- The dark side of optimism: Musical dreams, belief, and gambling Musgrave, George; Gross, Sally-Anne and Klein, Maike. 2024. The dark side of optimism: Musical dreams, belief, and gambling. Musicae Scientiae, 28(4), pp. 634-648. ISSN 1029-8649
- Is it premature to formulate recommendations for policy and practice, based on culture and health research? A robust critique of the CultureForHealth (2022) report Kaasgaard, Mette; Grebosz-Haring, Katarzyna; Davies, Christina; Musgrave, George; Shiriraam, Jahnusha; McCrary, J. Matt and Clift, Stephen. 2024. Is it premature to formulate recommendations for policy and practice, based on culture and health research? A robust critique of the CultureForHealth (2022) report. Frontiers in Public Health, 12, 1414070. ISSN 2296-2565
- The WHO-Lancet Global Series on the Health Benefits of the Arts: A Response to Sajnani and Fietje Clift, Stephen; Bathke, Arne; Davies, Christina; Daffern, Helena; Grebosz-Haring, Katarzyna; Kaasgaard, Mette; McCrary, J. Matt; Musgrave, George and Thun-Hohenstein, Leonard. 2024. The WHO-Lancet Global Series on the Health Benefits of the Arts: A Response to Sajnani and Fietje. The Lancet, 403(10434), P1335. ISSN 0140-6736
- Mental health the music industry: An evolving intervention landscape Musgrave, George; Howard, Charlie; Schofield, Amy; Silver, Emma and Tibber, Marc S. 2023. Mental health the music industry: An evolving intervention landscape. The Lancet Psychiatry, 10(5), pp. 311-313. ISSN 2215-0366
- Predicting anxiety, depression and wellbeing in professional and non-professional musicians Loveday, Catherine; Musgrave, George and Gross, Sally-Anne. 2023. Predicting anxiety, depression and wellbeing in professional and non-professional musicians. Psychology of Music, 51(2), pp. 508-522. ISSN 0305-7356
- Music and wellbeing vs. musicians’ wellbeing: examining the paradox of music-making positively impacting wellbeing, but musicians suffering from poor mental health Musgrave, George. 2023. Music and wellbeing vs. musicians’ wellbeing: examining the paradox of music-making positively impacting wellbeing, but musicians suffering from poor mental health. Cultural Trends, 32(3), pp. 280-295. ISSN 0954-8963
- Musicians, their relationships, and their wellbeing: Creative labour, relational work Musgrave, George. 2023. Musicians, their relationships, and their wellbeing: Creative labour, relational work. Poetics, 96, 101762. ISSN 0304-422X
- Culture for Health? Clift, Stephen; Daffern, Helena; Davies, Christina; Grebosz-Haring, Katarzyna; Kaasgaard, Mette; McCrary, J. Matt and Musgrave, George. 2022. Culture for Health? Arts Professional,
- Does Spotify Create Attachment? Algorithmic Playlists, Intermediation and the Artist-Fan Relationship Leisewitz, Adrian and Musgrave, George. 2022. Does Spotify Create Attachment? Algorithmic Playlists, Intermediation and the Artist-Fan Relationship. Culture Unbound: Journal of Current Cultural Research, 14(1), pp. 75-100. ISSN 2000-1525
- Moral Music Management: Ethical Decision-Making After Avicii Chaparro, Gerardo and Musgrave, George. 2021. Moral Music Management: Ethical Decision-Making After Avicii. International Journal of Music Business Research, 10(1), pp. 3-16. ISSN 2227-5789
- Building a Heavy Metal World: Cultural Entrepreneurship in the Polish People’s Republic Athanassiou, D and Musgrave, George. 2021. Building a Heavy Metal World: Cultural Entrepreneurship in the Polish People’s Republic. Artivate: A Journal of Entrepreneurship in the Arts, 10(1), pp. 1-19. ISSN 2164-7747
- Avicii: True Stories - Review Musgrave, George. 2020. Avicii: True Stories - Review. Dancecult Journal of Electronic Dance Music Culture, 12(1), pp. 94-97. ISSN 1947-5403
- Making Sense of My Creativity: Reflecting on Digital Autoethnography Musgrave, George. 2019. Making Sense of My Creativity: Reflecting on Digital Autoethnography. Journal of Artistic and Creative Education, 13(1), pp. 1-11. ISSN 1832 – 0465
- Collaborating to Compete: The Role of Cultural Intermediaries in Hypercompetition Musgrave, George. 2017. Collaborating to Compete: The Role of Cultural Intermediaries in Hypercompetition. International Journal of Music Business Research, 6(2), pp. 41-68. ISSN 2227-5789
Dr George Musgrave
Interdisciplinary sociologist of culture, researching musicians' psychosocial working lives
Staff details
Position
Senior Lecturer in Cultural Sociology and Creative Industries
Department
Institute for Creative and Cultural Entrepreneurship
g.musgrave (@gold.ac.uk)
Links
George is an interdisciplinary sociologist of culture, researching musicians' psychosocial working lives. His specialism concerns the psychological experiences and working conditions of creative careers, with a focus on mental health and wellbeing in the music industry. He has collaboratively undertaken two major funded research projects - 'Can Music Make You Sick?' (UK) and ‘When Music Speaks’ (Denmark) - on mental health and the music industry. The book of the former was an Amazon Number 1 Best Seller in the Sociology of Work. His research has been published in world-leading journals across multiple disciplines including medicine/health (The Lancet, The Lancet Psychiatry, Frontiers in Public Health), music psychology (Musicae Scientiae, Psychology of Music) and social sciences/cultural studies (Poetics, Cultural Trends). He is regularly invited to speak internationally on the subject and has appeared on media including BBC News, BBC Radio 4, Times Radio and the Financial Times.
