Welfare
MINDING OUR OWN BUSINESS Individuals and organisations from across the music industry lent their support to World Mental Health Day in October, but many believe there is a long way to go before employee and artist welfare is given the attention it deserves, writes CHRIS AUSTIN.
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raditionally an industry that attracts passionate and creative individuals who are willing to go the extra mile, the highly competitive live music business appears to be rife with fatigue, anxiety, stress, and drink – and drug-related problems. A recent survey of more than 500 promoters, event organisers and venue owners, by ticket agency Skiddle indicates the extent of the welfare challenge facing the music industry. Some 82% of respondents said they had suffered with stress, 67% said they had anxiety, and 40% said they had struggled with depression. Skiddle found 65% of promoters admitted to frequently feeling an “intense and unmanageable level of pressure.” Someone who knows first hand what it feels like to suffer mental health issues as a result of intense pressure at work is production manager Andy Franks. After being sacked from a tour as a result of excessive drinking, Franks says he didn’t know where to turn to for help. After meeting artist manager Matt Thomas, and collectively realising that drink – and drug-related mental health problems were widespread in the recorded and live music sectors, the duo founded the charity Music Support. Franks says the aim of Music Support’s tagline – ‘You Are Not Alone’ – is to emphasise that the charity is there to ensure there is always someone on hand to help. As well as offering a 24-hour helpline manned by volunteers with experience in the music industry, Music
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Support provides Safe Tents backstage at UK festivals, and services including crisis support and trauma therapy. “We get feedback from people who we have helped and it is awe inspiring, we know we have saved people’s lives,” says Franks. As well as crew, promoters and venue staff, artists are also affected by the enormous pressures involved in delivering live music. One of the patrons of Music Support is Robbie Williams, while acts including Depeche Mode and Coldplay are among those to have helped fund the charity. Despite the high-level backing, Franks says the future of Music Support is far from secure unless further funding can be found. “These problems are in everyone’s business and we are providing a valuable service, but the only way we can sustain that is with regular funding. We are in desperate need of sustained funding,” says Franks.
“There are some myths I would like to see dispelled and one of them is that you can’t show any weaknesses otherwise you are not going to make it in this industry.”
HILDE SPILLE – PAPERCLIP AGENCY
IQ Magazine November 2018