At a latest membership gig in Mumbai, a younger lighting assistant was cornered in a inexperienced room by a senior crew member. She didn’t converse up—not as a result of she didn’t wish to, however as a result of she didn’t know who to go to. “I simply needed to hold my head down and get the job completed,” she anonymously advised me. No HR in sight, no complaints desk, and no assure of safety. For a lot of in India’s music business—crew members, session musicians, interns, even artists—that is the fact, and the silence it forces is deafening.
Not like company environments or movie units, the music business is constructed on fragile, casual ecosystems—freelancers, indie promoters, short-term contracts—the place energy dynamics skew closely in direction of these in cost. In such a setup, talking up isn’t simply dangerous; it might finish your profession. The unstated rule is straightforward: keep quiet, or don’t get referred to as for the following gig. This poisonous tradition thrives exactly as a result of nobody is tasked with safeguarding the individuals who hold the present operating.
So, the place are the protected areas in music? And why, in 2025, is security nonetheless handled as a privilege fairly than a primary proper?
Globally, main festivals and artists have begun addressing this. As an illustration, Olivia Rodrigo set a brand new benchmark throughout her 2024–25 Guts World Tour by paying for therapy for her entire touring crew, each on and off the highway. Her guitarist, Daisy Spencer, referred to as it “one of many coolest issues that’s ever occurred on tour” and credited it with serving to her work by means of long-standing private trauma. When a pop star with a 100-show schedule throughout six continents can prioritize the psychological well-being of her group, it’s clear that security and care should not simply doable—they’re overdue. The query is: why can’t Indian promoters and venues, even on a smaller scale, undertake this mindset?
Don’t get me flawed, just a few large-scale gamers are making an effort. BookMyShow Stay is one in all them. “At BookMyShow Stay, security will not be an afterthought; it’s the blueprint on which each occasion is meticulously constructed,” says Naman Pugalia, Chief Enterprise Officer of Stay Occasions, BookMyShow Stay. They undertake worldwide frameworks just like the UK’s Inexperienced Information, guaranteeing crowd management, real-time communication, and higher emergency planning. However what stands out is their strategy to inclusivity. At Lollapalooza India 2025, for instance, accessibility and psychological security have been intentionally constructed into the pageant—wheelchair-friendly layouts, shuttle providers for these with mobility challenges, and protected zones staffed with educated counsellors. Crew members have been sensitized on pronouns, consent, and respectful conduct. These steps could appear apparent, however in India’s stay scene, they’re revolutionary.
Equally, NH7 Weekender has lengthy handled security as a part of its DNA, not only a pageant guidelines. “For the previous 15 years, NH7 Weekender has led the best way in inclusivity and equal illustration,” says Tej Brar, Head of Festivals at NODWIN Gaming. Their psychological well being tent, staffed with professionals, is likely one of the few seen acknowledgements that emotional well-being issues in an surroundings the place persons are usually pushed to their limits. These measures present what occurs when organizers select accountability over tokenism.
Magnetic Fields Festival, too, has made emotional welfare a precedence with its devoted Tatva tent. I’ve skilled this myself—watching distressed attendees stroll into the tent and emerge calmer, supported by educated volunteers who perceive each hurt discount and psychological well being first assist. It’s proof that even in India, with restricted budgets, protected areas might be constructed with intention.
Rahul Ganjoo, CEO of District by Zomato, emphasizes that security protocols at their occasions are handled with the identical rigor as manufacturing and efficiency. “We take incidents of bodily harassment extraordinarily critically. Our licensed SOP ensures a swift, delicate, and efficient response: victims are supplied speedy medical help, a chosen protected house, and the autonomy to determine subsequent steps—together with whether or not to file a proper grievance,” he says. This degree of proactive care ought to be normal, however all too not often is.
Globally, the blueprint for crew and fan welfare is increasing. Beyoncé reportedly ready crew-wide psychological well being help providers throughout her Renaissance World Tour—an acknowledgment that touring can take severe emotional tolls and have to be managed proactively. Coldplay’s Chris Martin has publicly emphasised psychological wellness practices like meditation and journaling, whereas the band has carried out wellness initiatives to help its group on tour. Past particular person artists, organizations akin to Backline within the U.S. now join artists and tour crews to vetted psychological healthcare suppliers attuned to the pressures of touring life. Equally, nonprofits like MusiCares and HeartSupport supply steady wellness providers for music professionals, not simply throughout occasions however all year long.
In India particularly, for each Lollapalooza India, NH7 Weekender, or Magnetic Fields, there are tons of of smaller indie reveals, membership nights, and school festivals that haven’t any harassment insurance policies, no educated first responders, no accessible infrastructure, and no psychological well being help. Inexperienced rooms stay unmonitored, and excursions usually run with minimal oversight, making them breeding grounds for poisonous conduct. Many artists and crew members nonetheless recount experiences the place inappropriate conduct was brushed apart as “a part of the scene.”
However right here’s the reality: security isn’t a luxurious reserved for artists with Olivia Rodrigo-level budgets. It’s about priorities. Even small reveals can have a chosen protected level of contact, workers educated on consent, and emergency protocols in place. It’s about seeing crew members and followers as people, not simply disposable cogs in a machine.
Music is meant to be a sanctuary—an area the place folks be happy, linked, and understood. However when an artist can’t step backstage with out worrying about harassment, or a younger lady working her first gig has to maintain her head right down to keep away from hassle, we have now to ask ourselves: what sort of business are we constructing?
Till we cease treating security as an afterthought and begin embedding it into each degree of stay music, from the tiniest pub gigs to the largest festivals, all our discuss of a “progressive” music scene is simply lip service. If artists like Olivia Rodrigo can construct remedy into the very cloth of a world tour, and festivals from Coachella to Magnetic Fields are designing psychological well being protected zones, there’s no excuse for the remainder of the business to do much less. As a result of in any case, if the business can pour tens of millions into pyro, LED partitions, and headline acts, why can’t it make investments the identical power into defending its folks?