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Mental Welfare
& Personal Wellbeing
Purpose
The Mental Welfare & Personal Wellbeing Group seeks to promote a sustainable and welcoming environment for everyone whatever their role ‘on the road’.
We encourage tours to sign up to The Music Touring Mental Health Charter with the aim of providing a structure of support within the tour, opening up the discussion to help remove the stigma around mental health issues and sharing ideas to make things better long term.
We actively seek to support our colleagues on their journeys from addiction towards recovery without judgement or exclusion and we assist these initiatives by providing a platform for education and resources and to offer advice when it’s needed.
Touring is a challenging lifestyle, but by aligning with a community of like-minded professionals committed to wellness in all its’ facets, we offer a network of support accessible to everyone and no one need face such challenges alone.
MUSIC TOURING MENTAL HEALTH CHARTER
Music touring is a lifestyle choice. At its’ best it's adrenalized and fast paced, you work with incredible artists, you travel the world with like-minded colleagues and no 2 days are the same. At its’ worst it’s a relentless work schedule, long term sleep deprivation and a sense of isolation and alienation from months of being away from home and support networks.
We’d like to address some of these less helpful aspects of life ‘on the road’.
The aim of the Music Touring Mental Health Charter is to promote positive mental health practice and provide a framework of mental health support for everyone within the tour, whatever their role. Ultimately our goal is to replace the indoctrinated ‘the show must go on’ attitude with a newer, more modern and more supportive ethos.
Please download and print this charter. Let us know you have signed up to fulfil as many of its’ principles as you can and with your permission we’ll list your tour here.
Please give us feedback as to how you are getting on and if you feel it has helped provide a better working environment. Let everyone on the tour know you are part of the change and if you can, include it in your advancing and tour book.
We’re happy to offer advice if you should need it. Small things can make a big difference.
TPG & MUSIC SUPPORT LAUNCH
ADDICTION & RECOVERY AWARENESS TRAINING
Following the recent successful fundraising drive co-ordinated by the TPG, we are proud to announce that we've now commissioned Music Support to deliver pioneering Addiction and Recovery Aware training.
Donations totalling nearly £20,000 were provided by contributions from Backup Tech, Massive Attack, Hipgnosis Songs, We Need Crew, and Rock-it Cargo.
A bursary scheme has also been specially created to enable 100 touring freelancers working in the technical and production side of the industry to take the course free of charge.
An interactive workshop to help learners understand the origins of addiction, identify its signs and symptoms, and empower you to support those living with it.
This course is designed and delivered by peers with lived experience and professional experts in the field of addiction and recovery.
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Define what is addiction and recovery.
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Understand factors that perpetuate the cycle of addiction and those that support recovery.
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Feel more confident about recognising the signs and symptoms of addiction.
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Feel more confident about starting conversations aimed at guiding an individual towards recovery.
SIPA - 10 Easy Wins
The working group is run by two co-facilitators who support the Committee and the Association in achieving its objectives relating to mental welfare within the music touring profession.
Suzi Green has a career in the music industry spanning 25 years, and has tour managed artists including PJ Harvey, Katie Melua and The Chemical Brothers.
After experiencing burn out, she left the industry and retrained as a Naturopathic Nutritionist and since returning to the business, uses her skills on tour, to the benefit of artists and crew. Passionate about wellbeing, Suzi’s aim is to help bring awareness to our beloved music industry around both physical and mental health. Since COVID shutdown, she’s been running a peer zoom group ’The Back Lounge' as a way for live music professionals to connect and support each other in troubled times.
Nick Gosling has worked in music for over 20 years. The first ten years as a touring drummer and, after that, working behind the scenes. He has worked his way up from prepping equipment in warehouses and loading trucks as a stagehand, to a touring as a Stage Manager and Production Manager.
His focus within the TPG is to encourage positive mental welfare on the road to work on and realistic, practical solutions to help achieve this.
