In May, I wrote a column (reprinted below) for Billboard magazine, essentially the Bible of the music industry. It was a pointed indictment on an industry that has turned a blind eye toward the mental, emotional, and physical safety of artists for decades. The response from large music groups (Warner, Sony & Universal) was immediate and seemingly sincere, but systemic change is sadly still only talk.

On the heels of Mental Health Awareness Month, the music community would be remiss to not critically examine the mental health of the most vulnerable among us — specifically, the child and youth labor that represents a significant portion of our market share, revenues, and slots on the new-artist charts. The state of our entertainment union, one that seemingly venerates youth above all else, ironically puts a shamefully low value on artists' holistic well-being, putting them in myriad situations that are age-inappropriate, and that are dangerous mentally, emotionally and physically.

The discussion of youth safety in the workplace is hardly new and as the recent documentary about abuses at Nickelodeon — Quiet on the Set: The Dark Side of Kids TV — showed, we’ve seen embarrassing and tragic cases of the industry putting commerce before conscience. Having only minimal guardrails in place, such practices have resulted in mental health damages that........

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