Half of the music industry professionals in Canada have already estimated that life was no longer worth living, to the point where four out of ten people have already had suicidal ideas, warns a new survey.
More specifically, 42 % of the participants replied ‘yes’ when they were asked if they have already wished to be dead or if they have already planned to end their days, compared to 12 % in the general Canadian population. This is in particular what the preliminary results of the “Behind” survey reveal, an investigation into mental Health in the Canadian music industry conducted by the Revelios firm in collaboration with Unison and Socan. “I think there is a belief that here in Canada is less worse than elsewhere in the world,” said Catherine Harrison, the president and founder of the firm Revelios [La santé mentale à l’œuvre]. But the figures tell a completely different story. ” The survey is focused exclusively on the mental health of Canadian workers in the music sector, including artists, filming teams, producers, managers and other industry professionals.
Some eight hundred people have responded so far, but answers are accepted until September. The preliminary results were released Thursday by Ms. Harrison during the first edition of the Departure Festival + Conference, in Toronto. Almost all, 94 %, people who responded to it so far agree that mental health problems are recurrent in Canadian music industry; 86 % of participants admitted that they had personally faced with mental health problems; And 95 % have seen colleagues find themselves in such situations. The main symptoms reported by participants in the survey are a feeling of guilt or absence of value (66 %), persistent sadness (70 %), sleep disorders (72 %), fatigue (74 %) and anxiety (84 %). Eight out of ten people cited their financial situation as having a direct impact on their mental health.
“It is said that at the moment, it’s the best time to make music, that it’s easy to share your music around the world,” said Harrison. But in reality, it is very difficult for artists, for managers and employees to manage rapid changes, for example with regard to payments or continuous dissemination. ” Eight out of ten participants also indicated that their work environment is not conducive to mental health, and 94 % of them are of the opinion that the leaders in the sector could make more. In the same vein, only 10 % of participants completely agree that leaders actively support mental health at work. “There is no structure in place to develop the leadership skills of people who are in a position of power,” said Harrison. So we have very old game environments, military leadership structures, command and control, and it creates even more stress. ”
A majority of non-binary women and individuals said they had been victims of sexism, unlike men. White and Hispanic participants were the only ones to estimate that racism had no impact on their mental health. Women and non-Black participants were much more likely to declare harassment incidents. And intimidation experiences have been reported by all demographic groups. And even if several big music stars have spoken openly about their mental health problems, said Ms. Harrison, reality in the trenches remains that the subject is still very difficult to approach. “It comes back to precarious work,” she explained. If it is a contract, and if you raise your hand to admit that you have mental health problems, maybe we will give the contract to someone else. ” We can therefore hope that the data of the survey will make it possible to “create healthier work environments for music professionals across the country,” concluded Ms. Harrison, “so that we stop thinking that the only solution is to go to therapy or leave the environment”.
-The survey will continue to collect answers until September 30, 2025. A full final report and a series of recommendations are expected for the beginning of 2026.
Legend and Photo Credit: The Canadian musician Drake is one of the leading artists who have publicly mentioned their mental health problems. In the photo, Drake attended a Toronto Raptors match in 2019. The Canadian Press/Frank Gunn
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Soundcheck: A Survey on Mental Health in The Canadian Music Industry
