That’s why MusiCares®, the leading music charity in the United States founded by the Recording Academy®, conducts its annual Wellness in Music Survey to capture the realities behind the headlines. This year’s findings, unpacked in a new op-ed by MusiCares Executive Director Theresa Wolters, paint a sobering picture of how music professionals are really doing, financially, physically, and mentally, in a year marked by compounding crises.
From hurricanes across the Southeast to wildfires in Los Angeles, music communities have faced destabilizing losses. Add to that a backdrop of economic instability, rising costs, shuttered businesses, and volatile income, and the result is an industry under enormous pressure. The 2025 survey reflects that reality: from suicide risk and untreated health conditions to financial stress and harassment, the challenges are mounting.
Since its founding in 1989, MusiCares has provided more than $136 million in assistance and 321,000 services to the music community. In the past year alone, that included $11.4 million in fire relief for Los Angeles music professionals and nearly $1.5 million in disaster response for Asheville and Florida, alongside expanded year-round programs in mental health, recovery, preventive care, childcare, and financial coaching. Many of these initiatives have been shaped directly by past survey findings.
Few organizations in the U.S. operate at this scale for music professionals. The Wellness in Music Survey is central to that work, offering a sharper lens into where needs are most urgent and how they are evolving. It’s a resource not only for MusiCares, but also for the broader music industry to understand the realities facing the people behind the music.
Read Theresa Wolters’ full op-ed here: https://www.musicares.org/news/2025-wellness-in-music-survey-results-insights
ABOUT MUSICARES
MusiCares® helps the humans behind music because music gives so much to the world. Offering preventive, emergency and recovery programs, MusiCares is a safety net supporting the health and welfare of the music community. Founded by the Recording Academy in 1989 as a U.S.-based 501(c)(3) charity, MusiCares safeguards the well-being of all music people through direct financial grant programs, networks of support resources, and tailored crisis relief efforts. For more information please visit: www.musicares.org.
