European Commission, Directorate-General for Education, Youth, Sport and Culture, Vermeersch, L., Van Herreweghe, D., Meeuwssen, M. (2023). The health and wellbeing of professional musicians and music creators in the EU : insights from research for policy and practice, Publications Office of the European Union.
Creating and performing music professionally requires physical and psychological resilience. Professional musicians and music creators operate in a rapidly changing context where music is created, produced, distributed, consumed and monetised in completely new ways. This new landscape puts extra pressure and stress on professionals who, to stay afloat, now need a range of other skills (such as digital and business skills), additional to their virtuosity and proficiency. The recent crises, such as the COVID-19 pandemic, made things worse. This new reality causes a great deal of concern about the health and wellbeing of musicians and music creators in the EU. As a reaction to this challenge, the European Commission launched this study in the context of its Music Moves Europe initiative (Preparatory Action 2019). The study shows that the health and well-being of musicians in the EU is vulnerable to a number of risk factors and that action on many fronts is needed.