Sonopress Launches ‘Eco CD’, Premiering With New Coldplay Album

Celebrated pop-rock band Coldplay has just given a sold-out concert in Budapest – and they were joined on stage by a record player and an “Eco Record” produced by Sonopress. The Gütersloh-based company has now also produced the first “Eco CDs” for the band and their label – yet another innovation that saves large amounts of CO2 during production.

The media and the fan community are fizzing with enthusiastic reports and posts about Coldplay’s new album. The British pop-rock band has just announced the release of its tenth album, “Moon Music,” for October 4. The first song “Feelslikeimfallinginlove” will be available to stream everywhere from Friday – and was also on the playlist at Coldplay’s sold-out concert in Budapest on Sunday. As an Instagram video from the band shows, they were joined on stage by a record player playing a special version of “Moon Music”: an “Eco Record” produced by Sonopress in Gütersloh. Coldplay is the next big band that the Bertelsmann Marketing Services company has acquired as a customer, along with their label Warner Music Group. Sonopress took the opportunity to present another sustainable product innovation: the “Eco CD”, a sound carrier that, like the “Eco Record”, is produced in an environmentally friendly way. The limited CD editions of “Moon Music” will be the first in the world to be released on Eco CD. One of the LP formats is actually made from raw materials collected in collaboration with international non-profit organization, The Ocean Cleanup.

‘Strong signal to the market’

“We are delighted and a little proud to celebrate the launch of our latest product, the ‘Eco CD’, with such major artists as Coldplay,” says Sonopress Managing Director Sven Deutschmann. “This is a strong signal to the market that both music creators and record labels are interested in these sustainable storage media.” The development of the “Eco CD” underscores Sonopress’ commitment to supporting the music industry in its efforts toward a circular economy and climate neutrality.

Sustainability is a megatrend in the music industry. According to Deutschmann, artists, labels and music majors, as well as manufacturers and service providers, are increasingly looking for ways to actively contribute to mitigating global climate change by reducing their environmental footprint. Sonopress, one of the world’s leading manufacturers of storage media, was quick to pick up on this trend and has been working for some time to significantly reduce CO2 emissions in the production of CDs and LPs. At the end of last year, for example, the Gütersloh-based company launched the “Eco Record” together with its long-standing customer Warner Music (see BENET report). And now Coldplay have announced that their tenth studio album will be released in early October as the world’s first 140-gram “Eco Record” LP. Each copy will be made from nine recycled post-consumer PET plastic bottles on average. This avoids the production of more than 25 tons of virgin plastic and reduces the CO2 emissions of the manufacturing process by 85 percent compared to a conventional 140-gram vinyl LP.

70 percent lower CO2 footprint

Sonopress’ latest innovation, the “Eco CD”, is made from 90 percent recycled polycarbonate derived from post-consumer waste streams. This reduces the CO2 emissions associated with the material by 78 percent and, in the case of the new Coldplay CD, avoids the production of more than five tons of virgin plastic.

The “Eco CD” was developed by Sonopress under strict sustainability criteria. The base material used in its production is polycarbonate, 90 percent of which consists of post-consumer recycled material – i.e. mechanically recycled polycarbonate that has already passed through the economic cycle. Only ten percent of the raw material is virgin, fossil-based plastic."The 'Eco CD' consists of 90 per cent recycled polycarbonate, which is obtained from post-consumer waste streams. In total, the CO2 emissions of an 'Eco CD' are up to 75 per cent lower than those of a conventional CD,” says Sven Deutschmann. Together with The Ocean Cleanup, material was also collected for the “Notebook rPET” versions of “Eco Record” and “Eco CD,” 70 percent of which came from plastic waste from the Rio Las Vacas in Guatemala. The “Notebook rPET” versions of the “Eco Record” and “Eco CD” contain an exact replica of Coldplay singer Chris Martin’s studio notebook with notes, lyrics, and illustrations from the writing and recording process of the album. In addition, there are vocal notes and demos from the recording sessions that provide a special insight into the development of the music.

Innovative collaboration with The Ocean Clean Up

The new “Eco CD” is produced on conventional injection molding machines, extensively modified by the experts at Sonopress themselves. According to the company, the recycled polycarbonate behaves differently from the usual material used to manufacture CDs, e.g. in terms of viscosity and other product properties. The development of the “Eco CD” is further proof that Sonopress is not only environmentally conscious, but also one of the most innovative suppliers in the replication industry, Deutschmann continued. “We are pleased to be able to contribute to greater sustainability in the music industry with this new product and are delighted that our customer Warner Music, together with Coldplay, has decided to release the band’s new album as an ‘Eco CD’.”