I am still somewhat amazed how quickly YouTube has changed video production from being a high-end expensive medium to one that is consumer generated with a reasonably low cost of entry. The Residents recently ran a contest on YouTube where entrants submitted self-produced video clips. Vega4 is sponsoring a similar contest to raise awareness of global climate change.

Drawing inspiration from a video on their MySpace page, London-based band Vega4 is hosting a contest in an effort to raise awareness about global climate change issues. Fans are invited to use the band’s single, “Life Is Beautiful,” as the soundtrack to videos or slideshows addressing environmental concerns. Entrants can upload their submissions to the Vega4 YouTube group (http://www.youtube.com/group/Vega4) starting now, until May 31st. The band will then select their favorite video and award the winner two tickets to the Live Earth concert on July 7, which will be held at Giant’s Stadium in East Rutherford, NJ. The contest officially kicks off this week in a tribute to Earth Day, as “Life Is Beautiful” is the featured iTunes Single of the Week.

Vega4 is hosting this contest to open dialogue among their fans and champion ways each and every person can make a difference in protecting the earth’s climate. “Life Is Beautiful,” with its hopeful lyrics and uplifting music, is an excellent theme song for raising consciousness about environmental causes. Small or large, any effort can help – “EPA estimates that simply increasing our national recycling rate from its current level of 30 percent to 35 percent would reduce GHG (greenhouse gases) emissions by another 10 million metric tons of carbon equivalent (MTCE). That amount is equal to the average annual emissions from the electricity consumed by roughly 4.6 million households.”
(http://www.epa.gov/wastewise/climate/change.htm)

More information on the competition is available on the band’s MySpace page, http://myspace.com/vega4 and official website, http://vega4.com/. Vega4’s album, You and Others, is currently available on iTunes and will be officially released in mid-June on Original Signal Recordings/Epic Records.

Previous Posts:
Pictures and a Review of Vega4's show at Webster Hall from Feb. '07(link)