SOUNDS RIGHT

The Museum for the United Nations - UN Live today announces the launch of Sounds Right, a new global music initiative that enables nature to generate conservation funding from her own sounds. Launched in the lead up to Earth Day, the initiative aims to spark a global conversation about the value of nature and support millions of music fans to take meaningful action to protect our planet.

With timeless classics such as ocean waves, wind, rainstorms and birdsong, nature has a long history of contributing to music. Now, “NATURE” will be recognised as an official artist with her own profile on major streaming platforms. By simply listening to music that features sounds of the natural world, fans will help to fund nature conservation and restoration projects in our most precious and precarious ecosystems.

A diverse mix of global artists have joined Sounds Right, releasing new tracks or remixing hits to ‘Feat. NATURE’ by including sounds from the natural world. Fans can also relax with ambient nature sounds – ecosystem recordings from The Listening Planet and VozTerra – with a significant portion of royalties directed to high-impact conservation initiatives.

From Colombia to India by way of Norway, Venezuela, Kenya, Denmark, UK, US and Indonesia, there is a truly global selection of artists taking part and highlighting natural sounds from a vast range of ecosystems all over the world. These include: David Bowie x Brian Eno, Ellie Goulding, AURORA, UMI with V of BTS, Anuv Jain, MØ, London Grammar, Bomba Estéreo, Cosmo Sheldrake, Louis VI, Tom Walker, Aterciopelados, Blinky Bill, Navicula x Endah N Rhesa, and Los Amigos Invisibles.

Ellie Goulding’s “Brightest Blue - Nature Remix” uses sounds from the lush rainforests of Colombia recorded by VozTerra - from Speckled Chachalacas in Caquetá to the birdsong of Amazonian Oropendolas. Brian Eno brings a visceral aspect to his David Bowie collaboration “Get Real” with the harsh cries of hyenas, rooks and wild pigs, while Anuv Jain’s “Baarishein” features the sounds of Indian rains and Cosmo Sheldrake’s "Soil" is a homage to the powerful transformative and generative capacities of subterranean ecosystems. Louis VI collaborated with acoustic ecologist Martyn Stewart of The Listening Planet for “Orange Skies”, a track featuring Mick Jenkins and Jelani Blackman which focuses on the environmental destruction caused by forest fires, with sounds from the Borneo rainforest.

All the tracks can be enjoyed on the “Feat. NATURE” playlist on Spotify and the tracks can be found on major music streaming platforms.

The goal of this evergreen initiative is to activate fans, raise funds, spark a global conversation about how we value nature, and inspire a sense of agency in our collective efforts to protect the planet. Fans will be encouraged to take follow-up actions to conserve nature, such as recording morning birdsong for biomonitoring and adopting sustainable behaviors - all helping to build a wider movement for change. Sounds Right knowledge partners project that Sounds Right will generate over $40m for conservation with over 600m individual listeners in its first four years.

The initiative comes at a critical time. Wildlife populations have declined by an average 69% in the past 50 years and at least 1.2 million plant and animal species are estimated to be at threat of extinction. Sounds Right looks to flip our extractive relationship with the natural world on its head while recognising nature’s contribution to the creative industries.

NATURE’s royalties and donations to Sounds Right will be collected by UK and US registered charity EarthPercent, then directed to biodiversity conservation and restoration projects in threatened ecosystems around the world. Funds will be distributed under the guidance of the Sounds Right Expert Advisory Panel, a group of world-leading biologists, environmental activists, representatives of Indigenous Peoples, and experts in conservation funding.