Bespoke training and support for music industry professionals
Tonic Rider
Our Supporters
Testimonials
Sarah Sharp
Postgraduate Researcher in Popular Music and Mental Health, University of East Anglia
Taking part in Tonic Rider's training courses and social events have encouraged me to become a better researcher and musician. I gave up playing the guitar due to confidence issues from past music education, but having met kind people in the industry, I now feel an urge to continue. Talking to others at Tonic reminds me why I started my PhD research in Popular Music and Mental Health, as the topic is very important to those of us it has affected. Thank you Tonic.
Dom Elton
Mayfield Records
Having completed six sessions of the Tonic Rider Peer Support Group, I have found the experience to be of great value, both personally and professionally.
Working within an industry that has been so adversely affected by the events of the last two years, these sessions have provided both comfort and guidance. They allowed me to articulate a number of concerns that I would have found difficult to disclose with friends, family and colleagues.
The nature of the group, with associated like-minded anxieties and concerns within a fragile music industry, allowed for a productive forum to set a framework for improvement. The diverse nature of the group meant that some themes discussed resonated well, whilst with others, I was happy to sit back and absorb. Nonetheless, the whole experience proved insightful. Thank you Tonic.
Damian Morgan
Mango MGMT
Being amongst a group of peers from all walks of the entertainment world, who were all so open and honest, was incredible. We all bonded very quickly, and over the six weeks that the Peer Support Group ran, we became a tight-knit group. I looked forward to seeing them all every week. And even if that week had been a ‘good’ one, just being there for others, and hearing their stories, was so worthwhile, and in fact vital. When a few of us met at the 100 Club a few weeks after the end of the sessions, we felt like we’d been friends for life.
Kirsty MacLeod
Music Researcher
I completed a Mental Health First Aider course through Tonic Rider, enabling me to better support those that worked in and visited our record shop.
In the process, they helped me better understand my own mental health, whilst providing me with a support network of like minded people.
Brett Leboff
Artist Manager / Drummer
What Tonic has done, and is continuing to do, is provide a platform for musicians and music industry professionals, where we know that anyone who is at a Tonic event is likely receptive to the sharing of personal issues and discussing mental health. I also know that, if I was really struggling, I could email or phone any of the Tonic team to share that I am not OK, and that they would help me.
Tonic really is a vital organisation. I feel it’s pivotal for this conversation to grow and support more of us in the music industry, becoming more effective as time goes on.
To see the beginning of a new era where this conversation is pushed into the mainstream of the industry, making it acceptable to speak openly about our vulnerabilities, will no doubt have a profound and positive effect on future generations of artists (and their art), as well as industry pros. This transformation will come as a direct consequence of the work Tonic is doing.