In July last year, The New Zealand Music Foundation conducted a survey to gather data on the health and wellbeing of our nation’s music community. The results were astonishing, noting that virtually every warning sign indicator of health and wellbeing issues presented with strikingly negative scores: engagement, income, sleep, nutrition, exercise, alcohol and substance use, levels of self-esteem/worth, propensity to suicide and more.

1352 people took part in the survey, making it the world’s largest per-capita quantitative research project to examine the health and wellbeing of the music community (including songwriters, composers and performers, production and backroom personnel, and corporate, retail and administration staff). The respondents were asked 40 questions about their lifestyle. 

The full report (published in November 2016) documents some particularly worrying statistics:

• 39% of respondents scored positive for suicide ideation ever, compared to the incidence of lifetime suicide ideation in the general population of 15.7%
• Over a third report having been diagnosed with a mental health disorder. Depression and anxiety were the most mentioned (85% and 57% respectively). Both figures significantly eclipse the reported incidence rate in the general population for these conditions of 17.4%
• Over half of both men (66%) and women (51%) who participated show a positive indication of problem drinking. This is markedly higher compared to national figures where 25% of men and 11% of women positively indicate for problem drinking

In response to these findings, and acknowledging that music can be an extremely challenging way to make a living here, The New Zealand Music Foundation Wellbeing Service was launched at the Silver Scroll Awards in September 2016. 

The service offers free nationwide online, on the phone and face to face professional counselling to those in the music community who would otherwise be unable to access help.

Peter Dickens, General Manager of The New Zealand Music Foundation, commented that there are other support services available in New Zealand like Lifeline and Samaritans, “but for whatever reason some music people haven’t been calling, possibly because they worry that the person on the other end of the phone won’t understand the music industry context they come from or the unique pressures that exist in the music environment.”

The service is delivered by two key staff at the end of the phone, with an additional team of 50 hand-picked registered counsellors dotted around the country that Dickens says have a proven track record with music people, the music environment and people from the creative industries.

The Survey states that, “at the heart of the charity’s efforts is a sincere belief that the music community can and must do its part to look after its own in times of crisis, and that music people are an essential part of the fabric of Aotearoa New Zealand.” 

The NZ Music Foundation Wellbeing Service has been operating for six months now and Dickens said he really feels as though they are making a big difference. “For this model of service provision, the uptake has been exceptional, which is both heartening and worrying. What usually happens when you launch a service like this is that there’s a big fanfare, but then a noticeable pause as people take time to make up their minds if it’s for them and to build up the courage to reach out. For us the phone started ringing in the very first week.”

The service has received over 45 calls to date and has gone on to arrange over a dozen specialised in-person counselling sessions. 62% of those who have accessed the service are songwriters, composers and performers and 60% were women. Dickens said the most prevalent issue has been emotional and psychological distress, followed closely by grief, health and serious work-related issues.  Dickens says grief as a presenting factor is notable, as it raises the issue of availability of support to people in NZ who have experienced traumatic loss.

Speaking to The Big Idea about her own challenges with mental health, singer-songwriter Lydia Cole said she was feeling very overwhelmed in the middle of launching her recent album The Lay of the Land. She sent a contact request via the NZ Music Foundation website quite late at night and received a call the very next day. “It was just the initial relief of having someone listen to me and tell me I’m doing a good job, and knowing that if I needed further help it was there.”

Lydia was a finalist at the Silver Scroll Awards, but she said the highlight of the night for her was hearing the announcement about the Wellbeing Service.  “I had actually filled out that survey and put a lot of me into it, and was so impressed that they’d managed to turn that data into something so quickly.”

Battling with mental health issues since the age of 12, Lydia said it has been a long slow fight for her to feel okay and balanced. “I wouldn’t rock that boat for anything. My mental health is that precious to me. It’s easier to be creative when your life’s on the line, but I want to progress beyond that.”

Lydia lamented that people are often asking her “when are you going to write a happy song?” She said her producer commented that the songs on her latest album are much more buoyant. “Music is a vehicle for me to work my stuff out, and as I feel more healthy and buoyant, my songs will reflect that.”

For more information on The New Zealand Music Foundation Wellbeing Service, visit http://www.nzmusicfoundation.org.nz/wellbeing/talk-to-us/ or call 0508 MUSIC HELP