Mental Health and Wellbeing in the Music Industry
Author’s note: This blog post is adapted from a term paper I wrote in December 2015 for a class called “The Science of Happiness” at NYU. Some of the references are a little dated, but I think the message still applies.
Whenever there is a big story about an artist quitting music for mental health reasons, there is always at least one guy who says to toughen up. I've heard arguments all the way from "being a musician is easy, you're just too spoiled to realize it," to "music is your job, all jobs suck, so get over it." But in many ways, the music industry is uniquely capable of chewing up and spitting back out even the most successful artists. It doesn’t have to be that way. There are steps that can be made to take care of artists’ mental health and wellbeing and still function as an industry, through both practical and cultural changes.
The Science of Happiness
Psychologists have found that there are 5 main factors that allow for sustainable happiness: Positive emotions, Engagement, Relationships, Meaning, and Achievement, aka PERMA. To live a fulfilling life, you need at least a little bit of each of those five things. The current attitude of the music industry focuses entirely on the achievement and totally ignores at least 3 of those factors. Musicians are expected to suspend their personal relationships while touring for years at a time, give up their creative input to award-winner producers, and make music that is commercially viable rather than meaningful. The depressed, drug-addled musician is the result. Artists burn out, bands break up, and even objectively successful musicians feel like failures. We, as an industry, are far too concerned with getting paid and devalue the other important parts of life, like family, relationships, feeling engaged in your work, and feeling like you are making a difference. This is precisely why artists are now flocking towards independent labels and distributors and away from the traditional industry model; greater well being. Artist mental health is essential to the future of the music industry, for both creating happier, healthier artists and building a stronger, more sustainable business.
Money is Not the Goal
Financial success is not, and should not be the goal. The music industry’s viewpoint has traditionally been “cash in while you can.” Record companies tell young recording artists, “Make a single, sell a million copies, and then you'll have enough money to do whatever you want.” While this might make sense from the standpoint of a corporate record label with shareholders to impress, producers and managers are often seen endorsing this perspective, despite the fact that they are supposed to be thinking in the artists’ best interests. In spite of the common wisdom, the equation money = financial stability = life satisfaction is false. In fact, placing money as a primary objective has been shown to be indicative of lower psychological adjustment and self-actualization. As a result, even successful artists find themselves distressed and unfulfilled, while artists who’ve never made the Billboard charts can still have rewarding lives and careers, as long as they manage their expectations. Focusing on money isn’t productive, and as the people supporting and advising artists we need to actively discourage that mindset.
Artists Need to Be Artists
Another disturbing and exploitative tendency of the industry is the removal of the musicians from the creative process. Since the invention of recorded music, performers have been encouraged to produce the most commercially viable product instead of expressing themselves through their music. Often young singer-songwriters find themselves essentially forced into co-writing with producers, whose job is to reign them in and create a more marketable sound. Artistic expression is sacrificed for the aforementioned relentless pursuit of profits. However, denying artists access to the songwriting and creative process is depriving them of the engagement necessary for their wellbeing. They are deprived of the flow of songwriting and, in the cases of the artists who mime or lip synch when playing live, performing. People with the signature strength of creativity need to exercise that muscle, either in the form of artistic expression or creative problem solving. Using one's strengths has been shown to lead to increased happiness, self-esteem, and reduced risk of depression. Pop musicians who are micromanaged by teams of representatives get none of that benefit and, as a result, their wellbeing and mental health suffers.
Take Time For Family.
One of the most famous obstacles to musicians’ long-term wellbeing is their strained relationships. The life of the touring musician is far from conducive to healthy relationships. In fact, some aspects of tour life and the “rock star lifestyle,” like groupies, drugs and alcohol, actively discourage it. Touring is stressful and damaging, and the breaks in between are often so short that musicians can’t adjust to their normal lives. Without the strict schedule and nightly performance high that comes with being on the road, many musicians find being at home even harder. And worse, it is often very difficult for partners and family members back home to relate to these feelings, which adds to further feelings of isolation. To maintain relationships and stability, I’d guess that most musicians would need to spend at least as long at home as they did on tour, if not longer. However, the call of missed profits often forces musicians back onstage before they are ready. But this is completely backwards: relationships aren’t distractions, they are supporters and motivators. Close relationships have been shown to increase success and support the pursuit of the ideal self. Artist teams should actively encourage time off to spend with family, nurturing and cultivating close bonds in order to become more motivated and focused.
Economics of Mental Health
The fact of the matter is, however, that major recording and promotion companies don’t actually care about the wellbeing of their artists. It’s the same way Walmart doesn’t care about their employees and Tyson doesn’t care about their chickens - it’s all economics, supply and demand, and feelings aren’t part of the equation. But here’s the thing: record companies are struggling. More and more artists are leaving the majors in favor of independent or self-run record labels precisely because major labels don’t care about their wellbeing. The internet and social media allows artists to self-fund through websites like Kickstarter or IndieGoGo and then distribute through TuneCore or organizations like RED Distribution or the Alternative Distribution Alliance. It’s a little bit more work and it’s a little less profitable, but many artists, especially the more experienced ones, are willing to make the sacrifice.
A Movement Towards Wellbeing
Despite the industry’s best estimates, the movement for wellbeing is catching on. More and more popular musicians are engaging directly in the creative process. The Grammy Awards have been swept by singer-songwriters: Adele, Sam Smith, Sia, Taylor Swift, Beck, Pharell, and Hozier all write or at least co-write their material. Songs written by the performer are perceived as more genuine, and in turn so are the performers themselves. There has been a rise in the “down to earth” mega-star, which is not only saving millions in rehab and PR costs, but makes fans more engaged on social media. Social media also, in turn, makes it easier to communicate with their fans and explain why they are taking a break, and also gives them a way to stay in touch and not completely disappear during their hiatuses. A wellbeing-focused strategy is the key to sustainable music careers, which is far more valuable in the long run than a one hit wonder.
Let’s take Adele, for example. Her latest album was just released after an unusually long break. For more than three years, she didn’t even tour. There was initially some speculations as to whether or not she could come back after being out of the spotlight for so long, but she has blown everyone away. She had a baby, took time for herself, and as a result created a personal, emotional album that kept with her personal brand and yet gave us something new. This is not to say, however, that the long hiatus works for everyone. Adele is obviously uniquely talented in a way that few artists can hope to attain.
Another, far less famous example is an LA band called The Dollyrots. They have never been signed to a major label, despite their 15+ year career. Their past two albums have been entirely crowdfunded, to great success. They write all of their own songs and even produce and record them themselves. The two permanent band members, Kelly Ogden and Luis Cabezas, have a son together, who goes on tour with them. They are the poster children for PERMA, and it shows. For all I know they could be miserable on the inside, but they are full of positive affect, genuine smiles, and positive energy, so I assume it is genuine. They don’t need awards and platinum records to be happy; they are just themselves, and they are really good at it. My career goal is to manage a band with that kind of success, because I think a managers’ primary goal should be their artist’s wellbeing.
I can’t expect the rest of the industry to be onboard with this idea of putting mental health and wellbeing ahead of profits, but I think it is the best business model in the long run, and it will ultimately make me feel more fulfilled in my own career. As positive psychology grows in mainstream popularity and as the crowdfunded/DIY model of the music industry proves its worth, I think the music industry will eventually catch up with me. Positive psychology and the PERMA model can be applied in every area, but I think the music industry is one that really needs it.