Professional musicians face challenges that were amplified (and added to) by COVID. Help Musicians, a UK non-profit, has been supporting musicians for over 100 years. We want a world where musicians thrive. We help build sustainable careers and we offer crisis support.

Our research (report ‘Can music make you sick?’) revealed that musicians are three times more likely than the public to experience mental health problems, due to the nature of their working lives. This led to the creation of a new mental health service for the whole UK music ecosystem: Music Minds Matter. Working collaboratively our aim is to help the music industry become a leader in caring for the mental health of its people.

This session will consider the challenges musicians face, what support they need, and why must act.