Dr George Musgrave

Staff details

Dr George Musgrave

Position

Senior Lecturer in Cultural Sociology and Creative Industries

Department

Institute for Creative and Cultural Entrepreneurship

Email

g.musgrave (@gold.ac.uk)

Interdisciplinary sociologist of music, researching musicians' psychosocial working lives

George is an interdisciplinary sociologist of music, 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 including The Lancet, The Lancet Psychiatry, Poetics, Cultural Trends, Musicae Scientiae, Frontiers in Public Health, and Psychology of Music. 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 five 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)

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

Musgrave, George. 2024. The England No One Cares About: Lyrics from Suburbia. London: Goldsmiths Press. ISBN 9781913380663

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

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.

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

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

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

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

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

Conference or Workshop Item

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.

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

Nomvula, Amy; Day, Sam; Musgrave, George and Gross, Sally. 2018. Can Music Make You Sick: The Pitfalls of the Music Industry.

Professional Activity

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.

Gross, Sally-Anne and Musgrave, George. 2022. Submission of evidence to the UK Parliament Women and Equalities Committee 'Misogyny in Music' Inquiry.

Musgrave, George and Gross, Sally-Anne. 2022. Submission of evidence to the Creative Industries Policy & Evidence Centre (PEC) 'Good Work Review'.

Report

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.

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.

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

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

2018: European Union Mental Health Alliance Podcast: The Gig Economy and its Effects on Young People’s Health

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

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)