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LOS ANGELES — Although music is often their solace, a recent study commissioned by the University of Westminster showed that people working in the music industry may be up to three times more likely to experience depression, compared to the public.
While prioritizing mental health and wellness can be challenging, Meta is using its platform to promote mental health with pioneers in the music industry.
As head of the nonprofit organization called Girls Make Beats, Tiffany Miranda knows what it’s like to be the only girl in the room. She fell in love with singing at 11 years old and quickly realized that the music industry was dominated by men.
“A lot of the creative control was coming from men in the room telling me who I should be, what I should wear, what a young girl should be in society and there was just always a huge disconnect for me,” she explained.
It inspired her to learn the ins and outs of music production, never expecting to fall completely in love with audio engineering.
Her journey to this point has been a continual battle with isolating moments of self doubt and uncertainty, but Miranda said she found creativity and empowerment behind the boards.
“I went through so many challenges as a young girl navigating these spaces, but eventually have been able to work with a lot of heavy hip hop hitters like DJ Khaled and Lil Uzi Vert and French Montana and a lot of time, their response was that they had never worked with a woman before,” she said.
It’s why she launched Girls Make Beats, a nonprofit organization teaching the next generation of female music producers, DJs and audio engineers.
Tiffany says she wants to be the guidance she didn’t have, not just in the music space, but also in dealing with mental health.
“We’ve had testimonials from the girls and parents themselves that they are struggling with depression or with suicidal thoughts and music has been an outlet for them,” she added.
It’s a safe space for expression that social media conglomerate Meta says it also shares with music, so Meta recently launched an event series with a focus on health and wellness and a panel featuring Tiffany and other women in the music industry.
The woman behind this initiative, Tolu Ayeni says they designed Meta Women in Music to build community in person and on their platforms and bring women and femme identifying artists closer together.
“We can’t show up for the people for the people we love, we can’t show up for the communities if we don’t take care of ourselves,” Ayeni explained. “I always think about when you’re on the plane and they always say put your mask on first before you help others.”
Whether it’s setting boundaries, working out, or journaling, she said. For Tiffany, it was becoming a mom that helped her discover what self care looked like through her lens.
“Stepping into motherhood really made me take a look at myself and say I need to be good so I can be a better mother,” she said.
Now, a better mentor too, paving the way for the many girls who will follow in her footsteps.
Some reasons for declining mental health reported in the study include poor working conditions, the lack of recognition for the hard work that goes into their craft and for women respondents, the difficulties of navigating motherhood and a career.