Canadian Musician September / October 2019 | Page 43

trying make conditions better for artists’
mental health.
Here in Canada, the East Coast Music
Association (ECMA)’s 2018 Mental Health
Survey had some extremely concerning
results. Most alarming, of the 50 respon-
dents, 20 per cent reported suicidal
thoughts in just the past month. The Ca-
nadian average is 3.3 per cent in the past
12 months. As well, half of the ECMA’s
respondents reported being concerned,
either presently or in the past, about their
own drug and/or alcohol consumption
and 26 per cent said they’d attempted
suicide at least once in their life.
So yeah, it’s a bad situation. But why?
The HMUK study identified four main
areas of concern that explain the worri-
some rates of anxiety and depression:
1) money worries, 2) poor working con-
ditions, 3) relationship challenges, and
4) sexual abuse/bullying/discrimination.
Most professional musicians can probably
identify with at least a couple of these. in that kind of effort – it takes its toll on
the way the band behaves in front of each
other and the way that you fight with your
bandmates and with people who aren’t
in your band but who are in your life in
other ways,” continues Versteeg. “It’s a
tough lifestyle, but I think it is just kind of
taken for granted that that comes with the
territory. To some extent, it does come
with the territory; you know what you’re
signing up for, but I think being aware of
it to some degree can enable you to take
active steps to find coping mechanisms
that make it easier.”
The psychological impact of the mu-
sician lifestyle comes as no surprise to
Amanda Power, the executive director of
the Unison Benevolent Fund. Unison is
“I have about 12 years as a professional
musician – whatever that means – but I’d
been touring in bands for almost 10 years
before that – like awful punk bands and
sleeping on floors and doing that whole
thing. So, I am coming up on over 20
years of touring now and it’s one of the
most rewarding experiences you could
ever have, in my opinion, but it’s also re-
ally hard on your mind and body,” shares
Menno Versteeg, frontman for the band
Hollerado and head of one of the hottest
Canadian indie labels going, Royal Moun-
tain Records, which boasts a roster that
includes Mac DeMarco, Alvvays, PUP, and
Orville Peck, among others. “I don’t mean
to compare this [to the military] at all, but
you do see a lot of musicians who have
some sort of tour PTSD. They come home
from tour and it’s hard to fit back into your
regular life.”
Earlier this year, Versteeg’s Royal
Mountain Records did something no
other Canadian label, indie or major, has
done: it set up a mental wellness fund
that provides each act on the roster with
$1,500, non-recoupable, to confidentially
spend on mental wellness or addiction
recovery. Versteeg says that, “without a
doubt,” his own experiences as a touring
musician inspired him to create the fund.
“[Touring] affects your relationships
and your day-to-day life, but I think you
just kind of accept that that’s the way it
is and that it’s tough. If you’re touring
250 days a year like a lot of the bands on
Royal Mountain did at the start and some
of them continue to do – it’s hard to really
get your start as a band unless you put Since 2011, the Unison Benevolent
Fund has been a vital lifeline for the
Canadian music community. It’s fund-
ed by individuals and music industry
organizations and is the only charity
in Canada specifically addressing the
mental health and emergency care
needs of musicians and music industry
professionals. It connects musicians
with qualified professionals who can
provide counselling and other resourc-
es to support individuals and their
immediate families dealing with mental
health, legal guidance, family and rela-
tionship counselling, or work-related
concerns. Also, Unison provides
emergency financial support for those
recovering from an illness, injury, or
other circumstances that leave them
unable to work or in severe economic
or personal hardship.
“People need to understand in our
industry that all they need to do is ask
for the help and they are going to re-
ceive it,” says Unison Executive Direc-
tor Amanda Power. She urges profes-
sional musicians to get registered with
Unison now and not wait until they
need its services. Anyone can benefit
from its educational resources on men-
tal health, self-care, and other import-
ant topics. “Even if you don’t need it
right now, you might need it five weeks
or five years from now, or you might
run into somebody who does need
help and you’re educated. Once some-
one is educated about Unison, I always
tell them: ‘Now it’s your responsibility to
like HMUK for the Canadian music indus-
try, providing counselling services and
emergency financial relief to Canadian
musicians and industry professionals in
times of need.
“From discussions we’ve had with
members of our music community, a few
factors are quite universal. For those on
the road, touring can be a major contrib-
utor to mental health challenges. Being
disconnected from friends and family,
working odd hours, and constantly being
surrounded by alcohol all takes a toll on
mental wellbeing,” says Power. “In addi-
tion, financial instability and pressures to
succeed play a huge role. Another factor
is the ways in which the music industry
Unison Is There
for You
Amanda Power, Unison Benevolent Fund
carry the message forward.’ We’re
stronger when we stand together,” she
adds. “We’re there 365 days a year and
it doesn’t have to be a dire situation.
That is another misconception about
Unison. With counselling, let’s say
you’re having health or nutrition chal-
lenges – you can talk to a nutritionist
and get some advice from professionals
if you call our counselling services. If
you need access to legal advice, you
can call the counselling services and
get proper legal advice. If you’re having
challenges with childcare or eldercare
resources, you can call and get help
with that. It’s not just for if you’re in a
911 situation and you’re going to cause
harm to yourself or someone else.
We’re there for every kind of situation
possible. All you really have to do is say
to yourself, ‘I need help but I’m not sure
what I need to do, so I’ll call Unison.’ It’s
really as simple as that.”
For immediate assistance,
call Unison toll-free:
1-855-9UNISON (1-855-986-4766)
www.unisonfund.ca.
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