George Musgrave (academic)

George Musgrave FRSA is an academic studying the psychological experiences and working conditions of creative careers, with a focus on mental health and wellbeing in the music industry. He is based at Goldsmiths, University of London. He has previously held positions at the University of Westminster and has been a guest lecturer at New York University.

Musgrave is also a rapper and performs under the stage-name of Context. He released his debut mixtape ''Dialectics'' in 2008, ''Mental Breakdown Music'' in 2009, the EPs ''Stealing My Older Brother's Tapes'' and ''Hindsight is the Purest Form of Romance'' in 2014, and the album ''The England No One Cares About (Soundtrack)'' in 2024.

Early life and education

Musgrave went to Wymondham College from 2000 to 2005, and achieved a first-class degree in Social and Political Sciences at the University of Cambridge in 2009. He then went on to do an MA in Politics, Philosophy and Economics in 2010 and completed his ESRC funded PhD at the Centre for Competition Policy at the University of East Anglia in 2014

Academic career

He is the co-author of Can Music Make You Sick? alongside Sally Anne Gross. This two-part report published in 2016 and 2017, and subsequent book in 2020 published by University of Westminster Press, examined the relationship between mental health conditions (principally anxiety and depression) and the nature of working in the music industry. The book draws on survey and interview data, alongside Jodi Dean's concept of communicative capitalism, to explore how digitalisation and a state of abundant musical production has changed the way in which musicians experience building a career. They suggest that musical ambition is based on a series of status' rooted in the nature of music as labour ('the status of work'), how value and reputation is acquired and understood ('the status of value') and the impact this comes to have on musicians' closest relationships ('the status of relationships'), and that each of these status' can come to harm the emotional and mental wellbeing of musicians.

The research - described as "the largest known study into mental health and the music industry" - led directly to the establishment of the first 24/7 mental health helpline for musicians - Music Minds Matter - launched by the charity Help Musicians UK in 2017. The research has informed the work of organisations including Communion (Berlin), NHS Wales and the Music Managers Forum, and was supported by music industry figures including Grant Hutchison of Frightened Rabbit, Adam Ficek and Shaun Ryder of the Happy Mondays. Upon release, the book was an Amazon Number 1 Best Seller in the 'Sociology of Work' category.

His research has been featured by media outlets including BBC News, Pitchfork, GQ, The Financial Times, BBC Music Introducing, The New York Times and more. Musgrave has also written articles on mental health for BBC Three and Crack Magazine, and in 2024 was an invited guest on BBC Radio 4's 'Split Ends'. He has also published research on the ways in which cultural intermediaries create value for musical work, mental health and wellbeing in the gig economy, autoethnography as a qualitative research methodology for arts researchers, the documentary Avicii – True Stories, defining cultural entrepreneurship, ethical decision-making by music managers, and music careers as a form of gambling.

His second book entitled 'The England No One Cares About: Lyrics from Suburbia' was published by Goldsmiths Press/MIT Press in 2024. Upon publication it was named 'Book of the Month' by Crack Magazine, and was a Amazon Top 10 Best Seller in Music and Philosophy.

Music career

Musgrave began his career in music in 2008 under the stage-name Context whilst enrolled as a student. After releasing his debut mixtapes ''Dialectics'' in 2008 and ''Mental Breakdown Music'' in 2009, he gained some recognition for his 2010 single "Off with their Heads" which featured Vertex of Marvell and a cameo from Ed Sheeran. The video was featured on MTV. He then released the single "Listening to Burial" in 2011 which was featured on BBC Radio 1's national playlist.

In 2012, he was the winner of MTV's Brand New For 2012 unsigned competition, beating Clement Marfo, Charli XCX and Lana Del Rey on the channel's hotly tipped list. Musgrave was recognised as a "brainy rapper" as he was currently studying his PhD whilst pursuing his rap career in 2012. He released a "Fire in the Booth" freestyle with Charlie Sloth

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