A new study from researchers in Europe has revealed that streaming music might actually be worse for the environment than the manufacturing of its physical counterparts.

For as long as music has existed, people have held a desire to call it their own. From learning how to perform songs, to writing down sheet music, the early days of music ownership was a fickle thing.

As time went on, physical copies of music became commonplace, and over the last 150 years, music recording and storage has only continued to evolve.

However, while the hard plastics of compact discs have been seemingly replaced by its predecessor, the vinyl record, streaming is undoubtedly the most popular way to consume music, with ease, choice, and accessibility undoubtedly the driving force behind its popularity.

However, while this seems like a zero-waste approach to music distribution, it actually seems as though streaming might be doing more harm than good for the environment.

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According to Kyle Devine, an associate professor at The University of Oslo, and Dr Matt Brennan from the University of Glasgow (via Express), the cost of consuming music might be at an all-time low, but the cost it has on the environment is at an all-time high.

Through their research, the duo discovered that while the materials involved in the distribution of music might be much better for the environment, carbon emissions have increased due to an ever-growing need to store, stream, and consume music using technological devices.

“From a plastic pollution perspective, the good news is that overall plastic production in the recording industry has diminished since the heyday of vinyl,” Devine explained.

“From a carbon emissions perspective, however, the transition towards streaming recorded music from internet-connected devices has resulted in significantly higher carbon emissions than at any previous point in the history of music.”

Looking at the issue from the perspective of plastics, the recording industry used 58 million kilograms of plastic in 1977 (when US sales of the vinyl record peaked), which decreased to 56 million kilograms in 1988, when cassette sales peaked.

By the peak of CD sales in 2000, this number had increased to 61 million kilograms of plastic, but by 2016, this figure plummeted to a mere 8 million kilograms.

“These figures seem to confirm the widespread notion that music digitalised is music dematerialised,” Dr Devine explained. “The figures may even suggest that the rises of downloading and streaming are making music more environmentally friendly.”

“But a very different picture emerges when we think about the energy used to power online music listening. Storing and processing music online uses a tremendous amount of resources and energy – which [has] a high impact on the environment.”

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During their research, Kyle Devine and Matt Brennan managed to discover the equivalent amount of greenhouse gas emissions used in either the creation or storage of media across the years.

With 140 million kilograms in 1977, this number fell to 136 million in 1988, before rising to 157 million by 2000. However, despite plastic consumption now being at its lowest for music, greenhouse gas emissions are estimated to be between 200 million kilograms and over 350 million kilograms in the US alone.

“We see raising awareness of the findings as a first step towards developing alternatives, where music consumption can become both economically sustainable for makers while being environmentally sustainable for the planet,” Dr Brennan explained.

So is there an alternative or a solution that will help to eliminate our environmental issues linked to our music consumption?

While the increasing popularity of vinyl and cassettes seems to indicate we could be returning to the ‘golden age’ of greenhouse gas emissions, we need to hope there is some sort of happy medium that will not only satiate our love for music, but continue our love of living on a sustainable planet.

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