In a global collaboration between the Global Music Institute and TATVA – both based in India – and Goldsmiths, University of London alongside UK-based Creative Empirical, this comprehensive survey will, for the first time, capture and quantify the views and experiences of musicians and wider professionals working in the independent music industry. Independent music in India is sometimes referred to as non-film music and concerns the part of the music industry outside of the dominance of Bollywood.
The survey, which partners with the Indian Performing Right Society (IPRS) for distribution, seeks to understand whether the increased incidence of mental health challenges among musicians and workers in the music sector in India match those found in similar studies around the world.
In a pathbreaking study (see Editor’s Note) into musicians’ mental health by Dr George Musgrave, who leads the Goldsmiths research team, a detailed analysis of global mortality data identified higher risked factors linked to suicide for people working in music sector. Mortality data revealed that musicians were among the top five occupational groups with the highest suicide rate In England. Within occupations categorised as ‘culture, media and sport’, musicians, actors and entertainers were placed in the highest suicide risk group, with overall suicide rates for males being 20% higher than the national average for males, and the rate of suicide among women in these roles was 69% higher than the female national average.
Similarly, data from the United States showed that occupational groups in ‘arts, design, entertainment, sports and media’ – which includes musicians and music workers – had the highest female suicide rate of all occupational groups as recently as 2021.
Image: Goldsmith University of London
Likewise, in the largest study in the world undertaken in the UK in 2020, Dr. Musgrave and Dr. Sally Anne Gross found that rates of anxiety and depression among both musicians and music industry workers were significantly higher than rates in the general population.
Dr. Musgrave’s research has pioneered our understanding of occupational stressors that may be associated with musicians’ mental health and suicide risk including: profound emotional precarity, vulnerability to exposure on social media, travelling and touring and the emotional strain that can place on them, and investing their lives and identity in a precarious dream.
Dr. Musgrave’s research over the past fifteen years has prompted calls for their music industries to take musician’s mental health seriously and to move beyond the unhelpful and potentially harmful romanticisation of suicide among this group. However, much of this research has focused on Europe and the United States, until now.
Dr Musgrave, a world-leading expert on the subject, believes that the issue of anxiety, depression, poor well-being, and high suicide rates among musicians is not limited to the US and UK. Likewise, prominent musicians in India are increasingly speaking out about their experiences with mental health challenges: from AR Rahman addressing his struggles with mental health in his younger years, Amaal Mallik’s journey with depression and Badshah’s battles with anxiety disorder. With celebrated voices sharing their experiences, the conversation about mental health is growing in momentum. However, despite this, the music industry in India continues to grapple with mental health stigma, inadequate infrastructure, and a significant lack of research in the field.
‘It’s Time to Talk’ is a groundbreaking and pioneering piece of research. It aims to gain an understanding of the health and wellbeing of people working in the Indian music industry to foster new cultures of care, more forms of tailored support to address industry-specific needs and challenges, and contribute towards building a safer, more empathetic, and sustainable music ecosystem in India.
Dr Musgrave said: “Routine mortality data shows that musicians are an at-risk group for suicide. The data in this recent paper were shocking. But, along with giving pause to those working in the music industry in the UK and US they posed an equally important question about whether these mental health concerns are being replicated across the world.
“Our research conveyed a very uncomfortable truth that the music industry here is beginning to confront. With India’s independent music sector emerging as a major player in the global music industry it’s vital that we understand their lives and their experiences too given the role they play in the global music industry. We need this survey to paint a clear picture of the experiences of musician and their co-workers so that active and meaningful steps can be taken”.
Survey link: https://goldpsych.eu.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_6KIL64iE5rItbzE
