By Maria May, Electronic Music Agent at Creative Artists Agency

1. What this industry asks of people
2. Burnout is not just being tired
3. A new pilot with MITC
4. What I’d like to see across the AFEM community

WHAT THIS INDUSTRY ASKS OF PEOPLE

There is so much I love about electronic music and our beautiful community. I love its pace, its culture, its global reach, its independence, its refusal to stand still, its inclusive heart. I love the fact that people can build something from nothing: a sound, a scene, a label, a festival, a career. I have spent more than three decades working as an agent in this world, and I still believe it is one of the most exciting places to build a career. But I also know how much it asks of people.

Our industry runs fast. It crosses time zones. It rewards instinct, stamina and being able to solve problems in real time. There is always another show, another deal, another opportunity, another fire to put out, another person who needs an answer. For a long time, I accepted that as simply the nature of the business.

But passion is not protection against pressure. In fact, it can make pressure harder to recognise, because when your work is also your identity, your social life and your sense of purpose, it can be difficult to know where the work ends and you begin.

BURNOUT IS NOT JUST BEING TIRED

I have experienced burnout myself, and it made me look again at what I had seen around me for years. Burnout is not just being tired. It can look like exhaustion that sleep does not fix, feeling increasingly detached or negative about work, feeling inadequate despite working constantly, losing a sense of accomplishment, becoming less productive, or quietly realising that the career you once loved no longer feels possible. That can feel like a kick in the teeth when music has been your life. Many people in this industry are driven by deep commitment. They do not want to let artists down, miss opportunities or seem unable to cope. So they keep going. And the culture often rewards that, even when it is damaging them.

We have all seen the results: chronic overworking framed as drive, erratic communication, anxiety, loss of confidence, drink or drugs becoming a way to switch off, physical health problems caused or worsened by stress, relationships suffering, children getting less of a parent than they deserve. People leave not because they lack talent, ambition or resilience, but because the way the industry works becomes incompatible with having a life.

A NEW PILOT WITH MITC

This is why I have created a new pilot programme with the Music Industry Therapist Collective CIC. MITC understands the reality of music from the inside. Its team includes therapists and psychologists who have worked in the industry themselves, so the support is not generic. It is built around the pressures, patterns and culture of the business.

Electronic music has always been brilliant at energy and innovation, but we are not yet good at nurture. We talk constantly about developing artists, building audiences and growing businesses. We talk less about how we develop and protect the people working behind the scenes: the agents, managers, promoters, assistants, label teams, publicists, tour managers, production teams, event staff and executives who keep the ecosystem moving.

For me, this is especially urgent for people at entry to mid-level. They are often under huge pressure without much power. They are trying to prove themselves, build trust, stay visible and say yes. I know that stage, and I know how easy it is to mistake constant availability for value.

The way many of us worked hard and played hard in our early twenties is not sustainable for a whole career. It is not sustainable if you want to raise a family, have relationships, care for your body, or have interests outside work. The younger generation expects something different. They are not wrong to want proper boundaries, healthier cultures and clearer support. Music needs to modernise in how it looks after its own. That does not mean lowering ambition. It means building careers people can survive and grow within.

The Electronic Music Executive Stress Management Programme is a six-month, fully funded pilot for five entry to mid-level professionals working in dance music. It includes one-to-one career mentoring with me, six sessions of performance psychology, four months of weekly psychotherapy with a specialist MITC therapist, Vedic meditation training, psychoeducation around stress and resilience, and a copy of Touring and Mental Health: the Music Industry Manual.

It is not a tokenistic wellbeing gesture or a one-off talk. It is structured, preventative support designed to give people space, tools and reflection before pressure damages their confidence, health or career. People need somewhere to tune in to the quieter voices within themselves, not only the urgent voices of clients, colleagues, artists and deadlines. They need ways to restore their energy, understand their patterns, develop boundaries and stay connected to who they are outside work.

WHAT WE’D LIKE TO SEE ACROSS THE AFEM COMMUNITY

I hope applications come from a diverse range of people across electronic music, including those who may not normally have access to this kind of therapeutic, psychological and career support. I also hope this programme encourages others to act. Five places will not change the industry on their own, but they can show what is possible.

I would love to see more organisations and individuals across the AFEM community invest in similar support: funded therapy, mentoring, performance psychology, peer support, preventative welfare initiatives, whatever is right for their part of the industry. Support should become part of career development, not an emergency measure.

Electronic music will always involve pressure. That pressure is part of its energy. But it should not push talented people out, damage their health, or stop them becoming the leaders they could be.

If we want this industry to keep evolving, we have to look after the people who make it work.

Apply using the link below.

Deadline: 1 June 2026

Maria May

Electronic Music Agent, Creative Artists Agency