Breaking the silence: the importance of fostering open mental health dialogues in the music industry
Music is therapy; this fact permeates our industry’s discussions, whether exchanged verbally or through the music we consume. Still, amidst the discourse on music’s capacity to nurture mental health, a silent struggle often lurks unnoticed. Mental health, with its diverse manifestations, has emerged as a poignant theme for countless musicians who use their personal narratives to create art that resonates deeply with themselves and their audiences. But what about the industry’s untouched corners, where open dialogue rarely gets instigated?
The idea of music as a kind of psychological medicine has been recognised, talked about, and put into practice in many different places. We understand how music can lift us up during difficult moments even better than we understand the hardships themselves. In fact, pain and trauma have become almost like pathways to creating great art. That’s why Billy Joel sees music as something that heals, and why Paul Simon sees it as a natural part of personal growth. Likewise, it’s why so many artists weave their mental health battles into their songwriting, even though the delineations vary across generations.
That’s not to say that musical subject matter knows exactly what it’s talking about at all times – in fact, it’s the complexities of it that make it tough to navigate, even if it feels like the most natural thing in the world. Music can make listeners feel more at ease in their own struggles, but the musicians often find themselves in a battle between heart and head, working tirelessly to figure out how to put something into words that feels impossible to describe.
The Beatles faced this inner battle with their song ‘Yer Blues’. At first glance, it may seem like a direct jab at critics who doubted their ability to write blues music, but a deeper dive reveals John Lennon’s sarcastic reflection on how poetic lyrics intertwine with depression. “If I ain’t dead already, girl you know the reason why,” he crooned during one of his toughest mental health phases, hinting that even the most eloquent wordsmiths struggle to capture the essence of such an indescribable state.
Moreover, despite its longstanding presence within music, open conversations about mental health have lagged behind. In the music industry, there’s a common misconception that only those in the spotlight matter, and the rest is background noise. However, behind the scenes, a rich tapestry of diverse figures occupy various roles, each contributing to the industry in their own unique way. While we often discuss the concept of intersectionality in discussions about mental health and inclusivity, pinpointing where to begin the journey of improvement can be particularly challenging.
Speaking to Grace Meadows, Head of Music Minds Matter, it’s clear that we mustn’t rest on our laurels when evaluating the significance of open dialogue, even after years of working to break down stigmas.
Music Minds Matter: Destigmatising the conversation around mental health
According to Meadows, the initial stages of real change regarding the conversation around mental health requires an industry-wide re-evaluation of its foundation. “Often, in the music industry, we think just about the artist, or the musician; we don’t think about all the roles that go into making music happen,” she explains. “And it’s really important that we are reaching into all the different spaces and segments and streams of the industry to make sure that the conversation is happening industry-wide because this is a whole industry issue.”
Music Minds Matter is an organisation that was born out of research, and over the years, Meadows explains, more people have been getting in touch regarding mental health struggles. “We knew that we needed to start addressing that need, but there’s also an irony of what music does for us for our health and well-being, in terms of working in an industry where the music produced can create those benefits,” she explains.
“The people helping to make that music happen often have a really poor experience or have a greater propensity to experience really poor mental health,” she continues, emphasising the vast expanse of the industry and how all of the people who make things happen often get overlooked. “It’s really shocking: something that we all benefit from can cause real struggle for those who helped make it happen.”
Continuing, “and it’s not just the musicians and the artists, it’s everybody across the industry, whether you’re an exec, whether you’re a logistics company, moving instruments around the world, making sure that stages are up, you know, you think about all the different roles that go into making music happen, you know, producers, engineers…”
Understanding the underlying issues with mental health in music is a monumental task, but one Meadows is keen to not shy away from. Not only do we need to consider various aspects of diversity and the root causes of poor mental health, but there are also a handful of external factors that might be significant contributing factors, like financial stress. After all, the music industry is made up of a large portion of freelancers.
However, in order to implement the necessary building blocks to incite change, “it’s really about destigmatising the conversation around mental health,” Meadows explains. It may seem difficult, and something that requires a lot of patience, but the good news is that people actually want to have this discussion: it’s just about how to nurture environments so that the conversation becomes more encouraged than ever before.
“I think it is a really positive position for the industry to be in,” Meadows continues. “It’s about collaboration and working together to create that culture around positive mental health and putting the right provision in place, whether you’re a large corporation or whether you’re freelancing. It’s about ensuring that every end of the spectrum has what it needs in order to work well and thrive in this industry when it comes to their mental health.”
Adam Wood: Music as a necessary aspect of recovery
In Adam Wood we find the perfect case study for music’s potential for positive change. From the age of 18 to 23, Adam Wood grappled with a crippling gambling habit, squandering his grandmother’s inheritance. Despite a nagging intuition, he doubled down on his wagers, driven by the hope of reclaiming his losses. Confronted by bailiffs, Wood enlisted in GAMSTOP, a resource enabling self-exclusion from gambling platforms, and found solace and healing through immersion in the vibrant realm of live music, recognising it as a potent avenue towards mental well-being.
“Before recovery, I had never been to a live concert,” Wood shares. “Hardly any of my friends were into the sort of music I’m into, and the idea of going to gigs on my own was terrifying.” Wood is a lover of metal – but his addiction provided a significant blocker to his hobbies and interests, which made his life “pretty rubbish”, not least because he “never had much motivation to find new bands, even though I’m sure it would have helped.”
At the beginning of his recovery, which coincided with the first UK lockdown in 2020, Wood started to dabble in a handful of metal playlists on Spotify. “I’d always been into the likes of Slipknot and Bring Me The Horizon since secondary school – being a Sheffield lad, how could I not be?” Wood muses. He adds: “What I found during lockdown, however, was that with each new band I found, I began to appreciate and love metal music more than ever before.”
Further into the crux of his recovery, Wood, like many of us, began to appreciate the value of live music the moment that lockdown restrictions began to lift. It would still be a long road before we could wholly return to the world of live music as it was before, but tasting that atmosphere again was healing. “I had lost touch with a lot of people I was close with, mainly because of the gambling-related stuff, but we got back in touch, and I went to my first-ever metal gig,” Wood recalls.
“It was an Australian band called Polaris in Manchester in September 2022,” he continues. “What made this even more special is that this was the first band I added to my playlist at the start of lockdown. It was one of the best nights of my life, and I’ll never forget the feeling it gave me. Since then, I’ve counted back on my calendar, and as of today, I’ve been to just over 40 gigs during that time, including a couple of festivals.”
Not only does music provide Wood with a necessary outlet for unparalleled, visceral experiences, but it also opens doors to other aspects of life that he otherwise wouldn’t be able to appreciate. While he was gambling, he likely became secluded due to the repetitive nature of addiction, but going to concerts allowed him to meet new people and grow a community.
Although he also loves running, he will never understate the importance of music, which “helped me in my recovery more than I could have ever imagined.” As a result, the last four years of his life – the ones that have been strictly free of gambling – have been as good as they could possibly be.
