Music Industry Therapist Collective UK Launches Fund For Small & Mid-Sized Tours, Backed By AEG, Live Nation, The Team & Others

The Music Industry Therapist Collective (MITC) has launched the Pay It Forward Fund, which it described as “an industry-funded, free at source, occupational health program for artists and crew on small and mid-scale tours.”

Touring professionals are at an elevated risk of stress, anxiety and burnout, as well as clinical depression and suicidality, and a growing number of larger tours now provide welfare or pastoral support as part of the production.

See: How Olivia Rodrigo, Ed Sheeran & Billie Eilish Are Bringing Mental Health To Touring

On smaller tours those pressures can be compounded by tighter budgets, leaner teams and more challenging work and travel conditions. However, these teams rarely have the budget to offer people the same resources or opportunities to talk, reflect and reset.

Pay It Forward is designed to address a practical gap in touring infrastructure by making specialist mental health support accessible to smaller teams. An initial $370,000 has been raised to support 50 tour teams annually over a three year pilot period.

Contributors to the fund include leading organizations from across the world of live entertainment, including AEG International, d&b audiotechnik, Fly By Nite, Live Nation, The Team and Universal Pixels, as well as Radiohead’s Philip Selway, insurance brokerage Lockton, and Live Free 999 – the charitable foundation set up by Carmela Wallace, mother of the late artist Juice WRLD.

MITC’s “Tour Health” packages include Tour Check-Ins, which are “confidential conversations with qualified mental health practitioners who understand the realities of music and touring,” and which are available online 24/7 in several languages, according to a press release from MITC announcing the launch of Pay It Forward.

It continues, “Tour Check-Ins can be used by any member of the touring team to decompress after a difficult day, think through a decision, talk about work or relationships, deal with tension in the team, reflect upon coping habits, or plan what comes next. No diagnosis, referral or previous experience of therapy is required.”

Also included in each package is a 90 minute occupational health consultation with MITC’s Touring Welfare Officer Sascha Heeney (who supported Dua Lipa’s Radical Optimism tour team); Healthy Touring workshops, resources to support performance, communication and collaboration; and access to MITC’s audiobook ‘Touring and Mental Health: the Music Industry Manual’ (featured in Rough Trade’s Books of the Year 2023).

Tamsin Embleton, founder of MITC, said: “People who tour are often highly skilled and resourceful. They’re used to managing lots of moving parts, adapting quickly and solving problems on the fly. Pressure itself isn’t necessarily the problem; touring is demanding by nature, and that’s part of what can make it rewarding. The difficulty comes when stress becomes chronic, without enough support to buffer its effects or enough opportunity to recover.

“The Pay It Forward Fund is about making specialist support accessible to tours working within tight budgets, but it’s also about moving beyond the idea that support should only be sought when crisis hits. We want to help forward-thinking teams develop the skills to manage pressure, recognise when something is beginning to take a toll, and intervene effectively before things start to snowball.”

Alongside providing funded access, the campaign’s wider aim is to establish occupational health on tour as part of normal professional practice: “Just as touring professionals maintain their trucks and buses, equipment and systems before they fail,” adds Laura Newton, MITC’s Operations Director, “The people who keep the show moving should benefit from the same foresight and planning. You wouldn’t send a rigger 50 ft into the air without a harness, and the same applies to health and wellbeing on tour. We believe that this should be the norm, rather than an exception or perk once tours reach a certain level.”

A first round of applications is now open to eligible tour teams anywhere in the world for tours that begin between October and December 2026, and closes Sept. 30. MITC’s leadership team will oversee funding allocation, with plans to carry out regular impact assessments to refine and develop the program in response to feedback.

Eligible artists, crew and tour teams can find out more and apply at https://www.musicindustrytherapists.com/payitforward/apply.

Organizations and individuals interested in funding future sessions can visit https://www.musicindustrytherapists.com/payitforward/support or contact info@musicindustrytherapists.com.

MITC is a collective of specialist music industry therapists based across the UK, US, Europe and India. Over the past eight years, it has supported artists and touring teams including Radiohead, Dua Lipa, The Last Dinner Party, Joji and The Script, as well as AEG International, Warner Music Group, Kobalt and Believe.

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Comments from Pay It Forward’s Founding Funders:

Philip Selway, musician and drummer for Radiohead: “Over the years, I’ve found that the reality of touring can sometimes feel at odds with the dream of it. Yes, it can undoubtedly be full of excitement, wonder, camaraderie and tantalizing rewards, but it can also be an unstable and overwhelming environment to live and work in. It’s one that can heighten a sense of emotional and geographical displacement, leading to exhaustion, isolation and self-destructive behaviours.

