mental health

Chhappell Roan recently canceled two shows just one day before they were due to take place, saying that she felt overwhelmed and needed to take a break. She’s not alone — over the past few years, artists including Adele, Rihanna and The Rolling Stones have all done something similar, and likely at an eye-watering cost for all involved.
People will always get sick, but the kind of health issues artists state are often more complex. While it seems that labels and management companies have put an increasing amount of investment into mental health programs over the last few years, is there anything more that could help cancellations like these to be prevented?

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One area of the business slow to change is allowing adequate recovery time on tour for emerging artists. Costs are high and labels want to get the maximum amount of exposure for new artists, but scheduling proper breaks is so important when it comes to preventing illness, overwhelm and vocal issues. A quick glance at Chappell Roan’s tour dates shows her playing in three different cities on three consecutive nights. Combine this approach with a meteoric rise in profile and you’ll have an exhausted, overwhelmed artist in no time.

It is in this state that pre-existing health issues can raise their head. Exhaustion and stress will do that to any of us. No amount of mental health support can compensate for an over-tired artist who can’t cope. But also, for artists, exhaustion and stress impact their live performance in ways that executives often forget. An artist experiencing visceral symptoms of overwhelm, as Chappell stated, will find it incredibly hard to perform. She even said: “I want to be present when I perform and give the best shows possible,” suggesting that her current state is preventing her from doing that.

For singers, their body is their instrument, and signs of tiredness, illness or stress will show in their voice. Tension in the body can result in feelings of tightness, vocal fatigue and an inability to reach high notes. Sharing their music onstage with fans is incredibly meaningful to artists, so they want to be fit and strong enough to do the material justice. The world of social media is brutal — any significant vocal issues or performance mistakes will likely end up being shared online, inviting a wealth of stress-inducing (and often unfair) criticism. No artist wants to go onstage worrying that their voice might give out at any point, so they need to be properly supported to prevent this from happening. Additionally, increased stress can raise performance anxiety levels to unmanageable states, even for those who haven’t suffered from it before.

How can things change? Firstly, executives need to work with artists to find out what a reasonable tour workload is for them, remembering that everyone is different. Be mindful that promo is tiring for the voice, and the body doesn’t process a TV or radio appearance as a “day off” from performance, no matter how tempting it is to squeeze an opportunity into a scheduling gap. Travel days are also exhausting.

Many major artists further along in their careers now demand recovery to be built into their tour schedules, but it’s harder for younger acts to feel they can ask for this. It can also be tough for teams to facilitate — it’s well-documented how long it takes for touring to become profitable, especially when taking into account the rising costs faced by the industry post-pandemic. However, it’s worth taking a long-term view. As we mentioned earlier, cancellations are also expensive and risk harming the important dynamic of trust between artist and fan.

Secondly, invest in some proper performance psychology training for artists. Classical musicians know the importance of this — all major conservatories around the world now educate their students on how to perform under pressure, using virtual reality and mental skills training techniques, among others, to help musicians cope with the challenges of a high-level performance career.

Researchers have suggested that performing live can be compared biologically to sky-diving, in terms of the levels of stress in the body. Without proper management, recovery and support, cortisol levels can stay heightened, contributing to health issues in the long term. This is why management of performance anxiety is vital. All artists need a pre- and post-performance routine to help the body, mind and voice prepare for, and recover from, performance. You’ve probably heard of them from the world of sport, where they’re commonplace for athletes. Classical musicians use them too, but pop is slow to catch on — and to its detriment.

Finally, a routine performance health check-in with artists should be mandatory. These look at vocal health, performance psychology, hearing health, musculoskeletal issues and general mental health. Research suggests that musicians are slow to seek help for health issues, leaving problems until they become chronic, at which point many are harder to deal with and can even be career-ending. These early, cheap interventions can prevent problems from escalating. A standardized offer across the industry for all artists to access support would make a huge difference in reducing performance health-related cancellations long-term.

We cover all of this and more in the upcoming international edition of our health-focused career guide for artists (and those who work with them), Sound Advice, which aims to help prevent health and performance issues before they escalate, through a combination of research, interviews, professional advice and resources.

There’s been so much discussion and headway made on the health issues faced by artists in recent years. However, as Chappell Roan’s example and many others show, there are big gaps in care and provision that need to be addressed if the industry wants to prevent last-minute cancellations and move towards a more sustainable (not to mention ethical) future.

Rhian Jones is a respected freelance journalist who specializes in the business of music. She writes for The Guardian, Music Business Worldwide and Hits, amongst others.

Lucy Heyman runs a performance health and psychology consultancy, Elevate, where she works with industry organizations, advising artists and those that work with them on how to optimize performance. She has an MSc in Performance Science from the Royal College of Music and has published original research on the health and well-being experiences of artists in popular music.