Universal Music Group’s Collaboration for Mental Health
Universal Music Group collaborates with a non-profit organization Musical Union of Health (MHA) to start Musical industry of mental health.
According to UMG, the fund will provide “complex, high-quality outpatient resources for mental health” for professionals in the musical industry throughout the United States.
The program, which will be launched on Friday (February 14), will provide services such as personalized recommendations for mental health and psychiatrist consultations, as well as grants to help cover the cost of mental health treatment.
Musical industry professionals who turn to the program will receive a preliminary response within 24 hours and gain access to the MHA health defenders team.
The program is based on a four-year partnership between UMG and MHA, which is called a priority program for the protection of medical services that offers outdated artists under UMG and Universal Music Publishing access to the Lawyer MHA Health to help them gain access to health resources.
UMG states that the program has served 1,000 clients and saved them $12.5 million in health care costs so far.
Commitment to Mental Health Support
“The growing and continuation of our partnership with (founder of MHA) Tatum (Allsep) and the Union of Health of Music was the most natural way to ensure continuous and effective support for mental health for everyone who works in our industry.”
Susan Mazo, Universal Music Group
The new program is available to all current and former musical industry specialists, not just those employed by UMG companies.
“We are working on ways to establish an optimized path to access mental health, financing, and care planning,” said chief employee of UMG Impact Officer Susan Mazo.
“Music Health Alliance has integrated resources necessary to meet the full spectrum of mental health needs for music industry professionals,” added Allsep, who founded MHA in 2013 after years of documenting the need to improve access to healthcare in the musical industry.
“This includes financial assistance, the continuum of care for mental and physical health, as well as support services, such as psychiatric support, intensive outpatient and inpatient programs, along with data collection. MHA’s holistic approach provides a long-term commitment to the health, well-being, and stability of the music industry’s workforce.”
Recent Conversations on Healthcare Access
The new initiative emerges amidst a growing conversation about healthcare and compensation for artists in the musical industry, notably following comments made by rising artist Chappell Roan during her Grammy acceptance speech.
“Record labels should treat their artists as valuable employees, providing fair wages and medical insurance and protection. Labels, we got you, but did you get us?” Roan stated at the Grammys.
Earlier this week, Roan collaborated with a non-profit organization The reverse line to start the We got you initiative, a campaign aimed at raising funds to improve healthcare access for artists. Roan contributed $25,000 to this cause, which has since been matched by Live Nation, AEG, and fellow artists Charlie XCX and Noah Kahan, according to a report in Billboard.
The expanded partnership between Universal Music Group and MHA is just one of the many efforts the company is exploring to enhance mental health and well-being.
In 2023, the company partnered with generative AI company Endel to develop wellness music. This year, it also collaborated with Ariana Huffington of Thrive Global to launch a music-oriented healing application.
Looking ahead to 2024, UMG is joining Salvation of Innovation to create a virtual reality program for anxiety that includes personalized music. UMG also partnered with Warner Music Group and Realize Music to bring approximately 1 million tracks to Aware of Music: Sing, an application intended to leverage the therapeutic benefits of singing.
Additionally, last year, UMG India launched Vedas Records, a label dedicated to healing music. The company has also filed a patent application for new technology that incorporates nervous stimuli into music “to produce or encourage desired mental states.” The patent application indicates that the technology may be used for behaviors such as “nervous stimulation, focus enhancement, calming effects, relaxation, or any other desired mental state.”
Universal Music Group and Music Health Alliance launch Music Industry Mental Health Fund