“On Radiohead’s European tour last autumn, we had a support network in place, offering confidential access to the therapists of MITC. Even though we’re a cohesive, well-resourced and very experienced touring party, we knew that you can still never completely guard against the trip hazards of touring. Knowing that this support was there was hugely reassuring. I also know that the pressures and demands of touring can be more keenly felt by acts and set-ups which have fewer resources, so I’m delighted to be able to invest in Pay It Forward to ensure that this essential support can be offered more widely.”

Kirstie Loveridge, Chief People Officer, AEG International: “Live entertainment is an industry built on passion, bringing together people who care deeply about what they do. But that doesn’t mean it comes without its challenges, especially when on the road. The Pay It Forward Fund sends an important message that access to specialist mental health support shouldn’t depend on where you sit within the industry. We’re proud to be a Founding Partner, extending our commitment to wellbeing beyond our own business to the people and companies we work alongside.”

Jocelyne Bückner, VP Marketing, d&b audiotechnik: “The future of live entertainment depends on the wellbeing of the people who make it happen. From production crews to touring teams, many face pressures that audiences never see. As a brand applied on tours around the world, we’re fortunate to work closely with the people behind those experiences every day, and many of our own colleagues spend significant time on the road alongside them. The MITC is providing something our industry genuinely needs: accessible mental health support delivered by professionals who understand the realities of life in live production. Through Pay It Forward, that support can reach more people who need it. We’re proud to support the MITC and the important work they are doing.”

Joanne Sewards, Director, Fly By Nite Conferences Ltd: “At Fly By Nite, we’ve spent decades supporting the live events industry, and we know that its greatest strength is the people who make it happen. While touring is an incredibly rewarding career, it also brings unique challenges, making access to mental health and wellbeing support more important than ever. That’s why we’re proud to support the Pay It Forward Fund as the Founding Fund’s Exclusive Official Trucking & Touring Logistics Partner. The work that MITC is leading to improve access to vital mental health and wellbeing services is helping to build a stronger, healthier and more sustainable future for everyone working behind the scenes in live events. We’re honored to play our part in supporting this important initiative and to stand alongside MITC in giving back to an industry that has given so much to us.”

Carmela Wallace, Founder of Live Free 999: “Live Free 999 is incredibly proud to partner with MITC to make mental health care more accessible across the music industry. We know significant barriers to care remain, especially for Black and other communities of colour, with only one in four Black people seeking mental health treatment when they need it. Through this partnership, we’re helping to ensure more BIPOC artists, crews and other music professionals have greater access to the support they deserve. Together, we’re working toward an industry where everyone has the resources to care for their mental health while building a sustainable career. It’s the kind of support I wish had been more accessible to my son, and it means so much to help make it available to others.”

A spokesperson for Live Nation: “Live Nation relies on an incredible ecosystem of artists, crew, production staff, promoters, venue workers and freelancers to make live events happen. Touring is hugely rewarding, but long hours, constant travel and time away from home can be physically and emotionally demanding. Partnering with MITC gives us the opportunity to help provide practical, timely mental health support for people on the road and contribute to a healthier, more sustainable live music industry.”

Edel Ryan, Practice Leader, Entertainment, Lockton Companies LLP: “Live music has the extraordinary ability to bring people together from across the world, but behind every show, brilliant and creative individuals are facing unseen challenges. As a Founding Funder, the team at Lockton are incredibly proud to support MITC’s mission to improve access to vital support for those in the live touring industry when they need it most. MITC’s efforts are rooted in compassion and understanding, and Lockton’s partnership demonstrates our commitment to building a healthier, more sustainable future for the exceptional people who make this industry possible.”

Alex Hardee, EVP & Managing Executive, The Team: “Touring is an incredibly rewarding part of this industry, but it can also place enormous demands on the people who make it possible. On smaller tours, people can be doing several jobs at once while working with tighter margins and fewer places to turn when they need help. The pressures of touring are not necessarily any smaller, but the safety net often is. This industry is full of extraordinarily resilient people, but resilience shouldn’t mean having to absorb an unlimited amount of pressure or simply push through when something isn’t sustainable. We hope this fund helps make meaningful support accessible before people reach a crisis point and contributes to a culture where seeking support feels normal, facilitating long, sustainable careers.”

Stuart Walton, Head of People and Sustainability, Universal Pixels: “Big tours can build welfare into the budget from day one. Smaller tours are often running so lean there’s no line item for it at all — that’s exactly the gap this fund is built to close,” said Stuart Walton, Head of People and Sustainability at Universal Pixels. “Resilience means bouncing back; endurance just means not stopping, and the industry has confused the two for too long. I’d like a touring crew member on a small show to get the same access to support as someone on an arena or stadium tour. Mental health support shouldn’t be a lottery.”