Rock’s Health Angel

By Mary Ouellette

With health insurance a hot topic in the upcoming presidential election, it seems everyone has an opinion ~ unfortunately, not everyone has health insurance. There’s one notable industry that is lacking proper coverage ~ the music scene. Artists who log heavy hours on the road and in the studio have rarely had this benefit. This seems like a gross injustice to Rock for Health founder Kristina Grossmann.

What started out as a college assignment quickly became her passion. Named an official non-profit organization in October 2007, Rock for Health comes from Grossmann’s love for music and respect for the artists who make it. Originally created to provide a few musicians with information on all health care related questions and concerns, Rock for Health has transformed almost overnight into the go-to place for musicians interested in coverage. Grossmann’s life has changed overnight as well from that of a carefree college student to 24/7 advocate. She and vice-president Jasmine Hagans have lost some friends and free time, but she feels that what she’s doing is important enough to make those sacrifices.

“Think about this,” says Grossmann. “Music exists because of the artists creating it. Record labels exist because of the artists creating that music. The employees of record labels, everyone from the mail room guys to the CEO, all have health insurance and benefits. Yet, these people all have jobs because of the artists. The artists see no benefits, no health insurance, nothing. Musicians are not seen as employees of a record label. They are temporary employees because of the record contract that they signed. They sign their career and lives over to these labels, which help develop it and help it grow.”

Grossmann finds that a major problem is educating record companies.

“I was in talks with a major label whom I used to intern for a few months ago, when I was telling them about my company,” says Grossmann. “One of the executives had NO idea that their artists had no health care. It’s a full-time job for these musicians, and it is ludicrous that they see no benefits. The label has been extremely supportive of us since learning about this. 96% of musicians lack health care, a number that a lot of people do not know. It is something that not a lot of people think about!”

Dubbed the “Health Angel” by Your Vegas, one of the bands that has benefited from Rock for Health’s campaign, Grossmann has big plans for the future. She hopes Rock for Health will be able to “sponsor research that studies common ailments in musicians and the underlying cause of them ~ for example, an ear, nose, and throat doctor studying a singer’s vocal chords.”

Rock for Health is also approaching labels that currently take a cut out of all of the artists’ incomes and is encouraging them to put that money towards forming artists’ health plans.

Grossmann spends a lot of her time on tour with bands to raise awareness in the music community. This summer you can catch Rock for Health on Warped Tour, hitting The Tweeter Center in Mansfield, MA on July 23.

“We will have a booth set up in the non-profit section where we will have lots of fun things, information, and merchandise,” says Grossmann. “We will be bringing in exercise instructors on various dates for the artists to take advantage of, as well as giving all the musicians on tour our health resource manual which contains locations for each city on Warped of free clinics, pharmacies, hospitals, tour diet tips, and tour recipes. Everything a musician would need to survive this tour!”

In the short time since its inception, Rock for Health has impacted the music world, empowering musicians to obtain information about the health care they deserve. It continues to rage on, bringing the power of healthy living to those about to rock, and for that, we salute them.

Visit Rock for Health’s website: www.rockforhealth.org or MySpace: www.myspace.com/rockforhealth.

Photo: Kristina Grossmann with band Your Vegas