LONDON — Coldplay would never have tasted global stardom in today's algorithmic era, the band's drummer told students at Northeastern University.
Will Champion says the music business is “indistinguishable” from the one the indie rock superstars first met in the late 1990s, when they met while attending university in London.
The musician, whose daughter is studying abroad at Northeastern University, said he remembers record labels investing in Coldplay in the hopes that it could “someday be good, as opposed to now where you can't do anything unless it's a completely finished product.”
“I think it's quite difficult. [today]”If we had started now, we wouldn't be anywhere near where we are now,” he continued.
“We were very unhealthy-looking, badly dressed, scruffy students. The algorithm would have shut us down right away.”
Mr Champion was speaking as part of a new series called 'Intersections' launched at the university's London campus, giving students the chance to hear inside industry stories from members of the Northeastern Network.
He said he was reluctant to offer sage advice because “a lot of things happened our way,” but he encouraged students to be resilient, adaptable and communicative as they tackle their life aspirations. “I think they helped us get to this point,” he added.
In introducing Champion, Diane McGillivray, senior vice president for university advancement, cited Champion's accomplishments with Coldplay, including selling more than 100 million records and winning seven Grammy Awards.
“But my guess is that one of the things you're most proud of, and the reason you agreed to be here tonight, is your title 'dad,'” she said.
“That's right,” replied Champion, a father of three.
The evening was hosted by McGillivray and Calypso Newman, alumnus and founder of the arts sustainability agency Rock Badger, where Champion spoke about Coldplay's Music of the Spheres tour and its sustainability efforts.
With 13 million tickets sold, making it the most attended tour in history, the record-breaking tour has environmental sustainability at its heart, reducing Coldplay's carbon footprint by 59% since their last touring outing.
Fans can generate renewable energy to power stadium shows and light up wristbands that are reused. Participants can also use the app to arrange car sharing.
Champion explained to the Devon House audience, which included Northeastern President Joseph E. Aoun, that the current way music is consumed through algorithm-based streaming platforms is why British artists want to focus on delivering memorable live experiences.
“It's never been easier to find bands and discover new music, which is great, but at the same time, it's very difficult to break through that level of noise,” Champion said. “What we found is that it's very difficult to make something stick.”
He recalled how Canadian singer Bryan Adams spent 16 weeks at number one on the UK Singles Chart in 1991 with the song “(Everything I Do) I Do It For You.” This is still the longest time it has held the top spot.
“I couldn't take him off the top,” Champion said. “Right now, things just disappear. I think it's really hard to get something that lasts because we're so interested in looking for the next thing.
“That's why the tour was really important to us, because it's about creating memories of real human connections in stadiums like that. Those are memories that can't be easily replaced. You can't just swipe if you don't like it. It's a commitment to something that's really meaningful.”
“So for us, it's changed in that we're really relying on live shows to build lasting connections with people, and it's hard to do that with just recorded music.”
The 47-year-old, who called London the best city in the world for live music, said painstaking work had been done to ensure every part of the tour operation was as sustainable as possible. But he said the focus is on asking questions about how we can reduce our carbon footprint, while at the same time “how can we contribute to more people having fun?”
“And I think that's ultimately what matters,” he said.
Earlier this year, Coldplay was one of a number of major artists, including Paul McCartney and Dua Lipa, to lobby the UK government over proposed copyright changes that artists say could put their works at risk from generated AI.
Champion said the band is leveraging AI in its fan film efforts, but stressed that music production needs to be protected from technological overreach.
“I’m really interested in how AI will impact our business,” he said. “The way many of these large-scale language models learn is also highly controversial.
“We've found that there are amazing applications for AI in the music field. It's a very new technology and I think we need to think very carefully about how we create and protect human creativity, especially in our businesses.”
Towards the end of the question and answer session, a student attendee suggested two questions to the champion and told him he could choose which one he wanted to answer. The first was whether AI could create music like humans, and the second was which actor they would like to play in a potential Coldplay biopic.
Champion said he didn't think he had “insight” on the AI question, but was candid about the second question.
“Well, what I mean is 'regular bald guy with a beard.' …Let's say Jason Statham,” he replied. “I think he'll make a good drummer.”
As the talk drew to a close, with waves of hands still floating around, Champion eschewed any rock-star ego and stayed at the front of the long line of students, answering more questions and posing for selfies with delighted fans.
