Awareness about the pressures facing those working in the music industry continues to grow, but according to MusiCares®, understanding is only the first step—real change requires data. The organization, founded by the Recording Academy® and known as the leading music charity in the United States, has released findings from its 2025 Wellness in Music Survey. The results, discussed in an op-ed by Executive Director Theresa Wolters, reveal an industry struggling to recover from multiple overlapping crises.
From hurricanes in the Southeast to devastating wildfires in Los Angeles, natural disasters have left many music professionals facing severe financial and emotional losses. Combined with inflation, unstable income, and the continued fallout from industry closures, the landscape for working musicians has become increasingly unpredictable. The 2025 survey data underscores this reality, pointing to rising levels of mental health concerns, untreated medical conditions, harassment, and suicide risk among those in the profession.
Since its founding in 1989, MusiCares has provided more than $136 million in direct aid through 321,000 services, including financial assistance, healthcare support, and crisis response. Over the past year alone, the charity distributed $11.4 million to Los Angeles music workers affected by wildfires and $1.5 million in relief for communities in Asheville and Florida. These efforts complement ongoing programs in mental health, addiction recovery, preventive care, childcare, and financial counseling—all shaped by insights from annual survey results.
Few organizations in the U.S. serve music professionals at such a scale. The Wellness in Music Survey remains central to MusiCares’ mission, offering a clear snapshot of where the greatest needs lie and how they are evolving. It not only guides the charity’s programs but also provides the wider industry with data to better support its workforce.
Theresa Wolters’ full op-ed and detailed survey insights can be read at www.musicares.org.
For over three decades, MusiCares has served as a safety net for the humans behind the music—because behind every song, there’s a life worth protecting.
About the Author
