The report on “The Health and Wellbeing of Professional Musicians and Music Creators in the EU” provides a comprehensive overview of the challenges faced by music professionals in the EU. It highlights the main risks for the physical and mental health of musicians and music creators and offers examples of successful policies and practices from several EU Member States aimed at addressing these risks. The European Commission initiated this study as part of its Music Moves Europe initiative to address growing concerns about the health and wellbeing of musicians, particularly in the rapidly changing music industry landscape.

Key insights from the report include:

• The music profession demands not only physical and psychological resilience but also a broad set of skills beyond musical talent due to the digital and business challenges of today’s music industry. The COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated these challenges, underlining the vulnerability of musicians’ health and well-being to a variety of risk factors​.
• The report emphasizes the need for action across multiple fronts to protect musicians, including breaking the silence on the challenges they face. It distills key policy lessons, supported by evidence from relevant research, and provides recommendations for improving policy and practice to support the health and lives of music professionals across the EU​​​.
• Specific recommendations include ensuring that national and local authorities consider all aspects of musicians’ health and wellbeing in their actions and policies. This includes addressing performance anxiety, loneliness, social anxiety, financial insecurity, physical disorders, noise-induced hearing loss, sleep disorders, vocal damage, substance and alcohol use, vision problems, and depression​.
• The report also calls for the inclusion of psychological and mental wellbeing components in music education curricula and for making professional mental and physical therapy more affordable for musicians. It suggests that health insurance systems or other mechanisms could be used to cover or reimburse part of the specific treatment costs for musicians​.

The European Commission’s commitment to supporting the music sector with this report is a crucial step in recognizing and addressing the unique challenges faced by music professionals. It aims to inform policy and practice, enhancing the health, wellbeing, and resilience of the music professional community across the EU​.

You can find more information about the report here: https://op.europa.eu/en/publication-detail/-/publication/35056e64-922f-11ed-b508-01aa75ed71a1/language-en