Help Musicians UK highlights Music Minds Matter service on World Mental Health Day with #MyMusicMindMatters social media campaign

10 October 2018 - Press release

A growing music industry population needs preventative support - as evidenced by new data revealing nearly 3 in every 4 people who contacted Music Minds Matter were in need of a listening ear and advice

New HMUK partnerships and collaborations with PRS Members Fund, BAPAM, Point Blank Music School and US charity Give an Hour

Help Musicians UK (HMUK) is to highlight its around the clock, dedicated support line and service for the music industry, Music Minds Matter, with a special social media campaign #MyMusicMindMatters on World Mental Health Day on 10 October.

To recognise the significance of World Mental Health Day, HMUK will keep the conversation going by inviting the industry, artists, friends, supporters and social media communities to ‘share the music that ‘matters’ to them using the hashtag #MyMusicMindMatters. The music will then be compiled into a playlist to raise awareness of the Music Minds Matter service which offers free, dedicated mental health support and a listening ear to the whole music community. Confirmed supporters include: Nina Nesbitt, ECKOES, Carly Wilford, The BPI, Music Venue Trust, Emika, Amanda Maxwell (Boiler Room/ shesaid.so) and more.

New statistics on those contacting the Music Minds Matter service since its launch in December 2017, show that 70% of all people who called the free phone line needed advice on a range of issues, from relationships to money worries, and a listening ear to help with the pressures of working in the industry. These new insights underline the importance of having not just on-the-spot crisis support, but also a safe place for people to talk about the challenges and pressures of working life.

Help Musicians UK is also proud to reveal an ongoing series of partnerships with key industry bodies, which further create a backbone of support for the industry’s mental health. This includes a partnership with the British Association for Performing Arts Medicine (BAPAM) to collaborate on a new multi-organisational therapeutic pathways model. Additionally, the PRS for Music Members Benevolent Fund and HMUK have teamed up so that PRS members such as artists, songwriters, composers and musicians can access the full range of Music Minds Matter’s support, including counselling, cognitive behavioural therapy, specialist advice on debt, legal, as well as access to HMUK’s grant giving service. 

Elsewhere, the charity has partnered with acclaimed electronic music school Point Blank on its Guide to Survival in the Music Industry evening on World Mental Health Day. The event will be open to all Point Blank students, past and present and will see HMUK representatives join producer Saytek, Laidback Luke manager Olga Heijns, and artist and instructor Sam Willis to discuss a range of topics including financial management, substance misuse, the benefits of collaboration, rejection and social media.

Spreading the message even further, HMUK has partnered with US-based non-profit organisation Give An Hour for the second Global Summit on Mental Health Culture Change, taking place at the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) Offices in London, 10-12 October. The three-day conference will focus exclusively on addressing culture as a primary barrier to changing the way we think about, talk about and address emotional wellbeing and mental health. Representing HMUK, Sally Anne Gross, researcher and co-author of HMUK’s recent mental health in music research study, will take part in a panel entitled Research and Culture Change – A Necessary Relationship, held from 09:30 – 10:15am on Friday 12 October. 

James Ainscough, Interim CEO of Help Musicians UK said: “Music Minds Matter is there not just for times of crisis, but most commonly it serves a crucial purpose as a listening ear – underlining the spectrum of support that is needed by many who work in the music industry. We are committed to building partnerships within the industry in order to improve mental health advocacy and support for all those working in the sector. By launching the #MyMusicMindMatters campaign and announcing our diverse range of partnerships, HMUK continues to keep mental health high on the agenda, raise awareness of the support available and encourage positive and lasting change. Through our holistic programme of support, HMUK continues to make a difference to the lives of our beneficiaries by helping to build a sustainable future for all within the industry.”

Dr Pete Glenister, PRS for Music Members Benevolent Fund Trustee said: “At the PRS for Music Members Benevolent Fund, we have long supported beneficiaries through periods of physical illness. Our new collaboration with Help Musicians UK provides mental health support through their new service, Music Minds Matter. Music Minds Matter will help point members towards appropriate treatment and support and if necessary, fund that treatment and support. We hope this collaboration will give members the tools they need to help themselves going forward.”

Claire Cordeaux, Director BAPAM, said: “We see people suffering with mental health problems in our clinics every day. We are delighted to work in partnership with HMUK and others to offer our clinical expertise to create effective pathways of care. Working together, we aim to support musicians to get the help they need to sustain a career in the industry as well as preventing problems from occurring in the first place.”

We listen. We support. We help. Music Minds Matter