Sustainability Initiatives. A Case Study of how mainstream media frames Coldplay's Music of the Spheres Tour

Sammanfattning

The music industry has increasingly come under scrutiny for its environmental footprint, withlarge-scale concert tours contributing significantly to carbon emissions, energy use, and waste.This thesis examines how Coldplay’s Music of the Spheres tour, widely promoted as apioneering effort in sustainable touring, is framed in mainstream English-language media.Using qualitative content analysis informed by framing theory, eight articles from the outletsThe Guardian, BBC, Billboard, Pitchfork, Variety, the New York Post and NPR were analyzedto identify how the band’s sustainability initiatives were presented. The results show that mostoutlets framed Coldplay as industry leaders and environmental innovators, frequentlylegitimized through expert endorsements and celebrated for technological innovations such asbio-batteries, audience-generated energy, and large-scale tree planting. These accounts oftenreinforced a “ripple-effect” narrative, suggesting that Coldplay’s actions normalize low-carbonbehaviors among fans and peers. A minority of sources, however, adopted a more critical frame,focusing on corporate partnerships with companies accused of lobbying against climate policyor engaging in greenwashing. By situating these findings within framing theory and agenda-setting, the study demonstrates how media shape public perception of celebrity-drivensustainability initiatives, oscillating between amplifying innovation and exposing credibilityrisks. This contributes to broader debates in global studies on sustainability communication,celebrity influence, and the politics of environmental responsibility.