Professional burnout is at the heart of conversations in the music industry, which however does not know how to approach the subject head-on, due to a lack of resources necessary to identify the problem and commit to a solution. Talking about it is a first step towards healing, the stakeholders consulted tell us. However, while the musical spectacle is running at full speed and new albums are being released at a breathtaking pace, cracks are appearing in this industry which must deal with a workforce that is exhausted.
Although it may be behind us, the pandemic continues to shake up the music world in Quebec. You have to read between the lines of the programming of major events in the entertainment industry to see signs of concern appear. On February 12, the association of multidisciplinary presenters RIDEAU held its Forum conference day, as part of its event bringing together hundreds of turners, show producers and artists from all disciplines. Two of the eight conferences on the program addressed mental health; in a packed room, a psychologist came to explain what can lead to professional burnout.
Focusing on the music industry, the PhoqueOFF event taking place at the same time in Lower Town, in Quebec, also offered a program of workshops intended for professionals in the field, including the one, presented in collaboration with ADISQ, on “human resources issues for cultural music businesses” during which the subject of mental health, and more particularly professional burnout, was addressed.
Professional burnout has “clearly” become a concern in the industry, confirms Julie-Anne Richard, general director of RIDEAU. Thus, the choice of themes addressed during the conference day responds “not only to the concerns of our members, but also to those of the entire sector”. According to her, cases of professional burnout have increased this year: “In my opinion, we are really in the post-traumatic shock of the pandemic, with workers who are now suffering the blow. Entertainment is a sector that has been put to the test during the pandemic; it seems that it is now that this exhaustion is felt, this fatigue in your head which prevents you from getting up in the morning. »
Professional burnout does not only affect workers in the entertainment chain that the general director of RIDEAU knows intimately. Several industry players met in recent weeks testify to this: musicians, tour operators, artist agents, sound and stage technicians, press officers, tour directors, all trades are affected by exhaustion.
“This is a subject that has concerned us for a long time, but even more so since the return of the pandemic,” also recognizes Eve Paré, general director of ADISQ, who names a bouquet of factors having precipitated this situation: the exodus of part of the workforce during the pandemic which increases the workload of those who remain, an acceleration of the pace of work and insufficient financial means to help the environment cope with this overload.
“These are all the concerns that have been entrusted to us by our members,” adds Eve Paré, “but fundamentally, it is a question of resources and means. I don’t think this is a situation unique to the music industry, but it worries us — these days, the word “kindness” is on everyone’s lips. »
Volume and paperwork
Co-founder of the digital distributor Amplitude and president of the services company (management, promotion strategies, rights management, etc.) InTempo Musique, Jacynthe Plamondon-Émond particularly points out the race for musical projects as a factor of exhaustion.
“In the era of streaming, artists and their teams are paid by micropayments, so to make your work profitable, you have to do volume. The fees of artists on stage have increased very little in 20 years, so, to succeed in making a living from it, as an artist or worker in the industry, you have to do more concerts. We spin in this economic wheel to manage to live, and it’s exhausting. There is a general fatigue palpable throughout the community. » But not everyone in this environment is equal in the face of professional burnout: some of these workers will be able to count on the group insurance subscribed to by their employer, but a large proportion of the workforce in the music sector is made up of self-employed workers — an artists’ agent confided to us that she had to take two months of leave, at her own expense, to recover from professional burnout, a situation which further weakens many cultural workers.
Other workers in the music sector consulted in recent weeks also raise the question of the bureaucratic pressure exerted by the various levers of financial aid for culture as a factor of exhaustion: producers (of records, of shows) have certainly benefited one-off aid to help them get through the last three years, but this was accompanied by accountability exercises which are added to the multiple grant applications to complete.
A record company director admitted to us that she had distanced herself from the music business after having developed a phobia of the deadline for submitting files for one of the main funding organizations in the music industry. “No one gets involved in the music business to spend their time filling out forms and grant applications,” says Jacynthe Plamondon-Émond, summarizing the thoughts of several speakers contacted by The duty.
How big?
If the industry today manages to name the problem of professional burnout and the issue of mental health, no one yet seems to know what means to use to reduce the impact, for a first reason: the scale of the problem of professional burnout in the music industry has not been studied, if not addressed by Compétence Culture, the sectoral cultural workforce committee which, after consulting workers from different cultural sectors, proposed spring 2023 an Action Plan for human resources in culture. One of the directions proposed by this consultative plan aims to “establish a guaranteed social safety net […] for artists” in the form of full social protection coverage for all employment statuses. Another recommendation is to “provide the sector with mechanisms ensuring well-being, health and safety in all professional activities”.
How many workers are affected by burnout or a mental health disorder? No one knows. Is professional burnout a source of concern in the industry because we talk about it more or because we are seeing a real increase in cases? “We have no scientific data allowing us to say that there are more,” admits Julie-Anne Richard. Same observation at ADISQ: “No statistics allow us to have a quantitative assessment of the situation,” says Eve Paré. Now, are we recognizing the problem because we are talking about it more today? We cannot exclude this hypothesis. The subject is less taboo than it once was, we talk about it more openly, which certainly helps to raise awareness in the community. »
In the absence of a concerted action plan, initiatives appear. The RIDEAU Forum and PhoqueOFF put the subject on the table; last Tuesday, ADISQ organized a webinar on the issue of professional burnout and mental health. In Quebec, the Centrale alternative (the organization at the head of PhoqueOFF) has recently offered its members discussions around this issue as well as (free) meetings with a psychologist.
“It can become overwhelming working in music, especially when you don’t have all the necessary resources,” recognizes Joanie Moreau, programming and production coordinator for Phoque OFF PRO. We, at Centrale, are here to support and help the community; by setting up this practice, it allows people to feel less alone. The pandemic has unlocked a lot of things in our community, and I think we are talking more and more about mental health. Because it has become less taboo, but also because the problem is more glaring. There are needs to be identified, and resources to be sought to help people. It takes kindness around us. »