The Music Industry & Mental Health
Mental health; one of the most common causes of death in todays Music Industry, yet one of the taboo topics amongst industry professionals. Unfortunately, the idea of mental wellbeing is only discussed when someone does the tragic thing of taking their own life.
The most recent death in todays industry is U.S Rapper Mac Miller, who was only 26 and died of a drugs overdose. Of course, we don’t know if his overdose was a deliberate act of suicide or not and this is still being investigated by police. However, we are aware of Miller’s struggle with mental health throughout his career and his relationship with Singer Ariana Grande.
The music industry can be a high stress environment to be in, especially when you get to the level that Miller and Grande were working at. In my opinion, the artist of today are not being looked after enough by the industry executives, their mental and physical health are being thrown down the drain in order to maintain their careers, they are too scared to publicly talk about their struggles through fear of stigmatization in the media and amongst their fans.
People seem to forget the fact that musicians work crazy, unsociable and even sometimes unhealthy hours. Of course they need to put the work in in order to be a success but I find it shocking that managers aren’t pulling their acts to one side and asking them if they are okay from time to time, it really would make the world of difference.
I sometimes struggle with stress related to work and I’m not working at the rate or level that these “idols” are; Thankfully, I have friends and family around me to keep an eye on me and encourage me to take time off when its needed, I couldn’t be more grateful.
We’ve seen far too many talented people taken from this world because of mental health and wellbeing getting neglected and it needs to change. I am definitely not putting the weight of the tragedy of industry deaths solely on the shoulders of the high industry powers, sometimes people make bad choices all by themselves and refuse the help when its offered, but I am pleading with the industry that I love to start making mental health a more accessible subject to the people within it.
