Billie Eilish has addressed sustainability concerns in the music industry, sparking a debate after her comments in a Billboard interview were interpreted by some as a veiled critique of Taylor Swift.
Eilish had earlier called out artists for releasing albums with "all sorts of different vinyl and packaging" in the interview, raising concerns about the environmental impact of releasing multiple vinyl variants of albums, which can contribute to waste and artificially boost sales figures.
At the time, she said:
“I can’t even express to you how wasteful it is."
"It is right in front of our faces and people are just getting away with it left and right, and I find it really frustrating as somebody who really goes out of my way to be sustainable and do the best that I can and try to involve everybody in my team in being sustainable — and then it’s some of the biggest artists in the world making f**king 40 different vinyl packages that have a different unique thing just to get you to keep buying more."
"It’s so wasteful, and it’s irritating to me that we’re still at a point where you care that much about your numbers and you care that much about making money — and it’s all your favorite artists doing that s**t.”
Taking to Instagram, Eilish clarified her stance, urging people to read her words accurately and emphasizing that she was addressing broader industry practices, not targeting any specific artist:
“okay so it would be so awesome if people would stop putting words into my mouth and actually read what i said in that billboard article. i wasn’t singling anyone out, these are industry-wide systemic issues."
"& when it comes to variants, so many artists release them – including ME! which i clearly state in the article."
"the climate crisis is now and its about all of us being part of the problem and trying to do better sheesh.”
You can see her response below.
@billieeilish/Instagram
Many appreciated Eilish's remarks, though a few explained how her words applied to artists like Swift.
In the Billboard interview, Eilish, accompanied by her mother Maggie Baird, discussed their commitment to sustainability across various aspects of their work, including vinyl packaging, transportation, food, and merchandise. They emphasized the importance of ethical production, quality materials, and durability in their clothing line, even if it meant higher costs.
Eilish herself said:
"It’s about how it feels and how it looks and how it’s made. And so the problem is to make sure that my clothing is being made well and ethically and with good materials and it’s very sustainable and that it feels good and is durable. It’s going to be more expensive."
Although Taylor Swift wasn't directly mentioned, she certainly aligns with the example Eilish provided.
Swift notably released multiple versions of albums like Folklore and Midnights, and even her recent Taylor's Version releases of past albums featured variants.
Other high-profile artists like Olivia Rodrigo and Ariana Grande have also adopted similar practices. Moreover, it's not limited to newer or lesser-known artists; major retailers like Target offer exclusive releases featuring variants from a diverse range of artists.
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