The Soft Sea Witch

73% suffer from mental illness.

Only 39% would seek help.

51% of that 73% self-medicate with alcohol and/or drugs (54% and 50%, respectively).

19% of that 73% think the industry is trying to create a sustainable climate to succeed.

That’s just a group of independent musicians surveyed by Record Union in 2019. The crew numbers would drown you if they were surveyed.

Working in entertainment is a dream for many. People see adventure in a new city every day and glamorize artists’ “day off” Instagram posts. But crew work is one of the most thankless roles fans don’t see. I’ve never been an artist, so I can’t speak from that perspective. What I can do is share, from experience, the long days and nights crew members pull (sometimes 12+ hours), their importance, and their sacrifices.

Artists, especially on bigger/not-indie tours, often don’t start their day until sound check. Meanwhile, merch/VIP reps, tour managers, and techs are always the first ones rolled out of the bunk and into the trailer. Sometimes load-in is a similar time every day; sometimes it’s 8:30 A.M. after you didn’t finish load-out until 11:00 the night before.

Regardless of time change and exhaustion, those cases and boxes fly out and into the venue at record pace. And, unless it’s a day off, we don’t see much of where we’re at. (Heck, even on days off, my buses often parked at a hotel near an Applebee’s/Cracker Barrel and a Walmart.)

Audio and light techs spend hours each show day configuring equipment to ensure the acoustics and sound levels you love. Photographers and videographers live on their laptops editing while batteries charge until showtime. Merch and VIP reps, my old role, handle inventory, same-day VIP experience planning/setup/execution, sales, reports, and venue settlement payments alone. We then do it all over again until the next day off (sometimes seven days later).

Local crew and venue staff don’t have easy jobs, either, as someone who worked locally (venues and independently) and on the road. They may not travel, but many employees work those jobs after full time jobs; they also work just as hard performing their roles. (I also worked these roles.)

Local hire VIP reps or merch sellers often commute a distance to their nearest major city for work. Not to mention they receive protocol and operational information maybe a day before the show. They go in knowing they’re figuring everything out on the fly.

Stagehands and in-house techs come in late morning/early afternoon and spend all day deploying every theatric and proper equipment placement. In-house merch teams are setting up the table and POS. Security remains alert for emergencies at any given moment from load-in to show’s end. And ushers assist in that safety protocol by keeping clear walkways, knowing emergency exits, and differentiating underage patrons for bar staff.

Most people enjoy their job; it’d be tough going to work or traveling (especially in a metal tube with up to 11 other people) if they didn’t. But that doesn’t mean they don’t sacrifice to do what they love.

Shows happen on holidays, meaning artists and crew alike miss out on family time. Local crew give their time, gas usage, and vehicle wear to run shows and network/build their career. Crew runs off of exhaustion and caffeine to get by. (Sleeping on a bus bunk isn’t as glamorous as you think…especially over one of the passenger wheels.)

With that combination, the ultimate sacrifice is health. Physical strain wears and tears. Only dealing with a small group day in and out and disconnect from loved ones day out cast a fog of loneliness. Unless they have a full-time job or get lucky filling their books for the year, fear of failure and financial instability always looms. And that’s increasingly worrisome with the economy and Live Nation’s bad business practices making concerts unaffordable.

This leaves them not talking about their problems and self-medicating just like a stressed artist. And let’s remember how inaccessible and expensive (mental) healthcare generally is in the United States for independent workers leading to self-medication. Taking time off to care for yourself could mean no more career. It’s pressuring.

Next time you go to a show, take in the processes around you. And treat every worker with a uniform or laminate with the respect they earn every single day.

I wrote about my own experience working in the industry, the part without statistics, in today’s Patreon essay (just $5.00 USD/month).