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Less than a fortnight after a Chappell Roan Grammys speech sparked a conversation about mental healthcare in music, Universal Music Group (UMG) has partnered with the Music Health Alliance to launch the Music Industry Mental Health Fund. The major-label group and music nonprofit say the initiative will provide “comprehensive, high-quality outpatient mental health resources for music industry professionals nationwide,” including those who have left the industry. The fund appears to primarily provide help with resources and recommendations, but also offers “grants to help offset costs,” according to a press release.
The initiative is being marketed as an expansion upon a previous partnership between the two companies, the Priority Healthcare Advocacy Program, which was said to provide free, confidential healthcare resources to UMG artists.
In her Best New Artist Grammys speech, Roan, who has said she struggled to afford healthcare after being dropped by her label in 2020, urged record labels and the industry “profiting millions of dollars off of artists” to “offer a livable wage and healthcare, especially to developing artists.” She added, “Record labels need to treat their artists as valuable employees with a livable wage and health insurance and protection. Labels, we got you, but do you got us?”
Music entrepreneur Jeff Rabhan subsequently published a contentious column in The Hollywood Reporter, apparently arguing that labels were neither responsible for, nor competent enough to deliver, Roan’s reforms. As well as letting labels off the hook, Rabhan suggested Roan should “put [her] money where [her] mouth is.” She did, pledging $25,000 to a fund for rising artists, and several fellow artists—including Charli XCX and Noah Kahan—followed suit. On the WTF With Marc Maron podcast, Ariana Grande also pushed for labels to include free therapy sessions in young artists’ contracts.
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