The Musicians’ Union and Help Musicians charity conducted a census of almost 6,000 professional musicians in the UK, with the survey finding that 30% of respondents reported poor mental health. Meanwhile, 11% reported feeling neither positive nor negative with regards to their mental health. Musicians in Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland reported lower wellbeing compared to those residing in England, with the north-east of England showing the worst mental health rates among musicians, where 38% of respondents reported bad mental health.
Dance music was the most affected genre, with 35% of respondents reporting poor mental health, according to the census. The survey also found that musicians from marginalised communities were disproportionately impacted by poor mental health, with 49% of musicians with disabilities and 43% of LGBTQ+ musicians reporting poor mental health, while almost two-thirds of trans musicians (63%) experienced poor mental health.
Additionally, almost half of working musicians earn less than £14,000 from their profession, despite 70% of those surveyed noting that they have a university degree or higher accreditation. As a result, more than half of the respondents disclosed that they hold multiple jobs to provide for themselves. The Musicians’ Census revealed contributing factors such as low pay, career barriers, and witnessing or experiencing discrimination as the root causes of poor mental wellbeing.
Help Musicians CEO Sarah Woods said the census results show the need “to build positive mental wellbeing for all who work in music but especially with the future generation so we can prevent crises before they happen.” Moreover, Musicians’ Union General Secretary Naomi Pohl expressed that the music industry needs to tackle the root causes of poor mental wellbeing. She emphasized that the sector should remove the barriers that LGBTQ+ and disabled musicians face and addressed that these were the issues that the music industry can change.
The full report from the first ever Musicians’ Census is available here
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