Survey on music industry harassment calls for input from biz workers

Do you work in the music industry in Australia and New Zealand and been harassed in your music industry workplace?

Then musician and academic Jeff Crabtree wants your anonymous input into Music Industry Harassment Research – either via an interview or in an online survey.

It’s for his PhD thesis at the University of Technology Sydney.

Crabtree was inspired by an Entertainment Assist report which revealed that people working in the entertainment business had high instances of depression, anxiety, drug and alcohol intake, social isolation and suicidal thoughts due to the long working hours and financial unpredictability of the jobs.

The next step, he figured, was to collect data to provide the big picture on the problem, and lead to solutions.

“My research stems from my experience in industry as a musician and producer, as well as my current work in the field of health and wellbeing for creative practitioners,” said Crabtree.

“I have personally experienced harassment in the music industry workplace.

“In 2011, (I) co-wrote a book called Living With A Creative Mind that explored the unique mental wiring of highly creative thinkers and the ways the working environment either helps or harms them.”

The changing landscape of the workplace in the wake of the digital revolution is significant, he says.

“One of the by-products of the digital revolution is the shift in the burden of risk.

“People who work in the music industry are exactly like start up entrepreneurs, and carrying all of the financial risk in a rapidly changing environment.

“Artists now are far more vulnerable in every way, not just financially.

“The kind of structure and support available to many other workers in this country doesn’t exist in the music industry.”

The online survey – with multiple choice questions – lasts for 10-30 minutes duration.

It quizzes about your experiences of harassment including bullying and intimidation.

The survey keeps your answers separate from where you give consent as a participant, so it is impossible for you to be identified, he stresses.

To find out more or to participate in this study, head over to this website.