Max HeyraudThe music industry is starting to recognise the crippling impact that working in this field can have on mental health. Still, DJs and electronic artists often face the most challenging path and seem to have been left out of the conversation.
Universal Music Group has partnered with the Music Health Alliance to launch the Music Industry Mental Health Fund, an initiative designed to provide “comprehensive, high-quality” outpatient mental health care to both current and former music industry professionals. This effort comes in the wake of Chappell Roan’s GRAMMY acceptance speech, where she called out major labels for failing to support artists’ mental well-being—particularly emerging talent.
The fund builds on a four-year-old healthcare access program developed by both organisations and arrives just days after Sabrina Carpenter, Noah Kahan, Charli XCX, and others contributed to Roan’s We Got You campaign with Backline, another initiative dedicated to mental health and wellness resources for musicians.
Roan’s speech struck a chord: “Labels and the industry are profiting millions off of artists—yet they don’t even offer them a livable wage or healthcare.” Her words echo sentiments long expressed by artists, including James Blake, who recently compared major label deals to “package holidays” and noted that “none of it is aimed at” artists’ actual needs.
These frustrations aren’t new. As far back as 2003—at the dawn of the digital music era—Manchester acid house legend A Guy Called Gerald famously stated, “The artist never got anything in the first place anyway. The artist always got ripped off by the major record label. It’s even as low as the record labels saying that it’s the poor artist that suffers.”
But if the broader music industry has long been exploitative, these concerns are magnified tenfold in the electronic music scene—where relentless touring, lack of financial security, and the demands of an unforgiving industry take a severe toll on DJs’ mental health.
Unlike traditional live musicians, DJs don’t go on tour in the conventional sense. Instead, they’re almost constantly on the road, traveling across continents with little to no breaks. The primary reason for this? A lack of financial stability.
Historically, electronic producers have earned significantly less from recorded music than their live counterparts. While streaming has helped narrow this gap, the vast majority of electronic music artists—especially those in house, techno, and bass music- aren’t signing lucrative major label deals. Without the financial safety net that comes with big contracts, they’re left with no choice but to accept as many gigs as possible to make ends meet.
This results in an unstable, high-pressure existence. Unlike artists with structured touring schedules, DJs have no guarantees. There’s no certainty that their next release will sell well, no promise that it will lead to future bookings, and no safety net if things don’t go as planned. That uncertainty creates a mindset of desperation—where every gig feels crucial, and turning down work isn’t an option.
Even for successful artists, the anxiety is ever-present. The music industry moves faster than ever, with trends shifting at breakneck speed. DJs watch peers exit the scene, labels shut down, agencies collapse, and record sales decline. The fear of fading into obscurity is real, and it drives artists to push themselves to the limit—often at great personal cost.
The situation is even worse for those trying to break through or those experiencing a lull in bookings. Globally, nightlife is in decline, and while there have been some positive developments in certain markets, the overall trajectory of clubs and festivals is worrying. With more DJs than ever competing for a shrinking number of slots, making a living from music is becoming exponentially harder.
Agents are acutely aware of this reality, not just for smaller artists but for their biggest moneymakers as well. The prevailing mindset is simple: cash in while you can. The industry churns through talent at a ruthless pace, and if an artist only gets a few years in the spotlight, they need to make it count. Some agents push this even further, prioritising short-term profits over the long-term well-being of their clients—because, ultimately, their earnings are tied directly to how often their artists perform.
While no artist is forced to tour, most DJs have little control over the logistical chaos that comes with their schedules. There’s a vast difference between playing ten gigs in neighboring countries versus ten gigs spread across Asia, America, and Europe. Yet many DJs are subjected to grueling itineraries that involve constant travel, brutal time zone shifts, and little to no rest. Layovers, delayed flights, airport sprints, and sleepless nights become the norm. Bouncing between time zones wrecks any sense of routine. Sleep is a gamble, meals are whatever’s available, and healthy habits? Good luck.
Unlike traditional live acts, DJs often perform deep into the night, with sets stretching into the early morning hours. Fatigue is inevitable. Some artists go days on end with minimal sleep, especially when bouncing between cities. While live musicians on tour may have some consistency—playing at roughly the same times each night—DJs face erratic schedules, often closing one club at 6 AM before catching a flight to another city for a midday festival set.
DJs find themselves having to do this strange dance between being the center of attention, commanding a dancefloor with hundreds or thousands of people one night, and then isolating in deafeningly quiet hotel rooms or airports the next, and for most, it’s simply not sustainable. While many live acts travel with other band members, crew, or at least a tour manager, this is not the case for most DJs. If you have a tour manager, you’re living the life of luxury.
Trying to build personal relationships while being on the road for most of the year is nearly impossible, let alone trying to balance family, friends, kids, marriages, and everything else. Many find the job emotionally and physically draining, to the point that during their off-time, they either isolate themselves or keep the party going round the clock, which presents its own set of challenges. When you work in an industry that thrives on alcohol and substances, how do you master self-control? There’s no manual or introduction to this, and for many, it can feel like a deep tunnel with no clear way out.
The industry’s substance issues aren’t exactly a taboo topic, they’re almost inevitable. Clubs exist for people to escape, to leave their problems at the door and switch off for a few hours. Substances and alcohol make that switch easier, offering a fleeting sense of euphoria and liberation. But for DJs, constantly surrounded by this environment, staying sober can feel like being the odd one out. Add the pressure of performing for a packed room on little to no sleep, and reaching for something to take the edge off seems almost logical.
Yet, sustaining a long-term career means resisting the temptation to party every weekend. For many, giving in too often leads to a downward spiral, especially when it comes to mental health. Still, this side of club culture is often glamorized. DJs are painted as the new rock stars, their hazy, reckless lifestyle sold as the ultimate cool, but the reality is often far less romantic.
The relentless nature of DJing makes burnout almost inevitable. Some artists push through, taking every opportunity they can out of fear that the next gig might be their last. Others simply collapse under the pressure.
With little to no support, it often feels like DJs and the club community have been forgotten. While there is a lot of information on how to recover after partying—wellness groups, influencers, and informative pages help explain why you might be feeling a certain way, often pointing to chemical imbalances caused by lack of sleep, substances, and alcohol—the reality of life on the road is far more complex. Agents, managers, and labels should be preparing their artists for the somewhat inevitable decline in mental health. Even if you live a healthy lifestyle free from substances, the lifestyle itself is hectic and simply not normal.
It’s a complex mind game that each artist must battle, and right now, it feels like we’re losing it while the rest of the music industry begins to wake up to the challenges musicians face.
Photo Credits: Wibez Photography
