Now, more than ever, the music industry is in real trouble and those working in it are facing the biggest crisis in generations. Much of that, of course, comes from COVID-19 and the devastation lockdown has wrought on live music, but the cracks have been showing for a long time now.
A mixture of chaotic working hours, business models weighted against musicians and an infinitesimally small chance of success makes pursuing a career in music almost impossible to bear. Add to that the solitary lifestyle that it breeds and it's a recipe for poor mental health. In truth, there's a lot for creatives in the music industry to bear and the road to the top is littered with horror stories. It's a topic that is gradually becoming more talked about—campaigns for awareness seem to spring up fairly regularly—but there's still a long way to go.
Can Music Make You Sick? Measuring The Price Of Musical Ambition, the new book from Sally Anne Gross & Dr. George Musgrave, puts forward some real, meaningful suggestions on how to move forward in a sustainable way.
Far from speaking in abstract terms, Musgrave and Gross use a combination of anecdotes and empirical data to map the true extent of the problem and put forward real world, structural solutions that will change working conditions in the industry for the better.
You can read an exclusive extract below. The book is out now.
p83: Do You Feel in Control?
