Best of 2019 The Year in Mental Health
WHEN ROYAL MOUNTAIN RECORDS ANNOUNCED A FUND TO GIVE EACH
OF THEIR ARTISTS $ 1500 annually toward mental health services, it was heralded as a potential watershed moment for the music industry.
Amidst a glut of confessions from musicians about the ways in which musicians’ mental well-being is insufficiently supported by the industry, Royal Mountain’s decision was seen as the first concrete step toward creating structural change, earning the Toronto-based label attention from the likes of The Globe and Mail, Pitchfork and Spotify, with near-unanimous support and applause.
Nearly a year after the announcement, when I ask label founder and owner Menno Versteeg if any other organizations have talked about following suit, you can hear the disappointment in his voice. “Not a one, unfortunately,” he says with a sigh. “Everyone’s down to talk about it, but when it comes down to paying for it, it’s a little harder.”
Versteeg, lead singer of rock band Hollerado, is one voice in a growing crowd of musicians who have been speaking out, acknowledging the toll that being a musician takes on their psyches and spirits. Throughout 2019, artists have made known their struggles with mental health, from smaller acts like Summer Walker (who has been open about her social anxiety) and Xiu Xiu (who cited mental health as the reason for cancelling their world tour) to world-famous superstars such as the Beach Boys’ Brian Wilson and Justin Bieber.
If there’s a common message to be gleaned, it’s that the music industry isn’t providing sufficient support for artists’ well-being, no matter how much they may profit from their art.
This reality is front-of-mind for Oluwatobi Ajibolade, better known as Toronto-based R&B singer TOBi. Before he entered the music industry full-time, he worked as a child and youth support worker; he retains his commitment to developing strategies to better one’s well-being.
“I think there’s an overarching perspective towards musicians where we assume this role that we need to be broken, battered and bruised in order to make good music,” says TOBi. “I think there should be more emphasis on creating sustainable environments for artists to work. Just implementing ways for artists to develop these habits that not only make them productive, but keep their spirits alive.”
In addition to recording and performing, TOBi serves as the organizer of UNPACK Toronto, a series of “constructive discussions of mental wellness in the creative community.” Led by a panel of artists, musicians and psychologists, UNPACK aims to de-stigmatize mental health in the music industry by fostering an open dialogue, letting musicians speak openly about their struggles, while also exposing attendees to realities that often go unspoken.
Being an artist “does come with its share of troubles and setbacks that aren’t visible,” TOBi adds. “I feel like we’re entering an age of more awareness, more transparency, which is a great thing. And the more we bring awareness, the more we remove the stigma from certain conversations, I think, the better off everyone will be. Not just artists, but the general public as well.”
The first UNPACK Toronto event took place in August; on the panel was rapper Haviah Mighty, mere weeks from winning the Polaris Music Prize. She mentions that, while the mood in the room was tense at first, as people tried to vocalize feelings and ideas that they may have been initially hesitant to share, it eventually blossomed into a productive and open dialogue.
“I think a lot of people who spoke up, whether they cried or whether it was difficult to get their statement out, I did feel in the end that there was a lot of positivity in the room,” she recounts. “Being in a room like that made so many other people realize that they were not alone. I think being in a room with musicians that they recognized was a big part of that too.”
Organizations like the Unison Benevolent Fund, which provides counselling, crisis support and financial services for musicians, and Over the Bridge, which connects musicians with a community of therapists and addictions counsellors, also work to provide support for musicians’ well-beings, with the former providing round-the-clock guidance via a toll-free help line.
All of these initiatives are a start, but as artists continue to speak up about their well-being, there comes a time when the conversations need to lead to concrete action.
“It’s time to stop talking about and actually act on it,” says Versteeg. “You know ACTRA, the actors’ union, if you act, you pay into your health insurance. This isn’t a new idea I’m thinking of. We can do this. I really think it’s going to make some positive changes.”