Stress and professional popular musicians

Abstract
This study assessed the job satisfaction, mental well‐being and health behaviours of a random sample of 246 popular musicians in the UK. It was found that although a large proportion of musicians are job satisfied, they suffer from above‐average levels of psychological anxiety. The main predictors of lack of mental well‐being are performance anxiety, performance‐related anxiety (eg musical ability not appreciated, loss of skill), poor physical working conditions (eg working at night, performing in substandard circumstances), work overload related to travelling and the impact of the job on social and family life.