New study reveals mental health crisis among 75% of Indian musicians

A recent study titled It's Time to Talk has surveyed musicians and music industry professionals across India, looking at mental health across the country's music scene.

The research was carried out by Dr. George Musgrave of Goldsmiths, University of London, alongside TATVA, Global Music Institute and Creative Empirical.

Starting out with 1,321 respondents, the number then narrowed to 706 after data quality checks.

The study found 74.3% of respondents scored above the normal range for psychological distress, which it describes as "3.7–14.9x higher" than general population estimates for India.

Anxiety screened positive in 38.7% of respondents and depression in 36.8%, both higher than Indian benchmark groups such as cancer patients and adolescents. Suicide risk was also measured, with 58.6% of respondents screened at-risk, rising to 89% among LGBTQIA+ respondents.

Musicians aged 25 to 29 recorded the highest risk across every category measured, the point the report identifies as where "risk peaks across every measure we studied".

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The study also looked at what predicts these outcomes. Discrimination, reported by 77% of respondents, was linked to worse results across every mental health measure analysed.

Perceived career success and workplace sexual harassment, reported by half the sample, showed similar links. One respondent said: "I feel there is a lot of nepotism at play," while another stated: "It's just draining my mental health and my wallet at this point."

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Help-seeking behaviour shows 89% of diagnosed respondents with clinical needs had sought professional support, with 27% of those who had never been diagnosed also seeking support.

Among those who haven’t sought support, cost was the most common barrier cited by men, while women more often pointed to fear and stigma.

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In addition to sharing suggestions on how to make the local music industry safer, the report recommends subsidised mental health support alongside regular screenings, industry-wide initiatives and career mentoring for musicians in their late twenties.

It also calls for a broader definition of career success, including more realistic expectations, greater recognition of musicians' transferable skills, combining music with other forms of employment and valuing factors beyond financial success.

Read the full It's Time to Talk study here.

Amira Waworuntu is Mixmag Asia’s Managing Editor, follow her on Instagram.

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