Gear doesn't play itself, and it means nothing if the player can't play.

Yet two out of three drummers say they've had physical issues from playing, and most don't do anything until it hurts. In music, we bury problems and only act once something's gone wrong.

But this isn't just about injury.

In sport, you can't express your technique without training the body behind it. Athletes train to remove the physical bottlenecks holding their technique back, so they can perform better whilst creating a protective buffer for themselves.

Musicians should be no different.

Sport made that shift years ago, and the biggest brands look after the athlete, not just their kit.

Music is yet to catch up on a cultural level.

The problem is that most of our industry is transactional. Even the biggest productions hire their players as self-employed, so the risk always sits with the musician. And unless they have the mindset of an athlete (which is very rare), they don't know what they should be doing outside the practice room to both enhance their ability on their instrument and build the buffer that will allow them to play at their best (and pain-free) for years to come.

This is where a brand's partnership with its artists comes in. It can last for years, and it's one of the few long-lasting partnerships an artist has. That's why you're best placed to change this.

You support their gear. Now it's time to support the players.