Use Of Mental Health Services For Professional Musicians Soared 200 Percent

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JAKARTA - The musicians' charity, Help Musicians, reported a major spike in the use of their mental health services over the past two years.

The charity, which supports professional musicians in the UK, has warned of an increasing mental health crisis in the music industry, and reported an increase of 200 percent in the number of people using their services.

Help Musicians have a special mental health service called Music Minds Matter, a free 24-7 service launched last year and allows musicians to access counselors who offer emotional support, advice, and information.

According to the charity, the growing mental health crisis is related to financial problems, which have been exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic, which has temporarily stalled the tour.

Music is a serious career, Joe Hastings' head of Help Musicians told the BBC. People who create music work very hard and have very difficult schedules.

"It's a very competitive industry, a lot of late time at night and time away from home," he added.

People need to be respected for their abilities and skills, which need to be reflected in their income and the level of skills they have.

One of the musicians based in Bristol said the charity paid for 10 therapeutic sessions. Sid Goldsmith, as the name suggests, said they "strongly helped me and established some good habits for me".

He added that the closure of the pandemic had had a very bad impact on musicians and independent venues, saying: "There are so many niches in this industry that are very rich and necessary. They are our cultural compass and it is important to fight for."

In October this year, figures from the music industry spoke to NME about the 'dangerous' and 'pressure cooker' impacts that musicians can bring to tours.

It came after major artists such as Lewis Capaldi, Sam Fender, Shawn Mendes and Wet Leg all canceled the show for mental health reasons.

Guitarist Justin Lockedy is also absent from his band's 2022 summer tour, the Editors, for battling anxiety.

This could be a very isolated, lonely and strange existence. You don't have the same routine as most people on the planet, "he told NME.