Academic qualifications
- PhD: ESRC funded - The Centre for Competition Policy (UEA) 2014
- MA: Politics, Philosophy and Economics 2010
- MA (Cantab): Social and Political Science, University of Cambridge 2009
Teaching and supervision
PhDs supervised to completion:
- Dr. Steven Sparling (2021) (now Head of Department for Creative and Cultural Industries, Kingston University)
George welcomes PhD proposals from students who wish to combine a focus on psychology, sociology and/or economics in relation to creative markets. He is currently supervising six doctoral projects on:
- Music careers and social class (alongside Prof. Ros Gill, ICCE/MCCS)
- Musicians' wellbeing and identity (alongside Dr. Madoka Kumashiro, Psychology)
- Arts in the treatment of addiction (alongside Dr. Andrew Cooper, Psychology)
- Burnout in the TV industry (alongside Dr. Rebecca Chamberlain, Psychology)
- Grass-roots music and neurodivergence (alongside Prof. Holly Rogers, Music) (Sept. 2025)
- Representations of the Tortured Artist and Experiences of Suffering (alongside Dr. Katie Beswick, ICCE) (Sept. 2025)
George has, to date, supervised 68 MA dissertations to completion.
He is ICCE's Chair of Examinations. He has previously Chaired the ICCE Undergraduate Learning and Teaching Committee and led 'Student Voice' within the department.
He has been a guest lecturer at New York University delivering sessions in the Clive Davies Institute of Recorded Music (Tisch School of the Arts) and the Steinhardt School of Culture, Education and Human Development (NYU London).
He teaches both optional and compulsory modules across the following programmes of study (among others):
Research interests
George's research led directly to the establishment of a 24/7 mental health helpline for musicians - Music Minds Matter - in 2017. His research has been featured by media outlets including BBC News, The New York Times, Pitchfork, GQ, The FT, The Grammys, Billboard & more. His work has been cited as informing the development of global therapeutic & public health interventions as well by the UK Government's Department for Culture Media and Sport as part of the 'Creative Industries Sector Vision'. He appears regularly for media outlets including BBC News & BBC Radio 4.
His research has been awarded funding by a range of stakeholders including UKRI (ESRC), Government (Mayor of London) the third sector (Help Musicians UK), and the international music industries (Danish Partnership for Sustainable Development in Music). His findings have formed the basis of evidence which has been cited by the UK House of Commons Women and Equalities Commission, and the House of Lords.
His second book is a sociological examination of music-making as a practice of narrative identity construction entitled 'The England No One Cares About: Lyrics from Suburbia' (MIT Press / Goldsmiths Press, 2024). The book was an Amazon Top 10 Best Seller in Music Philosophy upon release and named 'Book of the Month' by Crack Magazine.
He is also a musician who has signed both major recording & publishing deals with EMI/Sony/ATV, and received over 1 million views on YouTube. His music has earned support from the likes of Mike Skinner, Plan B, Ellie Goulding & Ed Sheeran, and he has been labelled 'Middle England's Poet Laureate' by BBC Radio 1 & 1Xtra DJ MistaJam. Prior to signing to his record deal, he was the first ever unsigned artist to win a place on the MTV 'Brand New' list alongside Lana Del Rey & Charli XCX, & has played at festivals including Reading, Leeds, Wireless and BBC Radio 1's Big Weekend. He has MC'd for global acts including Andy C, Shy FX, Rusko, SpectraSoul, Plastician & Benga.
