The Wellness Starter Pack: Record Union’s Detailed Mental Health Resource For Musicians

“We want to create a healthier music climate with healthier artists. We believe that every artist should be able to make music and feel good doing it. Therefore, we have created The Wellness Starter Pack – a toolbox for wellbeing – together with industry experts, with music makers in mind.”

In recent years, the stigma surrounding mental illness has significantly lifted as opposed to years prior – and while the conversation can still be a very difficult (and often misunderstood) one, information regarding the importance of mental health has become much more accessible, helping millions of people who grapple with symptoms that can be truly debilitating.

For those in the creative world, this is no different – in fact, the pressure that comes with creating art can often fuel a number of serious symptoms that deeply affect our lives.

Last year, Swedish digital distributor Record Union conducted a study amongst musicians entitled the 73 Percent Report. The title stems from the data gathered from a survey of 1,489 independent musicians, with the final result indicating that 73% of respondents have suffered from symptoms of mental illness such as anxiety and depression – directly related to creating music.

“The music industry has traditionally defined success on commercial grounds. To be deemed successful, artists must reach high streaming and touring goals. It has always been money first. But in this pursuit of “success”, many artists have found the pressure to succeed and the fear of failure too overwhelming.”

In response to this data, Record Union have put together a detailed toolkit titled The Wellness Starter Pack in order to assist artists with their mental health, hoping to create a healthier environment in the music industry where artists are able to prioritise their mental wellbeing by focusing on five imperative aspects of our daily lives.

“Together with industry experts we explore the impact that sleep, positivity, mindfulness, exercise, and nutrition have on your mental health. Our hope is that we can provide you some legitimate, science-based, and concrete information as well as tangible tools, that can help you prioritize and take better care of your mental wellbeing.”

For more information, click here to check out The Wellness Starter Pack.

Feature Image via Record Union’s official website.