Sounds Like A Plan

'Power' – with Tim Benson, live music energy consultant

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Episode notes

Chances are you've probably not given much thought to the power supplying your favourite local venue or festival. It is, however, an area that's absolutely vital when it comes to live music forging a more sustainable future. 

This week we're joined by live music energy consultant Tim Benson - Smart Power, ZAP and Powerful Thinking - to hear about where and how venues get their energy, the adoption of technology in live events and how measuring a production's electricity use is key to bringing down its environmental impact. He's also worked on Coldplay's current Music Of The Spheres world tour, and discusses their much-discussed 'kinetic dance floor' and the transformative role sustainable technologies can play in creating culture change if they're incorporated into the audience experience at a concert. 

Hosts Fay and Greg also leave you with some recommendations. More detail below. 

Sounds Like A Plan series 3 is supported by Festival Republic. They put on festivals including Leeds Festival, taking place at Bramham Park, Leeds, between 26-28 August 2022. Tickets are available now:

https://www.leedsfestival.com/tickets

Links to things discussed in the podcast:

Tim Benson's work with Smart Power, ZAP and Powerful Thinking 

https://www.agreenerfestival.com/speakers-gei13/tim-benson/

Survey report: 'Music fans care more about climate change' 

https://www.gla.ac.uk/news/headline_849057_en.html

Coldplay's 'kinetic' dance floor 

https://nypost.com/2021/10/14/coldplays-eco-friendly-tour-to-run-on-fans-dancing/

This episode's recommendations:

Fay recommends:

Climate of Change podcast with Cate Blanchett and Danny Kennedy 

https://www.audible.co.uk/pd/Climate-of-Change-with-Cate-Blanchett-and-Danny-Kennedy-Podcast/B09WFBG7SM

Greg recommends:

Live event: Sounds Like A Plan x Outrage + Optimism, The Podcast Show, London, Wednesday 25th May 2022 

https://www.thepodcastshowlondon.com/speaker-line-up?&azletter=C&searchgroup=AE8A92A2-speakers

More from us on social media:

Instagram – @soundslikeaplanpodcast

Fay Milton

Twitter – @faymilton

Instagram – @faymilton

Greg Cochrane

Twitter – @Gregcochrane

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