Sony Music Entertainment (Japan) Inc. has expanded its free support system for artists suffering from mental disorders at a time when online abuse has increased and awareness of mental health issues is spreading.

The main pillar of the support program is in-person counseling by clinical psychologists and certified psychotherapists.

An external service is also available, in which physicians provide online counseling for mental and physical concerns at any time of the day.

Both services are free and can be used anonymously.

The company began offering this service, named “B-side,” in autumn 2021. It widened the service to other companies starting in fall 2024.

Sony Music Entertainment said it recognized that artists may need support not only for their “A-side” in the public eye but also for their “B-side” in everyday life.

In addition to artists and actors under contract with the company, staff members who work directly with the entertainers are also eligible for support.

The content of the talks is shared only between the individual and the consultation professional.

The reason behind this rare initiative is that negative opinions are more likely to directly reach artists through social media and other online means, and mental health has become a major issue in the industry, according to Sony Music Entertainment.

The project was initiated by Airi Tokutome, who has been managing artists for nearly 30 years at a group company of Sony Music Entertainment.

In the past, it was “common practice in the industry” for managers to provide mental health care for their artists.

However, Tokutome felt there was a limit to what managers could do.

Social media and other online platforms have made artists today more vulnerable to direct negative feedback, insults, abuse and even libel.

Tokutome had seen and heard of cases in which artists who were abused online suffered from physical and mental problems that hurt their live performances.

After the COVID-19 pandemic spread in spring 2020, music concerts were canceled, and many artists voiced concerns, including financial ones.

Around autumn 2020, Tokutome gathered volunteers from within the company, put together the general framework of the project, and went directly to the company president.

She immediately received the go-ahead for the B-side project, for which the company covers all the costs.

“I explained to the company president that the presence of artists enables us to do business,” Tokutome said.

She said she believes the service will contribute to the company’s business in the long run. As new artists become aware of this support system, their confidence in the company will increase, she said.

Although the number of consultations is undisclosed, the number has risen every year, Tokutome said.

Tatsuya Nomura, president of the Federation of Music Producers Japan, an industry organization that works to protect the rights of musicians, has been closely watching the situation at Sony Music Entertainment.

Nomura is also the president of Hip Land Music Corp., an agency that represents popular rock band Sakanaction and others.

He said he was aware of the crisis regarding artists’ mental problems.

“In the past, when artists complained of mental health problems, we would just say, ‘Work hard,’” he said. “Now, however, the importance of mental health is gaining recognition, and the industry as a whole needs to take action (like B-side).”

Nomura and Tokutome, who had known each other before, started exchanging information about B-side activities after the project’s inception.

After about a year, they agreed to expand the initiative to other companies in the industry.

Tokutome and her colleagues made it possible for other companies in the same industry to use B-side’s services if they sign a contract with Sony Music Entertainment.

The project has now signed contracts with seven organizations, including counselor groups, to offer a wider range of services than it did at the beginning.

Three of the contracts have been signed since last November, and discussions are now being held with a fourth company.

However, the project is not just looking for new contracts, Tokutome said.

“The nature of mental health cases requires us to take all possible measures to create a system to protect information,” she said. “I think it would be good to proceed with caution, and at the end of the process, we should be able to see how far we’ve come.”