Balancing Art and Care: caregiving in the music industry

Meeting | Networking | Discussion / Panel
Working in the music industry can be demanding — but what happens when you are also a caregiver? Whether raising children, supporting a family member, or caring for a loved one with special needs, many people working in music navigate a complex and often invisible balancing act between their professional lives and caregiving responsibilities. In this panel, we bring together musicians as well as music professionals working in different parts of the field — from artistic practice to structural roles such as booking, programming, and organizing. Together they reflect on the challenges of sustaining a career in an industry that often demands flexibility, mobility, and constant availability — conditions that can be difficult to combine with caregiving. Touring schedules, irregular working hours, financial uncertainty, and limited structural support can make this balance particularly challenging. At the same time, caregiving can also shape creative and professional perspectives in powerful ways, fostering resilience, empathy, and new ways of building community.This conversation opens up space to reflect on both the pressures and the strengths that come with combining care and work in the music sector — and on how the industry itself might evolve to better support those who carry both roles.