Grants and awards
2024:
When Music Speaks: Mental health and next steps in the Danish music industry
Co-PI. Funding: Danish Partnership for Sustainable for Development in Music. Four-part project - survey, review of models, interviews, recommendations. Largest ever study in Scandinavia on the topic
2020:
Needs and Challenges in the Lewisham Creative Enterprise Zone
Co-PI. Funding awarded by Lewisham Council and Creative Enterprise Zone (Mayor of London) to explore the lives of local creative practitioners and make recommendations for the development of the CEZ
2019:
Health Innovation and Wellbeing/Arts, Communication and Culture (Internally funded)
Co-I. Internally funded, interdisciplinary project exploring the determinants of anxiety and depression among professional and non-professional musicians
2016:
Can Music Make You Sick?
Co-I. Funding: Help Musicians to study rates of mental health conditions among UK musicians, identify potential causes and make recommendations. Led to the launch of 'Music Minds Matter'.
2012:
RCUK (ESRC & AHRC) Centre for Copyright and New Business Models in the Creative Economy (CREATe)
Co-I. Project entitled 'Copyright at the Digital Margins' (Work Package Code 4C.2)
2010: Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) Full Doctoral Studentship
Publications and research outputs
Book
- The England No One Cares About: Lyrics from Suburbia Musgrave, George. 2024. The England No One Cares About: Lyrics from Suburbia. London: Goldsmiths Press. ISBN 9781913380663
- Can Music Make You Sick? Measuring the Price of Musical Ambition Gross, Sally-Anne and Musgrave, George. 2020. Can Music Make You Sick? Measuring the Price of Musical Ambition. London: University of Westminster Press. ISBN 9781912656646
Book Section
- Songwriting and Career Musicianship as a Technology of the Self: Autosociobiographical Reflections on Music and Wellbeing Musgrave, George. 2024. Songwriting and Career Musicianship as a Technology of the Self: Autosociobiographical Reflections on Music and Wellbeing. In: Mark Donnelly and Richard Mills, eds. Song, Music and Wellbeing. Amsterdam: Amsterdam University Press.
- Out of the Frying Pan and into the Fire: Music Education, Mental Health, and Our Students’ Futures Musgrave, George. 2024. Out of the Frying Pan and into the Fire: Music Education, Mental Health, and Our Students’ Futures. In: David Arditi and Ryan Nolan, eds. The Palgrave Handbook of Critical Music Industry Studies. Cham, Switzerland: Palgrave Macmillan, pp. 119-135. ISBN 9783031640124
- ‘Losing Work, Losing Purpose’: Representations of Musicians’ Mental Health in the Time of Covid-19 Musgrave, George. 2022. ‘Losing Work, Losing Purpose’: Representations of Musicians’ Mental Health in the Time of Covid-19. In: Guy Morrow; Daniel Nordgård and Peter Tschmuck, eds. Rethinking the Music Business: Music Contexts, Rights, Data and, COVID-19. Cham, Switzerland: Springer, pp. 11-28. ISBN 9783031095313
Article
- Musicians, the music industry, and suicide: Epidemiology, risk factors, and suggested prevention approaches Musgrave, George and Lamis, Dorian. 2025. Musicians, the music industry, and suicide: Epidemiology, risk factors, and suggested prevention approaches. Frontiers in Public Health, 13, 1507772. ISSN 2296-2565
- Suicide, the music industry, and a call to action Musgrave, George and Lamis, Dorian. 2025. Suicide, the music industry, and a call to action. Frontiers Science News (Health),
- Determinants of Anxiety, Depression and Subjective Wellbeing among Musicians in Denmark: Findings from the ‘When Music Speaks’ Project Musgrave, George; Gross, Sally-Anne and Carney, Daniel. 2025. Determinants of Anxiety, Depression and Subjective Wellbeing among Musicians in Denmark: Findings from the ‘When Music Speaks’ Project. Scandinavian Journal of Psychology, ISSN 0036-5564
Conference or Workshop Item
- Music Minds Matter: Where Do We Go From Here? Musgrave, George and Gross, Sally-Anne. 2018. 'Music Minds Matter: Where Do We Go From Here?'. In: BBC Introducing LIVE. London, Tobacco Docks. 8 November 2018.
- Control and Autonomy in the Digital Music Business Musgrave, George. 2017. 'Control and Autonomy in the Digital Music Business'. In: The 8th Vienna Music Business Research Days. University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna, Austria 12-14 September 2017.
Broadcast
- Can Music Make You Sick: The Pitfalls of the Music Industry Nomvula, Amy; Day, Sam; Musgrave, George and Gross, Sally. 2018. Can Music Make You Sick: The Pitfalls of the Music Industry.
Professional Activity
- Submission of evidence to the UK Parliament's Business and Trade Select Committee 'Make Work Pay: Employment Rights Bill' Inquiry Dencik, Lina; Brand, Jessica; Gill, Rosalind; Kivotidis, Dimitrios and Musgrave, George. 2024. Submission of evidence to the UK Parliament's Business and Trade Select Committee 'Make Work Pay: Employment Rights Bill' Inquiry.
- Submission of evidence to the UK Parliament House of Lords ‘A Creative Future’ Inquiry Musgrave, George; Dinardi, Cecilia; Franklin, Michael; Murphy, Oonagh and Prime, Sian. 2022. Submission of evidence to the UK Parliament House of Lords ‘A Creative Future’ Inquiry.
- Submission of evidence to the UK Parliament Women and Equalities Committee 'Misogyny in Music' Inquiry Gross, Sally-Anne and Musgrave, George. 2022. Submission of evidence to the UK Parliament Women and Equalities Committee 'Misogyny in Music' Inquiry.
Report
- When Music Speaks - Mental Health and Next Steps in the Danish Music Industry. Part 3 - Danish Music Creators' Working Lives and Mental Health Wants Musgrave, George; Gross, Sally-Anne and Carney, Daniel. 2024. When Music Speaks - Mental Health and Next Steps in the Danish Music Industry. Part 3 - Danish Music Creators' Working Lives and Mental Health Wants. Project Report. Danish Partnership for Sustainable Development in Music, Copenhagen, Denmark.
- When Music Speaks - Mental Health and Next Steps in the Danish Music Industry. Part 4 - Final Recommendations Musgrave, George and Gross, Sally-Anne. 2024. When Music Speaks - Mental Health and Next Steps in the Danish Music Industry. Part 4 - Final Recommendations. Project Report. Danish Partnership for Sustainable Development in Music, Copenhagen, Denmark.
- When Music Speaks: Mental Health and Next Steps in the Danish Music lndustry. Part 2 - A Review of Models of Musicians' Mental Health Interventions Musgrave, George; Gross, Sally-Anne and Carney, Daniel. 2024. When Music Speaks: Mental Health and Next Steps in the Danish Music lndustry. Part 2 - A Review of Models of Musicians' Mental Health Interventions. Project Report. Danish Partnership for Sustainable Development in Music, Copenhagen, Denmark.
Media engagements
2025:
The Guardian | High suicide rates show music industry ‘profoundly dangerous’, researchers say
Featured story on my co-authored publication 'Musicians, the music industry, and suicide'
2024:
BBC News - Live studio guest
Invited live onto BBC News following the tragic death of musician Liam Payne
2024:
Times Radio - Interviewed guest
Invited to speak on Times Radio with Henry Bonsu about mental health and music
2024: New Books in Sociology Podcast - 'The England No One Cares About'
2024:
Author profile - Crack Magazine
‘George Musgrave’s new book contextualises rap in Middle England’
2024:
Anatomy of an Artist Podcast
Interview to discuss paper ‘The dark side of optimism’
2024: Vocal Advancement Podcast
2024:
BBC Radio 4 - Split Ends
Special guest to discuss music, mental health and why bands break up
2024:
Metal Health Podcast live from Eurosonic
Podcast recorded live on stage from Eurosonic Festival, Groningen
2023:
Electronic Beats 'This Week' Podcast
Podcast interview
2021:
Pioneer DJ - Dance Music and Mental Health: What Next?
Featured expert in article on mental health and electronic music
2020: ‘New Books in Sociology’ Podcast - Can Music Make You Sick?
2020:
The Arts Desk Q&A: Meet the Authors
Interview on the release of new scholarly book
2020:
SheSaidSo Instagram Live: Mental Health and the Music Industry
Live Q&A on Instagram for the organisation SheSaidSo
2018:
BBC Introducing (Documentary) - Can Music Make You Sick? The Pitfalls of the Music Industry
Research formed the basis of a BBC Introducing documentary, and was featured as expert guest
2018:
GQ (cover story) - 'Who Really Killed Avicii'
Quoted expert in GQ cover story on the death of Avicii
2017: Financial Times: Can Music Damage Your Health?
2017: Crack Magazine - Records to Research: A personal journey with music and mental health,
2017: BBC Three - Could working in music be bad for your health?
Memberships
- Editorial Board: Cultural Trends
- Fellow: Royal Society for Public Health (FRSPH)
- Fellow: Royal Society of Arts (FRSA)
- Fellow: Higher Education Academy (FHEA)
- Member: International Network for the Critical Appraisal of Arts and Health (based at the Salzburg Institute for Arts in Medicine)
- Committee Member: Royal Musical Association (RMA) Music and Mental Health Group (Research Co-ordinator)
- Member: International Association for the Study of Popular Music (IASPM)
