artist for these contributions in an initiative to raise money for global conservation efforts.
This new projects, Sounds Right, includes “Nature” getting an artist page on Spotify, with this page populated by new music and older songs remixed to “Feat. NATURE” by artists including David Bowie with Brian Eno, Ellie Goulding, U.K. electronic outfit London Grammar, neo-soul and folk artist UMI with V of BTS, Indian artist Anuv Jain, Norwegian singer Aurora and many more.
These songs will also be available on all major streaming platforms, with royalties going to Sounds Right. The project is projected to raise more than $40 million for conservation efforts from more than 600 million individual listeners in its first four years.
Launched Tuesday (April 18), the Spotify playlist currently features 15 tracks, with more to be added as Sounds Right grows. Currently available songs include a “Nature Remix” of Goulding’s 2020 song “Brightest Blue” that now incorporates sounds of the Colombian rainforest. The 1995 Eno and Bowie collab “Get Real” features the sounds of hyenas, rooks and wild pigs, while Jain’s “Baarishein” includes the sound of an Indian rainfall.
Revenue will be collected by conservation nonprofit EarthPercent, then allotted to biodiversity conservation and restoration projects in threatened ecosystems around the world. The Sounds Right Expert Advisory Panel, a group of established biologists, environmental activists, representatives of Indigenous Peoples and experts in conservation funding, will advise on how funding should be dispersed.
“It’s been fantastic to see so many brilliant artists excited to engage creatively with the sounds of nature and supportive of Sounds Right’s core objective to see that nature is fairly compensated for her musical contributions,” EarthPercent’s Co-Executive Director Cathy Runciman said in a statement. “We know that many artists care deeply about protecting and restoring nature, and it’s a privilege to launch these collaborations via the Feat. NATURE playlist and together generate positive impact for biodiversity.”
Sounds Right was developed by the Museum for the United Nations and UN Live, Copenhagen-based organizations that use culture to crate local action and global change, in collaboration with a variety of climate-focused partners.
