Nature has been officially designated an artist on Spotify.

So what, you might think.

But there is a point: the designation allows for the collection of royalties for any registered piece of music indexed as featuring nature sounds. Paid to the Sounds Right music initiative, the funds will go toward conservation projects worldwide.

Spotify’s Nature playlist includes tracks by BTS, London Grammar and Ellie Goulding. It also includes the 1995 David Bowie and Brian Eno collaboration Get Real, which Eno has remixed to feature the sounds of wild animals and rainfall.

Revenues generated will be funnelled to Eno’s environmental charity EarthPercent, an initiative through which artists can sign over one percent or more of their songwriting credits to the planet. The charity then distributes the funds to rights-based conservation initiatives around the world.

It is anticipated that Sounds Right will engage 600 million people across the globe and raise $US40 million dollars for conservation projects. It is also hoped that the venture will spark further conversation about how Nature can – and should – be valued in our society and economic models.

As of 30 April, Nature as an artist already has 2.6 million monthly listeners. You can listen to Sounds Right’s Feat. NATURE playlist here: