The Music Executive Stress
Management Programme, run by the Music Industry Therapist Collective
(MITC), will provide fully funded support to five professionals,
including a 1:1 mentoring session with May.
The
scheme is designed as a preventative intervention for those working in
an environment defined by long hours, late nights, high pressure, and the
expectation to always be “on”. The organisers note that excessive
stress is often only recognised when it exceeds an individual’s coping
threshold and reaches crisis point.
“This
industry is built on passion, but passion on its own is not always
enough to protect people from pressure and overload,” May said. “I
wanted to support a programme that invests in professionals as whole
people, helping them build careers that are ambitious, healthy and
sustainable.”
MITC is a
clinically led international nonprofit whose practitioners combine
therapeutic training with lived experience in the music business. The
collective has supported tours including Radiohead, Dua Lipa, and The
Last Dinner Party, and works with organisations such as AEG and SJM.
The
programme was developed by MITC’s operations director Laura Newton, a
former electronic music agent, and MITC founder Tamsin Embleton,
previously a venue and festival booker. Newton said: “I’ve seen
first-hand how exciting and rewarding this industry can be, but also how
easy it is for stress and unhealthy working patterns to become
normalised. We designed this programme to support emerging professionals
at a critical stage in their careers.”
Participants
will receive six weeks of 1:1 performance coaching with psychologist
Stu Holliday, four months of psychotherapy with a specialist industry
therapist, and Vedic meditation training with Blaise DeAngelo, former
general manager of Skrillex’s OWSLA label. The programme also includes
expert-led workshops on stress and resilience.
This is a pilot cohort with an evaluation framework. Findings will inform future iterations.
Applications open 23 April and close 1 June, with the programme beginning in September 2026.
‘ The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties ’
‘ Some details of this article were extracted from the following source www.thelineofbestfit.com ’
