Staying Mentally, Physically & Financially Healthy On The Road (Production Live! Recap)

The music industry is a grind unlike any other with many professionals on the road, a career that can be fulfilling but also taxing on one’s physical, mental and financial health, especially in this economy.

Production Live!, the first set of panels of the three-day Pollstar Live! conference that focuses on the production side of the live entertainment business, hosted a panel to talk about a part of the business that is being addressed more than in the past, from the difficulty of keeping up with housing costs to recovering addicts being surrounded by substances while on the road.

It may a difficult reality of the business to face and talk about, but industry professionals from various organizations took the stage at the Beverly Hilton in Los Angeles for the “Staying Mnetally, Physically & Financially Healthy On The Road” panel to remind everyone, from artists to production crews, that help is available.

Panel moderator Wade Johnson, the director of community and outreach at MusiCares, revealed that “nearly 70% of music professionals don’t feel that they can comfortably cover their expenses through their work and nearly half attribute their stress to finances,” an issue that Rachael Bronstein attempts to address through her company, Life’s Jam.

Bronstein, a financial coach who works with music professionals, says that life on the road can be lonely, and employees tend to spend more money on the road for instant gratification or to buy food or for housing, all of which are challenging on the unpredictability of pay in the industry.

“That feast and famine mentality and how it may seem like you can’t plan because you don’t know, but actually this is the industry where you should take planning the most serious because there are things we can control,” Bronstein said. “And because we don’t know everything, let’s control the pieces we can and take the power back, so we feel like we have a say in this journey that we’re doing rather than just feeling like we always have to hustle or have to take the next gig to [get] the paycheck. I want you to take the next gig because you want the gig, not because you have to take the gig.”

What’s key to life on the road and dealing with that stress is awareness and a willingness to communicate about the struggles, something that is a lot more common now thanks to organizations like Backline, a nonprofit that helps professionals and their families to find the right mental health care resources.

“Accountability is a great place to start,” said Hilary Gleason, executive director of Backline. “… It doesn’t have to be a formal mental health resource, but having someone either on the road or at home that you are really honest and connected with is the first step in a mental health journey.”

Backline developed a touring notebook that advises how one should pack and agreements that artists and workers should set up before things happen with managers and their families at home.

“Making it easy for people to communicate that stuff makes the whole flow easier and really gets into preventative care, which is something MusiCares and Backline are both really big about. How do we get to people before things are really bad?” Gleason added.

Being in difficult situations can be a pathway to substance abuse. Andy Warg, vice president of entertainment at Armory in Minneapolis, shared his story of losing a friend to substance abuse, a moment that obviously stayed with him and reinforced the importance of building relationships with people who understand your personal struggles.

“This business is awesome, I’ve grown up in it, I’ve lived it, but you have to be ready for it, too, and you have to have some kind of a base to go in because there are so many … unpredictable situations,” Warg said. “ … Working at a venue, we do 80 shows a year, so it’s pretty fast-paced, but we do try to make connections with the people and tours that come in and try to create an environment that is as stress-free as it can be.”

Such efforts to make the job stress-free and to provide a safe space to converse about sobriety weren’t being made in the ’80s and ’90s, Jason Cabello, executive program director for Recovery Unplugged, a period when artists were shamed for admitting their struggles and seeking help.

“Now, thankfully it’s celebrated when somebody says, ‘I have a problem, but I’m going to do something to fix it,’” said Cabello, who shared that his addiction led him to living in public restrooms in Miami. “It just seems like we’re ready now, we’re ready now for people to raise their hand and say, ‘I’m scared. I don’t know what I’m doing. I need help.’ … Now, the industry is rallying behind these people and people are outspoken, saying that this needs to be part of every conversation.”

People like Johnson, Cabello, Gleason, Bronstein and Warg are removing all the stigmas associated with mental health and wellbeing in live entertainment, and they hope the industry as whole helps employees understand that support is available in many forms through various organizations.

“There are more and more resources than ever before, and the idea is that we want people to not have to walk this alone,” Gleason said.