Will Live Earth Live up to the Hype?

On Saturday July, 8, over 150 of some of the best known musicians from John Mayer to the Police will be splashed across the internet via msn.com and on the television via the NBC arsenal of channels. The cause? Raising awareness of the global warming crisis. The Live Earth series of concerts is the brainchild of Al Gore and Kevin Wall. But thus far, the effort has been wrought with problems and has been widely criticized. It appears that concert organizers have far more to worry about than getting Akon to not throw kids off of the stage and keeping up with Madonna’s concert rider demands.

At the time of this post, Live Earth was fighting a court ban in hopes of keeping alive the Rio leg of the tour (coverage here). And the concert’s potential impact is already being called into question.

While Live Earth is focused on all causes green, it is a cousin of sorts to a Live 8 concert that was viewed by many as a failure. Although Live 8 was focused on a different cause – the endemic African AIDS crisis – Saturday’s concert may face some of the same problems. Many have speculated as to why Live 8 was not as successful as envisioned before the first chord was struck. One widely circulated theory was posited in the extensive study “The Other CSR”: the cause suffered from a scattered focus (African poverty in general) that did not readily pair with the message medium (music): 

For example, the rather prominent failure of Bob Geldof’s Live 8 concert was due, in part, to the breadth of the issues being addressed – poverty, debt relief, AIDS, and so on – and the lack of relevance of music to these issues.

While Gore has been quoted as saying he has heeded Bob Geldof’s advice and the lessons learned from Live 8, Geldof himself has not-so-prviately expressed doubts about Live Earth. Via the AP:

Geldof has been critical of Live Earth. In May, he told a Dutch newspaper: "Live Earth doesn't have a final goal."

"I would only organize this if I could go on stage and announce concrete environmental measures from the American presidential candidates, Congress or major corporations," said Geldof.

So here is the million dollar question: Will Live Earth raise awareness of global warming? Will it escape the problems experienced by Live 8? My first instinct is to say that pre-concert naysayers will view the effort as a failure no matter what the result. We live in an instant gratification world and global warming will still exist when the last act leaves the stage. As well, I believe that many will have a hard time believing that all of the slated music acts are sincere. The Arctic Monkeys, who declined to perform at Live Earth, were quoted as saying the following, via the blog Wizbang:

"Especially when we're using enough power for 10 houses just for (stage) lighting. It'd be a bit hypocritical [to participate]...And we're always jetting off on aeroplanes!"

It’s also no secret that a number of the performers have no qualms about maintaining 20 car garages stocked with muscle cars.

But the “green” credentials and true intentions of some of the participants and other glitches aside, one has to give the organizers credit for apparently learning from at least some Live 8’s other failures.

First off, the name Live Earth more readily fits with the cause – in wisely naming this undertaking, it can be assured that someone listening to Justin Timberlake belt “Sexy Back” will still make the connection as to why they paid $300 for a ticket or are devoting time to watching online. 

As well, Live Earth will be regularly interrupted to remind people of why they are ultimately watching the music acts. Also via the AP:

Sixty short films and 30 public service announcements have been produced, which will be broadcast between performances. 

Live Earth even urges viewers to make concrete promises to take action via a seven point “pledge.”

So will it be successful in fighting global warming? For one, I don’t know that the organizers mean for that question to be answered on Saturday. Gore and Wall have repeatedly stated that this concert is not intended as the end goal but rather the first shot in a multi-year effort to raise awareness of global warming.

The more relevant question is will it effectively influence viewers? The answer is probably yes for one sad reason. The cause will more readily hit home: African poverty is viewed as a concern to Africans while global warming affects us all. Accordingly, I think that those who are impressionable will leave the concert and think twice before throwing a soda can, lithium battery or Commodore 64 in the trash. The concert will no doubt raise awareness in some people’s minds and for some, the heightened awareness will translate into action. So I think the short answer is yes, the concert will move the needle – if only modestly.

That’s as long as people aren’t impressionable enough to listen to Snoop Dogg when he breaks out his classic song, Brake Fluid (Pump Yo Brakes).