In recent years I’ve been increasingly interested in mental health in the arts and music industry. In my professional non music capacity, I’ve worked with many creative types over the last two decades and have noticed some common themes in behaviour.
In my musical capacity I’ve interviewed many artists at all levels about the reality of being a professional artist as opposed to a hobbyist where you don’t rely solely on creative work to earn a living. I have massive respect for anyone wanting to learn a living from the arts, but I’m noticing an increasing trend where many individuals feel an unhealthy sense of entitlement in being an artist and that kind of thinking leads to all manner of mental health issues. Before you read on, note I say “unhealthy sense of entitlement” The reason for this is that I 100% agree that all professional artists are entitled to be properly paid for their work, but this is about expectations and being fairly rewarded.
I set up Green Eyed Records to discuss and hopefully address some what I consider to be major injustices in the music industry.
The problem with encouraging an “unhealthy sense of entitlement”
Let’s start with a definition of “entitlement”
“The belief that one is inherently deserving of privileges or special treatment”
By “unhealthy sense of entitlement” I mean that in many cases artists have unrealistic expectations. These can be self-created or created by other parties.
Often these misconceptions can occur because artists have not taken the time to really educate themselves about the reality of what it means to be a professional artist. By “professional artist” I mean somebody who earns their money solely from their artistic efforts. Its not enough to have creative skills, other skills are equally important, if an artist wants to depend upon their craft to primarily support themselves financially.
When there is mismatch between expectations of what’s is possible and the reality of what is realistic, creates the perfect environment for problematic mental health issues.
Maintaining good mental health
The term “mental health” is increasingly bandied all over social media and there’s even an outbreak of people setting themselves up as coaches for others, sometimes with good intentions, but few actual skills.
A generally accepted definition of mental health is
“Mental health refers to cognitive, behavioral, and emotional well-being. It is all about how people think, feel, and behave.”
One of the biggest challenges for many artists is to maintain a predictable income source and a work/life balance in increasingly tougher economic times. The changing music business means that many traditional reliable incomes no longer exist and of course record contacts often are leveraged in favour of the record company, as opposed to the artist. This is of course not exactly news, but during covid 19, it became more obvious that the absence of live opportunities removed one of the last good sources of income for musicians. Many artists have to travel great distances at very unsocial hours for not a great deal of income. The unpredictability of work and cancellation of many festivals/events can massively add to stress levels.
Mental health issues usually occur when a person finds that their expectations of what they can do mismatch with the reality of their actual life situation. Many artists become disillusioned when the penny drops and they realise that their sense of entitlement as an artist is not going to happen in real life. There can be many reasons for this, including lack of talent, but its not just talent that will produce a successful life in the arts. There are many other factors that need to be in place and of course many painters and other types of artists could only find success through specific patronage from wealthy individuals who would fund the time needed for the creative process.
Jim Glennie on mental health in the music industry
Jim Glennie is the founder of James, and I recently interviewed him for Green Eyed Records on the music industry and mental health considerations in the music business. I’ve known Jim for 40 years and he makes some excellent observations about the state of the music industry.
Here’s some of what he said –
“The industry as a whole has a terrible attitude towards mental health. There isn’t mental health problems in the music business. You’re available 24 hours a day, everybody is. Not just people in bands or musicians, but everybody in the industry. That’s just the way it is. And they talk about mental health now, as we’ve been doing for the last few years, but I don’t see anything massively changing in the way that is actually practically done to help people. I mean, the obvious issues of being in a band, at some point, you’re going to have problems with alcohol. At some point you’re going to problem with probably abuse, or the people around you do. Because those things are just considered the norm, they’re considered acceptable. I turn up to work and there’s a table full of free alcohol there, there is. That’s just every time I go to a gig from three o’clock in the afternoon, there’s a table full of free alcohol.”
The Elusive obvious
Many artists have little awareness or quite optimistic ideas of how they will earn a living and spectacularly fail to appreciate “the elusive obvious” in terms of what are the basics needed to earn a living from their craft. My experience is that many music colleges and TV talent shows encourage an unhealthy sense of entitlement for artists. That said, I totally respect anyone who has spent tens of thousands on education in the arts, expecting to get some good future work opportunities. Unfortunately, from what I hear many colleges and universities are complicit in creating totally unrealistic expectations, that of course lead to this sense of entitlement.
I have massive respect for anyone who decides to work in the arts as a profession as opposed to a hobby and have several friends who work in the music industry. They are all very grounded in reality and have spent years developing their craft. They also know the value of collaboration and working with people who have similar values.
Social media, the breeding ground for mutual appreciation
Social media platforms can be invaluable for reaching a wider audience. They also can encourage an unhealthy sense of entitlement for artists. Often fiends of an artist shower them will all manner of superlatives online that are well meant but are not always that useful. Terms like “genius” “awesome” “groundbreaking” are all trotted out on a daily basis online. Don’t get me wrong, I’m all for encouragement, but critical feedback often gets bypassed in favour of such superlatives. The same kind of behaviour exists in the coaching and therapy world, and this can create massive problems for people who sometimes begin to become quite delusional in their thinking. That then is a fast track to mental health issues.
Taking action and seizing opportunities
My advice to anyone wanting to be successful in any profession, whether this is the arts, or any other field is to take the time to develop those skills that will allow you to earn a living. This means learning about the details of how the business works rather than how you feel it should work. I’ve seen some artists endlessly moan about “the music business” and how “they should be treated” I’m more impressed by artists who seek out and act on offered opportunities. Over the years I’ve been amazed at how some individuals “grab failure from the jaws of success”
I had one artist who I’d given session work to and offered support slots on some music showcases, throw a tantrum, and even refuse to pick up the phone after he was unhappy about an online comment on social media. I suggested we talk on the phone and then if needs be agree to disagree and maybe part ways! A simple conversation would have given him the option for a big earning opportunity, and I suggested that its at least hearing what the opportunity was before dismissing it! The same character continues online to lament the lack of earning for independent musicians and how at times he struggles to MOT his car!
Here are some other typical scenarios and behaviors which mean missing potentially great opportunities.
- Not replying to offers of paid gigs/sessions – amazingly some artists are incredibly lazy in replying to e-mails and/or calls and miss opportunities
- Giving back word having agreed to paid work. I know one artist that having agreed to a main stage gig, the next day decided the travel was too far.
- Refusing to take professional advice and insisting on maintaining a strategy that clearly isn’t working.
- Not paying attention to your presence online. Some artists don’t even both to have a website and rely only on 3rd party owned social media outlet
Let’s end on a positive note
This blog points out “an unhealthy sense of entitlement.” I believe that artists are entitled to fair recompense for their work and the world is a better place for great music. The whole creation and consumption of music is itself in my view great for mental wellbeing. The issue here is the unrealistic sense of entitlement and those factors that allow for this. One of the reasons for creating Green Eyed Records is to promote proper discussion and education, that’s how we all benefit. I’ve worked with enough talented artists with mental health problems to know that many could be avoided with some better education and better decision making.
