George Musgrave

Dr George Musgrave is a leading expert on mental health and wellbeing in the music industry. For almost 15 years he has researched musicians' psychosocial working lives, and his specialism concerns the psychological experiences & working conditions of creative careers.  

He has collaboratively undertaken two major funded research projects - 'Can Music Make You Sick?' (UK) and ‘When Music Speaks’ (Denmark) - on mental health & 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 including The Lancet, The Lancet Psychiatry, Poetics, Cultural Trends, Musicae Scientiae, & Psychology of Music, and featured by media outlets including BBC News, BBC Radio 4, The New York Times, Pitchfork, Mixmag, GQ, The FT, Billboard and more.  

George’s work led directly to the establishment of a 24/7 mental health helpline for musicians - Music Minds Matter - in 2017 and he 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'.  

His research has been awarded funding by a range of stakeholders including UKRI (ESRC), Government (Mayor of London) the third sector (Help Musicians UK), & the international music industries (Danish Partnership for Sustainable Development in Music). Findings of his research has formed the basis of evidence which has been cited by the UK House of Commons Women & Equalities Commission, & 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). Upon release the book was an Amazon Top 10 Best Seller in Music Philosophy and named Book of the Month by Crack Magazine.  

He is also a musician and has signed both major recording & publishing deals with EMI/Sony/ATV. His music has received over 1 million views on YouTube, earned support from the likes of Mike Skinner, Plan B, Ellie Goulding and Ed Sheeran, and was labelled 'Middle England's Poet Laureate' by the BBC. 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. He has performed at festivals including Reading, Leeds, Wireless and BBC Radio 1's Big Weekend and has MC'd for global acts including Andy C, Shy FX, Rusko, SpectraSoul, Plastician & Benga.