Sign up for IQ Index
The latest industry news to your inbox.
UK-based charity Music Support is reportedly supporting a record number of live and music industry professionals, after seeing a 51% increase in calls to their helpline over the past year.
In a new survey, the organisation detailed challenges facing industry executives — including drug and alcohol problems, mental health issues, and suicidal thoughts — are up across the board, steadily increasing from last year’s report.
In addition to a steep increase in helpline calls, Music Support revealed that nearly half of respondents divulged mental health problems, rising from 40% last year.
More than one-fourth of respondents stated drug and/or alcohol problems, up from 19% in 2023, and 21% said they had suicidal thoughts in the past year, up from 18% last year.
“Whilst the increase in demand for our services is a concern, we are also encouraged that stigmas around mental health and problematic substance use are breaking down and people are more willing to reach out for help,” says CEO Joe Hastings.
Responses were collected from on- and off-stage individuals across Music Support’s Safe Hubs at summer festivals, a service it has offered since 2016.
“It’s vital that those who work in music know there is somewhere they can turn for their mental health”
Elsewhere, Music Minds Matter (MMM) announced its first batch of partners in the creation of Music Minds Matter Allies. The mental health-focused industry charity will work alongside the six organisations to help connect their networks to support, co-develop new resources, and facilitate connection and collaboration through communal events.
The first set of allies include the BIMM Music Institute, the British Phonographic Industry (BPI), the Featured Artist Coalition (FAC), the Music Managers Forum (MMF), the Musicians’ Union (MU), and We Are The Unheard (WATU).
“A life in music is full of uniting highs but sadly the hours, pace and passion can have an impact on wellbeing too,” says Sarah Woods, chief executive of Music Minds Matter and Help Musicians. “It’s vital that those who work in music know there is somewhere they can turn for their mental health and we want to ensure that messages spreads to all who need us.”
“With our Music Minds Matter Allies, we can work together to develop more supporting resources and reach so many more who need support, whether a venue booker, artist manager, festival owner, record producer or label accountant.
“Music Minds Matter is here for everyone working in music at any time and we’re so pleased to work with our Ally organisations to ensure that help and guidance reaches those in need now, or those who may need it in the future.”
“Having artists talk about their mental health struggles allows us to normalize the conversation around mental health”
This year alone, Music Minds Matter has supported over 3,300 people working in music, and research has shown that industry professionals are at a higher risk of experiencing depression and other mental health-related illnesses.
Those working in the music industry may be up to three times as likely to experience depression compared to the general public, a MMM survey revealed.
MMF chief executive Annabella Coldrick emphasised the importance of allyship for the industry: “Against a backdrop of cutbacks elsewhere in the music business, managers are under increasing pressure, shouldering a greater range of responsibilities and expected to deliver on multiple fronts. It can be an incredibly stressful and isolated role.
“Taking a more tailored approach that listens to the concerns of managers and provides them with bespoke mental health resources is, we feel, the best way to alleviate these challenges.”
In response to these challenges, Live Nation recently launched a “music meets meditation” app in collaboration with Mindful Nation. Created by Niamh McCarthy, former assistant manager to Madonna and U2, the app is purposed to help artists and professionals find balance in the rigours of touring.
“Having artists talk about their mental health struggles allows us to normalize the conversation around mental health and opens a space for others to also share their experiences and struggles with mental health, anxiety and depression,” McCarthy says.
“Creating boundaries for self-care can feel hard but ultimately helps not only the performer but the crew and those around them to also prioritize their needs creating for a happy and safer tour experience.”
Get more stories like this in your inbox by signing up for IQ Index, IQ’s free email digest of essential live music industry news.
Help Musicians has created a new single-focus charity, Music Minds Matter, to support the mental health of all who work in music across the UK.
Earlier this week, BRIT Award-winning singer Arlo Parks became the latest artist to pull tour dates due to mental health concerns, following similar cancellations from Shawn Mendes, Sam Fender, Russ, Wet Leg and Disclosure.
Music Minds Matter’s first board of trustees will provide insight and focus to drive awareness and help improve access to necessary mental health support. Association For Electronic Music (AFEM) CEO Silvia Montello has been announced as the new charity’s first chair.
“Having worked in music my entire career, I have sadly seen and experienced first-hand the devastating impact on the mental health of too many great colleagues, friends and artists,” says Montello. “Music brings such joy to so many people; we need to ensure that no-one involved in creating and sharing it across the music-loving community is left to suffer the effects of stressful, unhealthy and often precarious livelihoods, and is able to share in that joy and to thrive in their own daily endeavours.”
The new board will be made up of: Gareth Mellor (FUGA); Juliette Edwards (PPL); Maria Wray (UTA); Melanie Johnson (Utopia Music); Paul Firth (Amazon Music) and Reni Adadevoh (Warner Music International). Jim Benner, one of Help Musicians existing trustees will also serve on the board.
“We have seen the need for mental health support continue to grow year-on-year”
Music Minds Matter was established in 2017 as a 24/7 mental health support line for all who work in music across the UK, and has since evolved to encompass peer support groups, self-care sessions and a music-focused mental health guidance website, Music Minds Matter Explore.
“Since Music Minds Matter launched in 2017, we have seen the need for mental health support continue to grow year-on-year,” says Help Musicians CEO James Ainscough. “Musicians and those who work in music have been through an incredibly difficult time during the pandemic. And, sadly, coming out the other side is proving just as challenging, if not more. So the time is right to set up Music Minds Matter as a single-focus charity.
