The Smithsonian’s National Zoo, Conservation Biology Institute and Portugal. The Man have teamed up to create a song that could go extinct unless it’s reproduced. 

“It’s all about actively doing something. If you don’t do anything, the song won’t be around anymore,” said Zachary Scott Carothers, bassist of the Alaskan rock group. 

Actively doing something is at the center of the bands Earth Day-inspired Endangered Song project. The single song, entitled “Sumatran Tiger,” was manufactured only on lathe-cut, polycarbonate records which degrade more quckly than normal vinyl discs. The more the song is played, the more the record will wear out. Unless the song is digitally reproduced and shared (with the permission of the performers, songwriters and copyright holders, of course), it will become extinct as the records degrade, mirroring the fate of the Sumatran tigers.