Backstage Pass - October

Welcome back to Backstage Pass!?

October was a busy month for Support Act, with the launch of Mobmusic T-Shirt Day, with its excellent Mob Music T-Shirt designed by artist and broadcaster Nooky; a very successful matching giving program to support our First Nations programming provided by Sennheiser, and the launch of Phase 2 of Ausmusic T-Shirt Day.

We were delighted to present a very successful Yarning Strong Panel at the Australian Women in Music Awards at the start of the month, and two panels at SXSW focusing on First Nations mental health and a masterclass on positive psychology and creativity.

We were also very pleased to be able to support renowned Melbourne musician Ollie Olsen through the final months of his illness, and to ensure he was farewelled with dignity.

Thank you for your continued support.

Best wishes,?

Clive Miller

CEO

Last week we announced our stacked line-up of ambassadors including Missy Higgins, Tony Armstrong and Ayesha Madon, who are all getting behind Ausmusic T-Shirt Day this year, and our tagline: Life’s Better with Australian Music!!

Alongside this exciting news was the release of this year’s community service announcement, created by Mushroom Creative House and soundtracked by Alice Ivy’s ‘Howlin’ At The New Moon feat. Mayer Hawthorne’.

Check out the video here and find out how to create a fundraising team at work or with friends, buy an Ausmusic t-shirt, or to wear and donate now or any time in the lead up to, and on, Ausmusic T-Shirt Day on 28 November here.

The results from our Mental Health and Wellbeing in Music and the Creative Industries 2024 survey prepared by Dr Aurora Elmes and Emma Riseley from The Centre for Social Impact Swinburne with support from Entertainment Assist, are available to view now.?

1,518 music creative arts workers participated in the survey and shared the challenges they face even in a largely COVID-recovered working environment.

At the top of the list were the cost of living, low level of income, burnout and fatigue and job insecurity. Many creative workers struggle to make a liveable income from their creative work.?

For more information and a detailed summary of the survey findings, check out our page below.

Find out more.

Support Act Social Workers and Psychologists, and CrewCare Welfare Officers, have been pleased to provide mental health and wellbeing support for live production personnel at a number of Live Nation stadium shows throughout October and November.

This important focus on the mental health and wellbeing of crew and others who work under extreme pressure to ensure that these big shows run efficiently and safely was greatly appreciated by the onsite teams, and was the perfect opportunity to remind them about Support Act’s other programs and services, including the Wellbeing Helpline, which provides free phone counselling to all music and creative industries workers.

Our social workers and psychologists were also pleased to be backstage at the recent Music Victoria Awards to help create a sense of emotional safety and wellbeing for the performers and those in the audience.

Secure your free spot for our upcoming Responding with Compassion workshop this Friday 8 November from 10am-1pm (AEDT). Run in association with Full Stop Australia, this three-hour online workshop is designed to assist those who may receive disclosures of trauma after being exposed to sexual misconduct, bullying or discrimination in the music industry.?

The initial response to someone disclosing trauma is critical to their recovery and decisions on what to do next. In this workshop you’ll gain a deeper understanding of sexual violence in Australia, and understand the long and short-term impacts of trauma.?

We encourage artist managers, HR managers, People and Culture Managers and those in positions of leadership to attend.

Register now.

On Wednesday 13 November from 1:30pm - 3pm (AEDT), we’ll be running a free and online Leading with Empathy session.?

This 90-min workshop is designed to help you explore how empathy and active listening skills can help create more supportive, open and compassionate workplace relationships across the music industry.

Empathy is an important skill to learn, and is integral to supporting a strong and resilient team. If you’re a team leader, manager or someone who wishes to become a more compassionate and effective communicator, we encourage you to come along!

Register now.

Join us for our free and online Active Bystander Training, presented in conjunction with CrewCare, on Monday 11th November from 1:00pm - 3:00pm (AEDT).

This session is a specialised music industry training workshop, and is designed to educate members of the music workforce how to actively intervene when witnessing sexual harassment, assault, discrimination and bullying.

This training can provide you with the knowledge and confidence to identify when there is an opportunity for action and the many ways to take action.

Secure your spot.

Looking to get your Mental Health First Aid (MHFA) accreditation? We have two sessions available to register for now happening on Friday 22 November and Monday 2 December, both from 10am - 4pm (AEDT).

Provided in partnership with EventCare, MHFA is a nationally accredited training program that empowers you with the knowledge, skills and confidence to recognise, connect and effectively respond to mental health issues.?

These online training sessions are available to register at no charge, so secure your spot now!

Register for free.

Calling all Eora/Sydney locals! Make sure to head on down to Bunnings Alexandria on Sunday November 17 where Good Intent will be running a sausage sizzle raising funds for Support Act.?

Up for some Bootscootin’ and Bingo? Head on down to the Bacchus Marsh Public Hall on Saturday 23 November and have some fun, whilst raising funds for Support Act. Come along for some live music and a bootscootin’ bingo game! RSVP here.

Thinking about registering for our upcoming Leading with Empathy session? Here’s what someone had to say about our previous session.

'I enjoyed practising active listening? – it was perfect!'

Check out all of our upcoming workshops here.

If you need help, please reach out and ask for it. There’s no shame in it and we are here for you. To find out more about how we can help, visit the Individual Support page on the website.