Features
How To Not Blow The Comeback: Q’s With The Co-Authors Of Sound Advice
– The co-authors of Sound Advice:
Rhian Jones (l.) and Lucy Heyman.
One positive thing people have been clinging onto during this past year is their determination to return to business in a more sustainable way. For many operating in this industry, the old normal was never normal. For them, the forced reset offers opportunities to make changes.
For a long time, the word sustainability only referred to the environmental impact of live events. In recent years, however, it has increasingly been understood to also include the mental and physical health of those working in this business, from the artists on stage to the crews behind it.
In terms of touring, for instance, a more sustainable approach would require a less dense schedule that allows artists and their teams to regenerate between shows. This seems unlikely at the moment, as the entire industry is desperate to get back to work. Artists are eager to return to the road, promoters, agents and venue operators confirm that it’s already hard to find avails in 2022, and all signs are pointing towards more, rather than less, packed schedules. So, with artists, teams and crews on tenterhooks, how do you make sure they don’t get carried away once doors open again?
Pollstar reached out to music industry journalist Rhian Jones (who is engaged to marry the author of this story) and PhD researcher and musician Lucy Heyman, who’ve co-authored a health-focused performance and career manual for aspiring and established musicians, dubbed Sound Advice, which includes original interviews with leading researchers, health experts, business executives and a host of artists. The book contains an entire chapter on touring, arguably the most taxing aspect of any artist’s career – although one could argue that being banned from doing what you love for a year is a contender for that title.
– Sound Advice.
Cover.
Pollstar: When writing this book, did you find that there’s one area in a musician’s career that particularly facilitates unhealthy behaviour? It seems touring has to rank high, because it takes you out of your comfort zone to a greater extent than any other part of your career.
Rhian Jones: Yes, touring is particularly tough because people are away from home and all the things that might help them feel balanced. Being on the road can make it difficult to make sure basic needs are met, like getting enough sleep, eating the right food, feeling comfortable and safe, and spending time with loved ones.
On top of that, there can be lots of temptation and opportunities to overindulge in alcohol and drugs, which can result in both mental and physical health problems. Then, the adrenaline ‘highs’ of being onstage combined with the lows of feeling lonely, tired and uncomfortable while travelling can result in what one of our interviewees, musician Catherine Anne Davies, calls a “chemical rollercoaster” that again is not conducive to maintaining a balanced state of mind.
Lucy Heyman: Touring is also where a musician does the job of performance, which can be incredibly stressful both physically and mentally. We see high levels of pain from playing instruments, vocal health issues, hearing problems such as tinnitus and more. If these are left untreated they can cause significant long-term health problems.
Pollstar: What is the one aspect in a musicians health that’s most under threat on tour?
Rhian Jones: Mental health came up a lot with our interviewees for all of the reasons I outlined above. In our mental health chapter, self-care tips from Stephen Buckley, who works at mental health charity Mind, centre on sleep, diet, limiting drugs and alcohol, and having the time to do something that’s important to you and good for you, like meditation or staying in touch with friends and family.
It can be hard to keep on top of all of these things while on tour. For anyone who already has existing mental health issues, touring is an especially at-risk time, especially if they aren’t aware of what they need, are afraid to ask for it or simply can’t afford the investment that would be required into making touring an adequately comfortable experience, whatever that might mean for that individual.
Lucy Heyman: To add to what Rhian said, we also see physical and mental health problems being so intertwined that they are hard to separate out. The majority of musicians that seek help for a physical health issue, for example, often have an associated mental health problem alongside.
So, in this example, if you only treated the mental health issue, the underlying cause would still remain. We need to take an integrated approach to supporting musicians’ health on tour, factoring in all the issues and supporting them where possible.
As a vocal coach, one of the biggest problems that I’ve seen on tour is artists struggling with their vocal health and the associated stress and mental health challenges that come with that. The touring issues of lack of sleep, bad diet and excessive travel all impact a singer’s ability to do their job, and if they lose their voice there is no gig, which can be devastating on many levels.
It can be hard to appreciate how much of a source of anxiety this can be for singers, but it is also so easy to rectify. Booking artists sessions with a vocal coach where they check that their technique is sound and offer tailored warm ups and cool downs will make a big difference (generic YouTube videos aren’t sufficient for professional performers). It can also be helpful for an artist to know they have a vocal coach available to call on who can alleviate any performance-related anxiety when they need it.
Pollstar: A lot of points raised in the touring chapter – sleep in particular, but also having more time to exercise and eat properly – could be facilitated by a less densely packed touring schedule. At the same time, many in the live business will be very eager to get back on the road and play as many dates as possible to make up for the losses generated over the past year. Already, agents and promoters are saying that 2022 is packed and it will become difficult to secure avails at any venue. What would your advice be on how to navigate these contradictory positions, based on your research for the book?
