Tap Music to raise £100k for mental health charities

Tap Music, whose management arm looks after the likes of Dua Lipa, Lana Del Rey and Ellie Goulding, has announced plans to raise £100,000 for mental health charities.

The global music group, which comprises Tap Management, Tap Music Publishing and Tap records, is fundraising for peer-to-peer online charity My Black Dog and suicide prevention charity Campaign Against Living Miserably (Calm).

“After the death of two close friends from suicide within weeks of each other earlier this year, we decided we wanted to do something to help awareness and funds for these two wonderful charities that do such incredible work saving lives,” says Tap Music co-founder Ben Mawson.

“I was shocked to discover how prevalent suicide is – an average of over 100 deaths/week last year in the UK – particularly tragic because so many of these deaths must be avoidable it the right help was present.”

Artists including Dua Lipa and Professor Green echo the company’s call for action.

“It’s painfully ironic that music has such power to make us happy but musicians themselves can often suffer disproportionately from mental health issues,” comments Lipa. “I have benefitted so much from this industry but I see around me every day what others can suffer: the fear of failure, loneliness and the intense pressures of social media, which I think is especially the case for female artists. It’s time for the music industry to start taking the mental health of artists seriously.

“It’s painfully ironic that music has such power to make us happy but musicians themselves can often suffer disproportionately from mental health issues”

“Mental health is the issue of our generation and it’s time the music industry woke up to it,” continues the One Kiss singer. “I’m so proud my management team is raising awareness and funds and calling this out as the crisis it is.”

Calm patron Professor Green, real name Stephen Manderson, also spoke out, saying that the “schedule and sleep deprivation” he experienced in the music industry “lead to a place of unhappiness and isolation”.

“It’s time we find a way to put support in place for people who need it,” says Manderson.

Tap embarked on a 24-hour cycle ride from London to Paris on 4 October to kickstart the fundraising initiative.

A 5-a-side charity football tournament featuring industry representatives from Live Nation, Creative Artists Agency (CAA), Paradigm, United Talent Agency and WME, among others, will take place later this week.

To donate to Tap Music’s fundraising efforts, click here.

Read more about how the music business is fighting mental illness here:

https://www.iqmagazine.com/2019/07/high-cost-touring-mental-health/#.XZtaFudKii4

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