Museum for the United Nations - UN Live Sounds Right

Problem

Every conservation campaign follows the same ladder: raise awareness, shift attitudes, change behaviour, achieve impact. Still, wildlife populations have declined 69% in 50 years.

Background

Nature is already behind the most streamed sounds on the planet, with millions of daily listeners tuning in to sleep, focus and relax. This made her an uncredited, unpaid artist on global streaming platforms, while others harvested the value of her creations.

Ambition

To establish NATURE as an official recording artist with the rights to her own sounds, creating a new financial mechanism for conservation funding, enabling anyone to make a change without changing anything. All they have to do is what they already love doing: listening to music.

IDEA NATURE. Now officially an artist.

With Sounds Right, NATURE became the first verified non-human artist on Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon Music and Deezer. Every stream of a track crediting NATURE now generates royalties for frontline conservation.

All you have to do is listen.

To enable this, a new rights framework was created, recognising NATURE as an income-generating entity supported by platforms, conservation experts and an independent governance structure ensuring transparency.

A music initiative that recognises NATURE as the artist she truly is.

Role

Concept development
01

Concept development

AKQA developed the core concept with UN Live, establishing the strategic direction and creative vision for recognising NATURE as an official recording artist.

Business model building
02

Business model building

Engineered a pioneering financial mechanism designed to fund global conservation and biodiversity protection directly through music.

03

Narrative framework

Architected the storytelling framework that engaged global audiences, turning the ecological crisis into a compelling, active narrative.

04

Visual identity

Designed a vibrant, dynamic identity for NATURE the artist, with unexpected interactions and a visual language as alive as the natural world it represents.

Visual design
05

Visual design

Orchestrated creative partnerships with over 170 global artists, including Ellie Goulding, Aurora, and V of BTS, to launch tracks crediting NATURE.

Global launch campaign
06

Global launch campaign

Built a bespoke web experience that introduced NATURE's profile, united global partners and organisations, and brought the Sounds Right initiative to audiences around the world.

Artist collaborations
07

Artist collaborations

Designed a fluid, dynamic identity for NATURE the artist, featuring unexpected digital interactions that feel as alive as the natural world itself.

Digital platform
08

Digital platform

Created a bespoke we experience that established NATURE as an artist, connected the initiative's ecosystem, and explained how music streams generate funding for conservation.

Red text on a yellow background reads DAVID BOWIE X BRIAN ENO FEAT. NATURE, with red lightning bolts and small silhouettes of a bird on each bolt.
“Sounds Right is a groundbreaking music movement. It unites people worldwide in a shared commitment, recognising the intrinsic value of nature.”
- Melissa Fleming, Under-Secretary-General for Global Communications at the United Nations

Result

Sounds Right transformed an existing, passive behaviour into permanent conservation funding. Yet, the most significant impact is the one that cannot be measured backwards: permanence. Every track in the NATURE catalogue continues to generate royalties today, tomorrow, and for generations to come, with every new collaboration becoming a permanent addition to NATURE’s revenue-generating asset base.

  • 480M+

    Streams in the first two years

  • $626K

    Disbursed to conservation projects

  • $5M

    Projected annual revenue by 2028

  • Grand Prix

    Innovation

  • Gold

    Sustainable Development Goals

  • Gold

    Partnerships and Collaborations

  • Gold

    Innovation

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IDEA NATURE. Now officially an artist.