The Sounds Right Initiative: Nature is Now Officially an Artist

April 18, 2024

Rare is proud to be a founding partner of a new global music initiative enabling music fans to meaningfully support nature simply by listening to her wondrous sounds. Led by the Museum for the United Nations – UN Live, the Sounds Right initiative is recognizing NATURE as an official artist with her own profile on major streaming platforms like Spotify. By 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.

“Art and culture can create opportunities to reset our norms – whether it’s inspiring people who have never donated to nature conservation to do so, or nudging people to live a more climate friendly lifestyle. Sounds Right is a brilliant example of artfully motivating change, and Rare is proud to have contributed our expertise to this campaign,” said Caleb McClennen, Ph.D., President of Rare.

Go listen and become a fan of NATURE

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. 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: Brian Eno x David Bowie, 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.

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. It’s projected that Sounds Right will generate over $40m for conservation with over 600m individual listeners in its first four years.

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.

Sounds Right is the culmination of a unique collaboration between global artists, nature sound libraries, renowned producers, creatives, and environmental groups who want to put music at the heart of a global conversation about nature’s conservation and restoration.

The initiative was developed by the Museum for the United Nations – UN Live in close collaboration with a unique coalition of partners including EarthPercent, AKQA, Hempel Foundation, Dalberg, Count Us In, VozTerra, Axum, Music Declares Emergency, Earthrise, Eleutheria Group, The Listening Planet, Biophonica, Community Arts Network, Limbo Music, LD Communications, No. 29, and Rare. Spotify is supporting Sounds Right through a charitable donation to the Sounds Right fund managed by EarthPercent and by promoting the campaign through its app, OOH media and social channels to aid nature conservation. Sounds Right has been developed in consultation with the UN Department for Communications, and is joining forces with The Nature Conservancy, Wildlife Conservation Society, APCO, Riky Rick Foundation and AWorld x ActNow to encourage millions of music fans around the globe to recognize the value of nature and to inspire them to take action.