Contradictions have long plagued the music industry, where creative freedom meets relentless pressure. A new study examines the devastating reality beneath the surface: musicians are at a significantly higher risk of suicide than most other professions across the world.
Published in Frontiers in Public Health, the epidemiological data found that musicians in England have one of the highest suicide rates of any occupational group, ranking fourth behind construction workers, tradespeople and agricultural workers. In the US, the broader occupational category that includes musicians had the highest female suicide rate of any profession in multiple years, and the third highest for men (138.7 per 100,000).
The study suggests that the industry is, in the words of co-author Dr. George Musgrave, “demonstrably unsafe.” It cites as cautionary tales Avicii and The Prodigy’s Keith Flint, who died by suicide in 2018 and 2019, respectively.
“Occupational mortality data in the US and the UK should make all of us who love and care about music stop and pause,” Musgrave said.
Sean Eriksson
Roughly 70% of musicians are freelancers, meaning they have no benefits, no sick pay and little safety net, per The Guardian. Even those who achieve recognition often find themselves in a cycle of economic uncertainty, forced to tour relentlessly or take on multiple side jobs just to sustain themselves.
Despite growing awareness of mental health struggles in the music world, real change has been slow. Some major record labels have introduced mental health initiatives and organizations like Help Musicians and Music Minds Matter offer critical support, including crisis hotlines and financial aid.
But Musgrave and his colleagues argue that far more must be done. They are calling for the industry to implement a “zero suicide framework,” a structured approach that has successfully reduced suicide rates in other high-risk professions.
You can read the full study here.