“With the full backing of the Help Musicians team and resources, the Music Minds Matter board will have the freedom to drive forward our work on mental health, so we can reach more of those who need our support, and build vital partnership right across the music industry. Silvia and the new board of trustees bring the wealth of knowledge, understanding and passion needed to guide Music Minds Matter in this new and exciting phase and I look forward to working with them.”
Music Minds Matter will bring together significant influencers within the music industry at Abbey Road Studio 2 on 10 October for World Mental Health Day to lead a discussion about best practice in mental health support and how to drive positive change.
Get more stories like this in your inbox by signing up for IQ Index, IQ’s free email digest of essential live music industry news.
British music industry charity Help Musicians has appointed Dame Evelyn Glennie as president.
Only the third person, and first woman, to hold the honorary post, Dame Evelyn succeeds composer and conductor Sir Peter Maxwell Davies, who died in 2016. The first president, meanwhile, was legendary composer Sir Edward Elgar, best known for his Pomp and Circumstance March No. 1 (aka ‘Land of Hope and Glory’).
Glennie (pictured), a double Grammy- winner, is known as the first person to sustain a successful full-time career as a solo percussionist. She played the first percussion concerto in the history of the BBC Proms in 1992, and led 1,000 drummers in the opening ceremony of the London 2012 Olympic games seen, globally by over 900 million viewers.
Graham Sheffield CBE, chair of the Help Musicians board of trustees, said: “I am thrilled to welcome Dame Evelyn Glennie into the Help Musicians family as our new president. Just like her two predecessors, Elgar and Maxwell Davies, Evelyn is a musical giant of her time. She is a trailblazer, whose energy and musicality reach beyond traditional boundaries to musicians and music lovers of all genres.”
“As we approach our centenary next year, we are honoured that Evelyn has joined us)
“Throughout her career, Evelyn has demonstrated a unique ability as a communicator and inspiration,” he adds. “As we approach our centenary next year, we are honoured that she has joined us to help spread our key messages around the development and welfare of professional musicians, as well as the importance and power of music.”
Formerly known as the Musicians Benevolent Fund, and later Help Musicians UK, Help Musicians helps artists and other music industry professionals in crisis with problems including mental health issues, isolation and financial turmoil.
It provides a 24-hours-a-day, seven-days-a-week helpline for people suffering with mental health problems via its Music Minds Matter service, launched in December 2017 in response to the findings of its Can Music Make You Sick? study released the previous year.
Get more stories like this in your inbox by signing up for IQ Index, IQ’s free email digest of essential live music industry news.
Help Musicians UK (HMUK) today announced the launch of Music Minds Matter, a campaign to raise funding for a new 24/7 mental-health service for people working in music.
HMUK has itself already put £100,000 into Music Minds Matter – set up, says the charity, in response to the “mental health crisis” in the music industry – and hopes to double its investment, with £200,000 the minimum needed to make the service viable beyond 2018. The service, which combines a 24-hour-a-day, seven-day-a-week helpline with “clinical, medical, therapeutic and welfare support”, is set to launch later this year.
Speaking to IQ on Friday following the suicide of Chester Bennington (pictured), HMUK chief executive Richard Robinson identified the need for a practical medical response to mental illness among musicians and other people working in the industry. “If people can talk to musicians who already have experience of mental-health problems, alcoholism or addiction, that’s a fantastic service – but there has to a clinical response, too,” he said. “That’s what’s missing.”
An HMUK study, Can Music Make You Sick?, released in November found almost three quarters of respondents – all professional musicians – had experienced episodes of anxiety and depression, with more than half saying they felt underserved by the support available currently.
Announcing Music Minds Matter, Help Musicians calls for “arm-in-arm” support from the industry and philanthropists to match its investment pound for pound. The money will be put towards financing the global music mental health platform, in collaboration with partners in America, Canada, Australia and New Zealand, revealed by Robinson on Friday.
“For generations and generations, the music industry has lost some of its brightest talent and future stars due to the scourge of mental health and related issues,” says Robinson today. “The situation is now urgent and we can no longer allow this to continue. We have decided to make this landmark investment as a precursor to a dedicated service – but we cannot undertake this work in isolation.
“I’m sure that this investment and the Music Minds Matter campaign would have met with Chester’s approval”
“We need the music industry to step up, arm in arm with Help Musicians, and match our support pound for pound […] The forthcoming specialist 24/7 mental health service will be a global first and go hand in hand with Help Musicians’ traditional health and welfare support, which offers advice and often financial support to people in the industry across a wide range of issues.”
Madina Lake bassist Matthew Leone, who toured with Bennington and Linkin Park in 2007, adds: “I spent many hours working alongside Chester and he was an incredibly passionate man. I’m sure that this investment and the Music Minds Matter campaign would have met with his approval. Likewise, having spoken to Linkin Park’s management, I know that they are anxious to follow this campaign through to a successful conclusion.
“This unique service will revolutionise the way musicians and the music industry think about mental health. Its been a long time coming and I strongly urge the music community to support this brand-new fund.”
To donate to the fund, visit www.virginmoneygiving.com/fund/MusicMindsMatter.
Get more stories like this in your inbox by signing up for IQ Index, IQ’s free email digest of essential live music industry news.