Rhian Jones: Right now, the live industry is at a bit of a tipping point where it could go one way or the other. If agents and managers want healthy artists who have longevity, which is surely what everyone wants from both a moral and business perspective, they are going to have to sacrifice some instant gratification in order to reap the benefits long term.
As tour manager Suzi Green told us, “You’re going to get more shows and better shows out of someone who is healthy and happy on tour”. Ample time off between performances and from being on the road is essential for that. The fact that musicians have now had such a long time away from touring and performing also means that they need to take extra care to ease themselves back in — just like a sportsperson would after a year off from playing, musicians need to be allowed the time and support they need to prepare in order to prevent health problems from happening further down the line.
If all of this is disregarded, and schedules become packed, the live industry is shooting itself in the foot and won’t bounce back in a sustainable manner due to cancelled shows and lost consumer confidence as a result.
Lucy Heyman: We need to start by making sure everyone performing on the tour feels they have the adequate skills and support to do the job they are doing. That sounds pretty obvious but research has suggested this isn’t the case.
For artists, it might be about finding a way to manage performance anxiety in a healthy way that doesn’t involve Jack Daniels or learning about vocal health and how to protect their voice so that they have a level of confidence around performance.
For musicians, it could be seeking help for the pain issue they have when playing, or getting personalised earplugs to prevent their tinnitus from deteriorating. Equally, individuals need to know what helps them to stay healthy and well both mentally and physically. If we have those things in place first, the return will have a chance of being more sustainable in the long-term.
From there, creating a support team around artists of professionals who can advocate for what is realistically possible in terms of schedules will also help. I’ve had to explain to A&R managers in the past why it’s vital that the day off in between flights isn’t filled with promo, or why that extra performance in a different country shouldn’t be squeezed in the day before Glastonbury. In that particular situation, having an external person explain that the physical implications of a packed schedule will result in cancelled shows further down the line can really help.
Pollstar: A lot of people working in this business are adamant about the fact that we shouldn’t return to the way this business operated pre-covid. The sentiment of ‘building a more sustainable industry’ is being thrown around a lot. What will be vital things to focus on regarding the sustainability of an artist’s mental and physical health, once things begin to open up again, in order to facilitate a comeback that’s going to be long-lived?
Rhian Jones: People working in the music industry need to educate themselves about the health issues artists face and properly learn how to support them, a big part of which is putting things in place that will help prevent problems from happening in the first place.
If I were someone who works with artists, I’d be using the extra time that a lot of people on their hands right now to do a lot of research in order to create a plan that’s going to prioritise health and wellbeing because that’s what’s going to make this industry a more enjoyable place to work in, for everyone, and is going to help those within it sustain long careers.
We have another great quote from Davies at the beginning of the book, where she says: “Because the music industry is made up of these little pockets and there isn’t one big umbrella, it’s such a great get-out clause. Everyone can just absolve themselves of responsibility. But how long have we been passing the buck? As long as we continue to do that, nothing changes.”
It’s up to everyone who works in music — from managers, venue staff, promoters, tour managers, agents and A&Rs etc. — to think about what they can individually do to foster a supportive environment that encourages, and doesn’t inhibit, healthy practices, while understanding that the definition of that might change depending on the specific needs of who they are working with.
Lucy Heyman: We need to look at the working practices across the industry as a whole and question whether they are sustainable. Is it reasonable to expect someone to work a full day in the office and then go to gigs every night? Or for a manager to work seven days a week with no time off?
We’ve been glamourising overwork within the industry for far too long and I can tell you from personal experience there is nothing glamorous about burnout! Alongside individual responsibility in terms of managing health issues, there also needs to be the structural support from the industry as a whole that the working practices expected are reasonable and sustainable long-term.
Pollstar: Do you have advice for young artists in particular, who may not have a team in place that takes care of them?
Rhian Jones: Rather than focusing on what you can’t do, work out what you can. Is there a comfortable pillow you could take on the road and a sleep mask, for example? Can you agree a sound and lights-off rule at a decent time if you’re travelling with others? What food could you bring with you, or source on the way, that’s going to keep you feeling energised?
If you’ve got a rider, is it balanced? Can you ask for the money that would have been used for catering at a venue to get yourself something healthier than what would have been provided? While you’re on the road, do you need a daily call home in order to feel connected? When can you go out and get some fresh air and exercise?
There are answers for all of these questions, regardless of the level a musician is at. Beyond that, it’s important to know that you could follow all the good advice and still experience health issues, which is why it’s also vital to know where to go to for help if problems do occur. The resources section in our book and on our website will help with this.
Lucy Heyman: Get to know yourself, get curious about what you need in order to stay healthy and learn how to communicate that to the team around you. Issues with assertiveness and boundaries can be common for young artists and often lead to difficult situations further down the line. No one wants to be that difficult, demanding artist, but there are ways to be clear about what you need that people are often happy to support you with. So, learn how to ask for what you want if it is an issue for you. Being clear about the small changes you need to support your health can make a huge difference overall.