Universal Music Group (UMG) has partnered with non-profit Music Health Alliance (MHA) to launch the Music Industry Mental Health Fund, aimed at providing “comprehensive, high-quality outpatient mental health resources for music industry professionals” across the US.
According to UMG, a wide range of mental health services will be provided under the program. They include individualised recommendations for appropriate mental health counselors and psychiatrists based on patients’ needs; grants to help offset costs; and, if required, funding resource recommendations to ensure continuity of care through additional financial and mental health support.
Clients from UMG and beyond will have access to MHA’s team of advocates and initial inquiries will receive a response within 24 hours. Services will also be open to current and former music professionals, including those not employed at UMG companies.
Notably, the mental health program builds upon a successful, four-year healthcare collaboration between the two companies. That program, which provides a Music Health Alliance healthcare concierge to clients, has served nearly 1,000 clients and saved them more than $12.5 million in healthcare costs so far.
“We have been working on ways to establish a streamlined pathway for mental health access, funding, and care planning,” says UMG’s Chief Impact Officer Susan Mazo. “Growing and continuing our partnership with Tatum and the Music Health Alliance was the most natural way to ensure continuous and effective mental health support for anyone working in our industry.”
Tatum Hauck Allsep, founder and CEO of the Music Health Alliance Founder/CEO adds that “Music Health Alliance possesses the comprehensive resources necessary to address the full spectrum of mental health needs for music industry professionals. This includes financial assistance, a continuum of care for both mental and physical health, and wraparound services such as psychiatric support, facilitation of intensive outpatient and inpatient programs, and data collection.”
“MHA’s holistic approach ensures a long-term commitment to the health, well-being, and sustainability of the music industry workforce.”
In addition to the expanded services, MHA offers a full spectrum of mental health and healthcare advocacy services, including:
- Dental Care Resources (via the Richard M. Bates SMILE Fund)
- Group Health Services
- Healthcare Advocacy & Confidential Guidance
- Individual/Family Health Insurance
- Mental Health Resources (via the MHA Mental Health Fund)
- Senior Care Support (including Medicare; via the Price Legacy Fund)
- Vision Care Resources
The fund’s announcement comes shortly after American singer-songwriter Chappell Roan blasted the music industry and its lack of support for the health of artists after bagging the Best New Artist award at this year’s Grammys.
“I told myself if I ever won a Grammy and I got to stand up here in front of the most powerful people in music, I would demand that labels and the industry profiting millions of dollars off of artists would offer a livable wage and health care, especially to developing artists,” Roan said in her acceptance speech.
