‘Fatigue Management Remains the Biggest Challenge’: Why Live Nation is Evolving its Approach to Crew Wellbeing

Touring at scale has always demanded resilience. Long hours, relentless travel, compressed schedules, and the unspoken expectation to “push through” have long been baked into the live music economy, particularly at the arena and stadium level.

But as conversations around mental health become more central across the music industry, major operators are being forced to interrogate what duty of care really looks like behind the scenes – not just for artists, but for the crews who make tours possible.

In Australasia, Live Nation has been quietly evolving its approach to wellbeing across large-scale touring operations, including integrating Support Act mental health workers directly into touring environments.

Steve Wheadon, VP Production & Logistics at Live Nation Australasia, has spent decades working at the coalface of touring, overseeing some of the largest and most complex productions to come through the region.

The Music Network sat down with Wheadon, who speaks candidly about why embedding mental health support into touring operations has become a practical necessity, what the company has learned from crews across genres and scales, and how these insights are informing changes to staffing, fatigue management and touring culture.

The Music Network: Why was it important to Live Nation, as one of the country’s biggest promoters, to embed mental health workers into your touring operations – particularly tours of the size and scale of Oasis, Metallica, etc.? Was there a specific incident or moment within the industry that catalysed this backstage support model?

Steve Wheadon: Touring sits outside a traditional work rhythm. The hours, travel and lack of routine can place pressure on crews, so embedding Support Act mental health workers was a practical and considered extension of our duty of care. It means support is available within the touring environment itself, rather than asking people to seek help elsewhere.

There was no single catalyst. This has been an incremental shift driven by experience and improved understanding of touring pressures. In New Zealand, Merlin Mills and Backstage Support Services demonstrated the value of on-tour support, and in the UK, Live Nation helped launch Tamsin Embleton’s Touring and Mental Health resource and its recent audiobook release, both of which contributed to wider industry awareness. As conversations around mental health have become more routine, the focus has been on making steady, practical improvements to how touring work is delivered.

What have you learnt about the universality of mental health challenges across different genres, touring scales, and even cultural backgrounds of touring crews?

One of the most consistent themes across tours is fatigue, alongside the legacy of male-dominated production environments that historically encouraged a “push through” mentality. That culture is changing as the gender mix improves and as younger crew bring a more open and informed approach to mental health. Backstage conversations are more open and candid, which supports earlier identification of pressure points and a healthier working environment overall.

What are the common pain points? Are these issues Live Nation could address operationally, or are they inherent to the nature of touring itself?

Fatigue management remains the biggest challenge. The economics of world touring often require fitting the maximum number of shows into limited timeframes, and Australia’s geography amplifies that pressure. While routing and timelines are largely fixed as part of global tours, staffing structures are an area where we can make meaningful adjustments. We have introduced additional support roles on larger tours to reduce the burden on key staff who were previously first in and last out each day. This is something we continue to assess and refine as touring models evolve.

Are you seeing this program change backstage culture? Is mental health becoming less stigmatised as a topic of conversation among crews?

Similar programs in New Zealand and the UK are helping to normalise mental health support backstage. Stigma will always exist for some people, and that is okay. The service is there for those who want it and is not mandatory. One of the most positive outcomes has been the way casual, everyday conversations have opened up, whether in catering or during downtime, around topics like fatigue, therapy and wellbeing.

Have you had situations where crew have been afraid to speak up because of concerns about job security or being seen as unable to handle the work? What do you do to reassure them that’s not something they should worry about?

Confidentiality is essential. Many crew work as contractors and understandably worry that showing vulnerability could affect future opportunities. The presence of independent, confidential support helps address that concern. Catching issues early generally leads to better outcomes, and the availability of these services has also made some crew more comfortable raising fatigue-related concerns so practical adjustments can be made where possible.

How are you measuring success beyond “positive feedback”? Are there metrics around repeat conversations, helpline usage post-tour, or longer-term wellbeing outcomes?

We receive high-level reporting on engagement and recurring themes such as fatigue. These aggregated insights help inform broader operational decisions, including staffing, fatigue management and diversity initiatives. Confidentiality remains critical, so all data is anonymised and shared only as impersonal statistics with no identifying information.

What does the future look like? Is Live Nation looking to make this standard practice across all major (arena/stadium) tours? What about mid-size or smaller tours?

The touring landscape continues to evolve, and our support models evolve alongside it. One recent development has been touring a single Support Act clinician across multiple cities to provide greater continuity for crews. We will continue to review and refine the approach.

Our broader aim is to embed mental health support within our overall health and safety framework, whether delivered in person, online or by phone. Because crews often move between employers and tours, the focus is on ensuring access to support while working with us and encouraging ongoing connection to services beyond our tours.

Will you change touring practices in response to concerns if there are issues clearly affecting a majority?

Yes. We are always looking for ways to make touring a safe, productive and enjoyable environment to work in. The insights we receive through reporting directly inform how we refine and improve our touring practices over time.

Could you see this model extending beyond tours to festivals, venue operations, or corporate touring staff?

This is already happening. In New Zealand, similar services operate across festivals and venues, and across Australasia our teams have access to EAP and Better Help. The Support Act program on stadium tours is open to everyone working on the show, including venue staff and contractors. Festival teams also have dedicated support structures, with additional organisations contributing to this space, including CrewCare in Australia.

Would Live Nation share learnings with other promoters – including smaller ones – to help raise industry standards?

Of course.

The music industry has a reputation for burning people out and grinding them down. Does a program like this risk being seen as a band-aid on a fundamentally unsustainable work culture? What else needs to change structurally?

The touring industry has operated for decades and continues to adapt as expectations, systems and pressures change. That doesn’t mean burnout isn’t real, or that it shouldn’t be addressed. Mental health support is not a standalone solution, but it is an important part of a broader approach to improving working conditions. By embedding support into touring environments, we gain earlier insight into pressure points and can make more informed, structural improvements over time.