Support Act ‘Head First’ conference in Sydney has been postponed

Sydney was set to snag a new, mid-winter music industry conference with a focus on mental health next month.

Following the recent COVID-19 restrictions which have been put in place across a number of states across the country, the conference has now been postponed.

Support Act issued a statement to announce the news: “Due to the recent announcement of restrictions across the nation, we have made the decision to postpone Support Act’s Head First music industry conference about mental health and wellbeing.”

They continued, “We’re fully committed to facilitating this very important event and the discussions within, and will host the event at the Australian Institute of Music, Sydney in October 2021. We will announce a specific date in the very near future and all current ticket holders are advised that they will be contacted over the coming week.”

For the uninitiated, Support Act is behind “Head First,” which was originally slated to take place next month on July 29th at the Australian Institute of Music (AIM) in Surry Hills.

The day-long event which has now been pushed back is set to be the first conference of its kind from the music industry charity.

“Head First” arrives at a time when Australia’s music industry counts the crushing cost of the pandemic.  In the 12 months from March 2020, Support Act reported a 3,000% increase in applications for support.

“After the year we’ve all had,” says Clive Miller, CEO at Support Act, “now is the time to reflect on where we’ve been and where we’re going in our industry in terms of mental health and wellbeing.”

The sessions are to be structured under the four pillars of Health, Future, Workplace and Culture, and will provide a space for industry professionals to discuss the issues surrounding mental health and wellbeing.

We’re thrilled to announce our first ever mental health conference for the Australian music industry – Head First – on 29 July at @AIMnational in Sydney with a star-studded line-up of artists and industry heavyweights (TBA soon). Tix are $39. Buy now: https://t.co/oWHBmeaI0b pic.twitter.com/rnDdUXqlWi

— Support Act (@SupportAct) June 15, 2021

They’re “designed to bring our music community together in one place to discuss the issues we all face, to be inspired by some amazing speakers,” Miller continues, “and to walk away with the tools we need to improve our mental health and wellbeing.”

Tickets are priced at $39 and include breakfast, lunch, afternoon tea and reception.

Speakers on the day will explore a range of topics such as “Can music make you sick,” “Measuring the price of music ambition,” “Sexual health and safety in the music industry,” “Bouncebackability – burnout, resilience and work/life balance” and more.

The full program and line-up of speakers is coming soon.

Established in 1997, Support Act is Australia’s only charity delivering crisis relief services to artists and music industry professionals as a result of ill health, physical or mental health problems, or other form of crisis that diminishes their ability to work.

For more information and to book your place, visit www.supportact.org.au.

This article originally appeared on The Industry Observer, which is now part of The Music Network.