The music industry’s growing mental health crisis

Over the past few years the general population have been faced with an increasing number of mental health challenges.

Everything from the aftermath of COVID-19 and Brexit, to the climate and cost of living crises have added to the stressors of everyday life. However, research shows that those working in the music industry are more prone to mental health problems, and are up to three times more likely to suffer from clinical depression.

Joe Hastings, head of Music Minds Matter – the sister charity of Help Musicians, providing free 24/7 mental health support for this working in the UK music industry – reports a 200% increase in those seeking support over the past two years. Even prior to the pandemic, a 2019 study by Swedish platform Record Union highlighted that 73% of independent musicians struggle with mental illness, which rises to 80% when considering only those between the ages of 18-25.

This may seem surprising to those on the outside looking in. The romanticisation of working in music often means that the struggles of those within it can be overlooked or misunderstood. A 2022 independent survey carried out by Music Support reveals that 84% of people looking for help within the music industry would prefer help from someone with industry experience.

George Levers, head of service development and delivery at Music Support, is on the front lines, supporting people with addiction and mental health challenges. She leads the charity’s helpline and email service, which is predominantly run by people who have lived experience of both working in the music industry and their own mental health challenges.

“When somebody calls our helpline, we understand the industry that they’re coming from. And that’s really important to musicians and people that come from the music industry,” she explains. “I’ve had people that called and said, ‘I’ve had some therapy, but to be honest with you the therapist spent more time talking about how amazing it must be to work in the music industry, than actually what was going on for me.’”

There are a vast range of compounding factors that increase the risk of mental health challenges to those working in the music industry: work overload, work underload, pressure to gain and maintain success, racism, sexism, homophobia, discrimination, performance anxiety, band dynamics, pressure from labels, lack of autonomy, social media toxicity and job insecurity, to name only a few.

“It can be complicated, but common contributing factors include poor working conditions, lack of recognition and unstable working patterns, all of which are likely to make it more difficult for people working in music to manage their mental health and wellbeing,” says Hastings. “Compounding these issues over recent times are external pressures such as the pandemic, Brexit regulations and the costof-living crisis, all of which have put the music industry under incredible strain, and those working within it.”

In the aftermath of the pandemic, challenges to the touring sector in particular, have multiplied. “When COVID happened the music industry was decimated,” says Levers. “People found other jobs, and when the music industry opened its doors again, it went from famine to feast. The people that were left needed to make up that income again, and so they went back into the touring life and became utterly exhausted and overwhelmed.”

Psychotherapist and ex-booking agent, Tamsin Embleton, established the Music Industry Therapy Collective (MITC), and studies the psychological impact of touring.

She released an expansive new book, Touring And Mental Health: The Music Industry Manual, earlier this year.

“Performing is often thought of as eustress, so good stress; you get a lot from it and it feels restorative in some ways. But it’s very draining and the cortisol levels can be really high, meaning that you’re going to crash after you perform and probably going to feel quite drained the next day,” she explains.

“On tour you might have another show, so your baseline stress level’s already elevated when you wake up; essentially that’s how stress accumulates. When people are trying to save costs after COVID and Brexit, it’s really hard for midlevel artists to break even, so they’re going to cram as much as they can in.”

High stress and lack of self care – through separation from familiar people, places and routines – form a difficult combination for touring artists and crew to contend with, meaning that they often find themselves struggling to reacclimatise – sometimes long after returning home.

“Excess is built in,” says Embleton. “And if you’re trying to manage these elevated stress states in your body and the crash that comes after, then you’re going to try and soften the blow, or maintain the high that you’ve got from the stage, which might feel so rewarding and deeply important that it’s hard to let go of.”

Although mental health issues are being talked about and de-stigmatised more regularly, Levers believes that addiction still carries a heavy stigma, and is also exacerbated by life on the road. “Addiction is a chronic disease which affects some people more than others. It can be genetic – you are 40% more likely to have addiction issues if you have a parent that has addiction issues,” she says. “Drugs and alcohol are normalised in the music industry, they have been for decades. People on tour are surrounded by people getting high and drinking, and then they go home and continue drinking their two bottles of wine a night and they’re like, ‘Actually, nobody else around me is doing this. There’s something not quite right here.’”

Through her role at Music Support, Levers helps people to access treatment, and thanks to a new initiative with The Christopher Meredith Foundation – named in memory of the late festival director and agent – has the funding to grow existing provisions to offer counselling, psychotherapy and residential addiction treatment. She believes it is critical to urge those who relapse to ask for further assistance: “We don’t want people to think that we won’t support you again if you relapse. We’re here for you for the whole journey, because we know relapse is very common.”

It takes a lot of time and money to develop an artist’s career to the point of profit. As a result financial instability is rife within the music industry. Anneliese Harmon, General Manager of the Music Managers Forum (MMF), believes that financial stress underpins the increasing psychological difficulty. “The real problem, when it comes down to it, is financial pressure.

When you don’t have money and you’re worried about how you’re going to keep your electricity on, or you’re working at Tesco during the day and in the studio at night, getting three hours of sleep; that causes mental health issues.” This becomes even more difficult for managers, whose roles has expanded considerably in the digital era, and are still expected to make their living from a 20% commission. “If the artist is broke, the manager gets 20% of broke.

So the manager is normally suffering more than the artist, is the reality.” She believes the biggest risk factor for artist managers is their mental health.

(Clash Music)