Australian musicians touring to accelerate
the clean energy future
“At last a project that takes the great passion many artists have for a
healthy world powered by renewable energy, and makes it doable.
A stunning, much needed initiative.”
– Peter Garrett, Midnight Oil
June 04, 2019
#featsolar
Australian musicians Vance Joy, Peking Duk, Jack River, Cloud Control, Midnight Oil and many more have banded together to launch FEAT. (Future Energy Artists) – a company for artists to invest in solar farms.
The idea is the brainchild of Heidi Lenffer from Cloud Control who was driven to design a strategy for touring in the era of climate change after she calculated how much touring costs the planet. Working with climate scientists on data from a 15-date Australian tour of theatres and clubs by her band Cloud Control, Lenffer discovered that two weeks of touring generated 28 tonnes of carbon emissions.
This is equivalent to what a household creates during the course of an entire year. Lenffer said, “The fact is that this was just one small tour in an album cycle which also took us to the U.S. three times… then you think about multiplying this out with a 64-billion dollar industry worldwide and you’ve got a serious problem. Touring is easily the biggest source of income for artists, so when I understood how something as important as live music could be creating so much damage at this critical time in human history, I knew we could do so much better. I also knew that a progressive community like the music industry would have the guts and imagination to embrace change.”
FEAT. are launching a solar investment fund for artists in association with Future Super — Australia’s most renewables-focussed superannuation fund — that will finance new and existing solar farms around Australia.
The fund will have a target return of over 5% per annum, and artists can choose to reinvest their dividend payments back into the fund, or have them paid to their artist accounts. Artists will be able to invest a lump sum or a percentage of their touring income.
For artists investing in the new fund, the first solar farm that FEAT. artists will see built is Brigalow Solar Farm in south-west Queensland. At 35 megawatts, Brigalow Solar Farm is large enough to power 11,300 homes for the next 30 years, and will generate the equivalent of 2,149 Cloud Control tours in clean energy every year.
“We’re literally building the energy system that will give humans a future on earth, and I want artists to take ownership of this future. The stakes have never been higher, there’s never been a better time to invest in renewables, and this is a way for our whole industry to step up. Artists create songs out of nothing on a daily basis — now we’re upping the game by creating solar farms,” Lenffer said. Music fans and everyday Australians will be able to invest into the new fund later in the year, but for now there’s a waiting list they can join on the FEAT.website. For further information on FEAT. and artist quotes, see below andwww.feat.ltd.
WE BELIEVE IN THE POWER OF LIVE MUSIC
AND THE REALITY OF THE CLIMATE CRISIS
Instagram: @feat.artists@heidilenffer
Facebook: @feat.artists
Twitter: @feat_artists
Website: www.feat.ltd
Artist quotes:
“I can’t wait to see FEAT. transform the way artists can be involved in the shift to a renewables economy. As a touring artist I am sometimes at a loss as to how I can personally take action on climate breakdown, air pollution and sustainability. FEAT. addresses this with progression, providing a tangible and trackable way for artists and their audiences to contribute to the renewables economy, whilst receiving return from that investment.There is nothing more important than making tangible shifts toward what we believe – for the youth, for our listeners, for all those watching on!” – Holly Rankin, Jack River
“I know the toll flying around takes on the world and given the current emergency we are now in, I feel like it should be on everyone’s agenda. I’ve been active on social platforms tweeting at people saying ‘come on what are you doing, put Australia to work’ – we should be building solar farms. We are the sunniest country in the world and all of this wasted sun is just going onto the dirt across the desert. We could do something with it. (With FEAT.) it’s just so good to actually be able to invest in things you care about. That’s the most exciting thing in the world.” – Reuben Styles, Peking Duk
“Scientists are stating loud and vigorously everyday their escalating concerns about climate change and the increasing strains on our natural environment. We have been considering for sometime about how best to approach touring and the carbon trail and waste we leave in our wake – then along comes Heidi with FEAT. A young champion tackling the issue head on with ingenuity… we were like yes – sign us up! This is the kind of commitment to action we have been looking for.” – Regurgitator
“Laneway and Lunatic see this wonderful initiative as the impetus of artists taking yet another stand to educate and then help try and solve the most significant challenge that our world is encountering. We want to support and stand behind the vision of FEAT.” – Danny Rogers, co-founder of St Jerome’s Laneway Festival, Managing Director of Lunatic Entertainment
“What Heidi has created is an inspiration. It sets a new standard for an industry that should always be at the forefront of change. Supporting environmental responsibility while also creating an ethical investment opportunity for artists. It’s a next level idea, and one that we can get behind as an industry, not just for artists but the entire business community”. – Jaddan Comerford, Founder/CEO of Unified Music
Supporting Artists (alphabetical):Annie Hamilton, Big Scary, Breathe, Cloud Control, Cub Sport, Jack River, Little May, Mansionair, Midnight Oil, Peking Duk, Regurgitator, Set Mo, The Jezabels, The Rubens, Urthboy, Vallis Alps, Vance Joy, Washington.
Supporting Industry: Collective Artists, Green Music Australia, Lunatic Entertainment, Mushroom Music Group, St Jerome’s Laneway festival, Unified Music Group, Village Sounds.
