Is streaming music worse for the environment than buying CDs and records?

In the history of recorded music, things started off pretty green. Key points: One study found carbon emissions from digital music have eclipsed that of vinyl, cassettes and CDs It is part of a broader recognition of the environmental impacts of the music economy Streaming platforms say they are either carbon neutral or their data centres are powered by green energy From the early-to-mid 20th century, records were made partly from shellac, the resin secreted onto trees by the female lac bug, found in the forests of India and Thailand. "And then around the year 2015-2016, when downloading and streaming are clearly the most widespread means of listening to recorded music, the amount of plastic drops dramatically," Dr Devine told the ABC. To compare the environmental impact of physical versus digital music, he converted the production of each into greenhouse gas equivalents, using available data and Greenpeace's Click Clean scorecard, which rates internet companies on their commitment to renewable energy. "People don't get to see the impact of these ginormous servers that live overseas," said Mr Bilander, the co-CEO of Green Music Australia, which campaigns for sustainability in the industry.