Supporting the Mental Wellness of Artists, Creators and Support Staff through 'B-side' at Sony Music Entertainment (Japan)

Supporting the Mental Wellness of Artists, Creators and Support Staff through "B-side" at Sony Music Entertainment (Japan)

October 10, 2023

October 10th is World Mental Health Day. Established by the World Federation for Mental Health in 1992 to raise awareness, combat stigma and promote accurate knowledge about mental health issues, the day later gained the sponsorship of the World Health Organization (WHO), making it an official international day.

Sony is dedicated to supporting creators, who are the source of generating kando. As societal instability has increased, so too has the importance of creating an environment in which creators can immerse themselves in their work in a healthful manner, both mentally and physically. In 2021, Sony Music Entertainment (Japan) launched an initiative called "B-side" to support the mental and physical health of the artists, creators and staff at each of its Group companies.

For this edition of the Corporate Blog, we spoke with Airi Tokutome of Sony Music Labels, who promotes "B-side".

Supporting the mental and physical wellbeing of artists, creators and staff with "B-side"

--What inspired the creation of "B-side"?

I've been involved in artist management for many years, first at Sony Music Artists, a talent management company, and later at Sony Music Labels. Among my generation, there was an expectation that people would "power through," as well as an implicit understanding that managers would handle everything related to artists. However, with various recent societal shifts such as the rise of social media changing the dynamics between artists and fans, I felt that it shouldn't just be the managers looking after the artists and creators' mental and physical wellbeing, and that we should have a system in place that supports them from a variety of perspectives.

So, in September 2021, we launched "B-side" to provide professional support for artists, creators and their staff, and assist them with any mental health struggles they may have.

The project's name, "B-side," signifies that we not only support the A-side (the public self) but also the B-side (the inner self), and it also conveys our sentiment of wanting to always remain "beside" our artists, creators and staff.

--Specifically, what kinds of support does the project offer?

As a major pillar, we offer counseling by clinical psychotherapists or certified psychologists.

Also, we offer an online medical consultation service called "first call" that anyone can call to seek advice about physical concerns anonymously 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. Other services include an optional annual routine check-up, including a mental health check, and regula workshops on mental health and self-care as part of our internal awareness initiatives.

Increasing awareness and expanding the user base

--It's been two years since the project started in 2021. How has the response been so far?

The project is gradually gaining attention both inside and outside the company. More and more people, even those I rarely speak to, have approached me to ask about "B-side". There has also been an increased number of individuals from other companies who want to learn more about it.

--In 2023 you have held an awareness event held at the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare, and additionally the President of Sony Music Entertainment (Japan), Shunsuke Muramatsu, has appeared as a guest speaker on the Podcast and YouTube program "B-side Talk." Can you share anything about these initiatives?

Given that October 10th is World Mental Health Day, we wanted to take this opportunity to raise awareness about "B-side" activities and the importance of mental health. We had spoken with the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare at the time of the project's launch, and they suggested that we do something together this year.

As for "B-side Talk", it was established about a year ago as a casual platform to discuss mental health issues. We have invited various experts and celebrities onto the show as guests, and for the October 10th episode, we asked Shunsuke Muramatsu to appear and talk about his experiences along with the project's various initiatives.

Expanding across the industry

--What are your aspirations for the future of this project?

Initially, the project targeted only artists and creators under exclusive management contracts with us and our staff, but we're now slowly broadening its scope. Ideally, we'd like the "B-side" to be utilized throughout the music industry, beyond the confines of our company. Many things need to be set in place for this vision, and right now we are focused on steadily making that happen.

In addition to "B-side", Sony Music Group has been working outside of Japan as well to provide an environment where music artists can immerse in their craft in a healthful manner, both mentally and physically, through Sony Music's "Artists Forward" and Sony Music Publishing's "Songwriters Forward" projects.

Sony will continue to support diverse talent in maximizing their creativity.

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