Steph’s story

Steph began her music career at 19, moving to London to study performance at BIMM. But halfway through, she realised singing was no longer sparking joy. ​“It was killing my love for music,” she says. A breakthrough came when she excelled in a business module, shifting her focus to the world behind-the-scenes. After a Master’s in Music Management and Artist Development she began interning at one of her favourite labels. She gained hands-on experience in tour management and radio plugging, spending six years at a heavy music PR agency before landing a promoter role at Live Nation. 

But when the pandemic hit, Steph was made redundant. ​“It triggered a lot of trauma,” she admits. That loss became a turning point: she launched her own management and consultancy business to support artists, especially those feeling lost or overwhelmed by the industry. While the business thrived, she suppressed her own emotional struggles – until burnout hit. That’s when she discovered therapy. 

Being in therapy confirmed what she suspected; that she was overwhelmed and running on empty. Together with her therapist, Steph worked on setting professional boundaries, after which ​“I told all my artists, ​‘I need you to do more. I can’t keep carrying all of this alone.’” In search of stability and balance, Steph even took a part-time job at Royal Mail. ​“It gave me structure, time away from screens, and a weird kind of clarity. Just delivering parcels helped me mentally reset.” 

However, while this initial period of therapy helped Steph identify some important things about herself and working with others, she felt like her therapist didn’t understand the full extent of her situation as they had no understanding of the music industry.

Music Minds Matter became a lifeline. She joined peer support groups for managers and agents, which offered not just advice, but deep understanding. ​“Everyone was dealing with similar things – burnout, difficult artist relationships, setting boundaries. Just knowing there were others like me was a relief.” 

The facilitator of her peer support group – a trained therapist already working with Music Minds Matter – later became Steph’s personal therapist too, funded by Music Minds Matter. ​“It was amazing because I already felt comfortable. And he understands the music industry – so when I talk about tour trauma or redundancy, I don’t have to explain everything from scratch.” 

Steph’s current workload is vast and varied. ​“No day is the same,” she says. From touring, social media and release campaigns to chasing royalties and running her label imprint, she manages every facet of her artists’ careers. ​“Ultimately, my income comes from their income, so I have to make sure they’re maximising every opportunity.” 

But the job also involves emotional labour. Many of her artists are neurodivergent or recovering from addiction and Steph was recently diagnosed with ADHD herself. ​“It helped me understand why I was reacting the way I was with them. That emotional hypersensitivity – it finally made sense.” 

Therapy helped her recognise patterns from her past and rebuild a healthier routine. Structured methods like CBT weren’t a fit for her ADHD, but talking worked. ​“Therapy feels like carrying a load that slowly gets lighter. It’s not about fixing, it’s about understanding.” 

She also uses tools like the Finch app to stay on top of basic self-care. ​“You tick off tasks and get dopamine rewards. It’s a small thing but it works.” 

Now, Steph is passionate about making knowledge accessible. ​“When I see the lightbulb go off for someone, that’s why I do this. Because knowledge shouldn’t be gatekept.” 

“Music Minds Matter changed everything for me,” she says. ​“Therapy is the gym for your brain and we all need it.”