Sony Music launch the Artists Assistance programme

In a global effort to support their musical talent, Sony Music has launched its Artists Assistance programme.

The artist-friendly move will see all artists on the Sony roster have access to a dedicated, licensed therapist free of charge & the programme is confidential.

The major record label is committing significant funds on an annual basis to this new programme. It will enable them to provide free, confidential counselling services from an independent provider to assist artists in dealing with stress, anxiety, depression, grief, family and relationship issues and more. The programme will also include a hotline with support in 70 different languages.

Sony Music sent a letter to all artists who are eligible for the programme announcing the new initiative detailing how the programme will be “prioritising comprehensive support for music creators in all aspects of their career development.”

Furthermore, the major label added:

“Building on our recently announced Legacy Unrecouped Balance Programme, which pays through qualifying earnings to many of our long-standing artists and participants without regard to their recoupment status, we now are furthering our commitment to our active roster artists with a new program called Artist Assistance,” 

“This is a broad global effort aimed at promoting wellness for our signed talent and providing them with relevant information and key resources for their careers.”

While in the UK specifically, further to the existing support services there will be additional investment pumped into the wellbeing provision for artists and the label’s employees. This will include in-house dedicated resources overseeing the promotion and development of support programmes.

The US arm of Sony Music gives artists access to qualifying healthcare and retirement services through their affiliations with artist organisations and unions. This is something the record label is exploring in other territories too.

The other major record labels have mental health and well-being support programmes in place, in their UK locations.

The Artists Forward programme will now be led by Susan Moultrie, SVP for artist initiatives and business administration. Susan Moultrie’s hire sees her return to Sony Music, where she first worked between 1991 and 1993 as an A&R administration manager.

The programme will also include the Legacy Unrecouped Balance Programme, which gained Sony a lot of praise earlier this year.