Billie Eilish, one of the most important artists of the young generation, whose credits include, among others: two Oscars for a song, says he doesn't fully understand today's music industry. Or maybe even more artists agreeing to sell multiple editions of the same album in different colors in order to achieve better sales results. “It's really frustrating,” he admits.
The star came to this conclusion mainly for ecological reasons. In her opinion, vinyl records are not the most environmentally friendly and something should be done to make their production environmentally sustainable. “Today we live in a time where for some reason it is very important for some artists to create all kinds of vinyls and boxes, which increases sales, increases numbers and gives them more money,” he says in an interview.
Her mother joined in the conversation Maggie Baird, who noted that for many, the only thing that matters is whether the album is number 1. “I can't find words for what a waste it is,” she said. According to the star, everyone is aware of the scale of the problem, but does not want to actually see it and work on changes. “(…) It's really frustrating for someone who is really doing everything in their power to be sustainable and do everything, trying to get everyone on my team involved in this idea, and then to see some of the biggest artists on “The world makes 40 fucking different versions of vinyl records that are unique just to make you buy more of them.”
Billie Eilish laments that for many artists, only profit matters. “(…) Plus all your favorite artists do it,” she said.
For example, the most popular album in 2022 Taylor Swift “Midnights” was available in five color variants and sold about a million copies, although it is not only the domain of the pop star – many different versions are sold by other artists such as The Rolling Stones (at least 43 versions). Eilish, on the other hand, decided to sell her last album “Happier Than Ever” in as many as eight types of colors, but each plate is made entirely of recycled sugar cane shrink film.
The 22-year-old singer would like some restrictions on this issue, e.g. a limit on the color editions of one album. However, he doesn't think this solution would help in the long run. “We're all going to keep doing it because (it's) the only way to play the game. It just highlights the already somewhat broken way this industry works,” he says.
This is not the first voice of this kind in the industry. As NME reminds, there are voices to stop the physical production of albums, which would be better for the planet. “Everyone knows that the clock is ticking. The truth is that concert tours (too) are at risk. The music industry is at risk. If you don't do it now, you will be forced to do it in the future,” the star's mother told the portal.