'Greener' option for independent music CDs; Music Manufacturing Services takes the lead in offering a more environmentally friendly CD

'Greener' option for independent music CDs; Music Manufacturing Services takes the lead in offering a more environmentally friendly CD

TORONTO, Oct. 10 /PRNewswire/ -- LiveEarth. Carbon-neutral music festivals. Biodiesel rock 'n' roll tours. Musicians, as usual, are taking the lead in social change. And this time they're not just warning us that the "times they are a-changing", they're showing us how to adapt.

The irony is that the main medium for their message - the compact disc - has some inherent environmental issues of its own.

"Let's face it, there's no such thing as a truly environmentally-friendly compact disc," says Lindsay Gillespie, President and Founder of MUSIC MANUFACTURING SERVICES (MMS). "The discs themselves are made of metal and plastic. But more and more, musicians want to reach their fans in an environmentally friendly way. So we're doing everything we can to help them do that."

MMS, which manufactures millions of CDs for independent musicians and labels each year, has just introduced the Green CD Program, the first of its kind in North America.

"Maybe we can't change the disc itself," says Gillespie, "but we can change the CD packaging - and that will have a huge impact on a CD's overall environmental impact."

Under the program, MMS is introducing 100% recycled plastic and bio-degradable PaperFoam(TM) trays for DigiPaks(TM), and is making FSC (Forest Stewardship Council) approved papers standard for most CD projects. The company continues to use only vegetable-based inks for all packaging, and offers a wide range of recycled papers.

"With the Green CD Program, we're also encouraging our suppliers to move into the future, or should I say the present," enthuses Gillespie, who will be speaking on environmental issues in the music industry at the Americana Music Association's fall conference in Nashville.

"If there's a packaging element or innovation that will reduce our environmental footprint, and be affordable for our clients, we want to offer it. We also want independent musicians to be on equal ground with major labels, when major retailers demand that products meet stricter environmental specifications."

The North America-wide initiative also encompasses the company's office practices, recycling and waste management policies, and more.

"We're doing everything we possibly can to make MMS CDs as environmentally friendly as possible," says Gillespie. "We want to offer musicians some real options, and we want their fans to feel good about buying their favourite music."

LINDSAY GILLESPIE is a 30-year music industry veteran, who founded MUSIC MANUFACTURING SERVICES in 1988. He is currently working with the American Association of Independent Music (A2IM) to help develop environmentally friendly packaging for the music industry at large.

MUSIC MANUFACTURING SERVICES is a full-service CD, DVD, and record manufacturer, with offices in Nashville, Toronto, Montreal, St. John's and Halifax. MMS is a partner in The Vinyl Factory (Canada's last operating record pressing plant) and in independent music distributor and label Outside Music. MMS is owned by President Lindsay Gillespie and Vice-President Aaron Zon.

MUSIC MANUFACTURING SERVICES WEBSITE: www.musicmanufacturing.com

To read the MMS Green CD Program in full, visit www.musicmanufacturing.com/green.

If you are a musician or independent label looking for affordable (and green) CD manufacturing options, call MMS at 1-800-667-4237.

Source: Music Manufacturing Services

CONTACT: Valerie Lapp, Marketing Director, MUSIC MANUFACTURING SERVICES,
(705) 749-6987, val@musicmanufacturing.com or Lindsay Gillespie, President,
MUSIC MANUFACTURING SERVICES, 1-800-667-4237 or (416) 364-1943,
lindsay@musicmanufacturing.com

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Profile: International Entertainment